Social Distancing Is An Act of Resistance
It’s Monday night and I’m growing weary of my various social media feeds that show me picture after picture of people who are making the most of their time off from work by going out to party and have a good time.
This bothers me.
(A lot.)
Most of the people I don’t know. Like, Twitter. I have like 1100 followers and I follow like 500 people and so they will Tweet and then re-Tweet things from other people and every once and a while I’ll come across a person who posts a video of themselves in a crowded restaurant with a hashtag like #Coronavirus2020.
Like the person the other day who said …
“I’m 30 and I just got back from dinner and drinks at Red Robin because I live in f*cking America and can do whatever the hell I want.”
People.
Do we realize how alarming this is? I’m not a medical expert, but I’ve been listening to the CDC talk every day at around 3PM and they’ve made it clear that COVID-19 will probably not kill a 30 year old, but will most likely kill someone over the age of 60 as well as people who have problems with their immune systems. And so the issue isn’t whether a 30 year old is infected, but if a 30 year old is carrying it and passes it on to someone who then passes it on to someone who then passes it on to someone who is at risk.
SO.
10 year olds.
20 year olds.
30 year olds.
40 year olds.
50 year olds.
Healthy people.
ATTENTION: we have the power.
Right now the power is in OUR hands. We are not the weak ones. We are not the vulnerable ones. We are not the ones who are in danger. We are not the marginalized ones.
We.
Have.
ALL.
Of.
The.
POWER.
And so the question is, what will we do with that power? Will we flaunt it around just as the rich and powerful of the world do with their influence and wealth and power at the expense of those who are poor and marginalized? OR. Will we wield our power as a force that can save the lives of those who are at risk?
My point is that the greatest way we can exercise our power right now is to STAY HOME. Go to the grocery store if you need to. Go to the doctor if you have to. Go to work if you must. Fine. But then GO HOME when you’re done.
Don’t go out to public places.
Don’t go out and party.
Don’t flaunt your power on social media.
Don’t go on airplanes.
Don’t go to the mall.
The government is SHUTTING down things left and right and companies are choosing to close their doors so as to encourage people to STAY HOME as much as possible for these next few weeks.
The NBA - closed.
Disney - closed.
Grocery Stores - closing early.
Apple - closed.
My friend Cindy Wang Brandt said the other day that in these days staying home or Social Distancing is a form of RESISTANCE where your act of staying home is a visible act of standing in solidarity with those who are at the greatest risk of being impacted by the virus and choosing to resist the mindset of brushing it off and going about our daily lives because “it can’t hurt me, I’m not in a category that’s at risk.”
The reality is that the more we stay away from each other the lesser the chance that it will spread and the greater the opportunity the medical community will have to stop it before it gets worse.
I know people and have family who are both older and have compromised immune systems and it infuriates me when I read and see pictures of people flaunting their power in the face of the weak on social media. Those same people are often the very first ones to call out the government for flaunting its power in the faces of the weak and vulnerable and yet in these days they’re doing the same thing.
The.
Very.
Same.
Thing.
We need to come together in these times to fight this invisible force that is out there. And if we don’t.
Well.
We can flip on the news and get a live look at places like Italy to see what lies around the bend.
Much love and Namaste.
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Helpful articles:
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca