Lockdown, "the Coof," and a Personal Thanks to You · 12:56am Nov 25th, 2020
Hello my friends, and an early Happy Thanksgiving.
This is a multi-layered letter to you all, one which will begin with pragmatism and close with offering you a personal Thanksgiving message. The first part is something that’s really been on my heart to address in a (hopefully) helpful way: what the lockdown is doing to us, and what things we can do about it.
Yes, I know that’s heavy (and I hope no one makes me regret bringing this up). But, hey, we live in interesting times. I promise to offer what I believe are practical recommendations after the overview and to close this out with a heartfelt message for all of you. It’s been a hard year for many of us, but I believe that life is a cycle of ups, downs, and ups. We can’t control the wider world, but in taking control of what we can, we can make positive change happen and find happiness whether we’re in the midst of an ‘up’ or a ‘down.’
(((And, please, read the whole thing before rushing to comment. I know this is a controversial topic, and my goal here has been to write something which isn’t arguing for one policy or another, but is instead a look at the reality of the challenge we face and some actions we can take regardless of policy. If you want to argue policy or say whether you think people are freaking out too much – or not enough – do it elsewhere. That’s not what this post is about. If you do comment, be respectful; if you don’t feel you can do that, feel free to skip to the Thanksgiving message and forgo the rest. Thank you in advance for respecting the intent of this post.)))
Let me start by saying that we need to take the virus seriously. I myself am recovering from catching “the coof” while I write this. A good chunk of my family has also caught it, and two family friends were hospitalized for complications relating to the Coronavirus.
We do need to be careful, especially with those who are at-risk due to age or other health problems, and we need to be respectful of the fears of people who struggle with hypochondria and the like. (As a germaphobe myself, catching the virus and then handling it pretty well has ironically helped my stress level).
With all that being said, we do have to remember that the virus itself is not the only danger. How the virus is being handled on an ongoing basis is, for many people, even more dangerous.
In Japan, suicide claimed more lives in October than ten months of COVID deaths (citations for all this will be at the bottom, FYI). While the numbers for the US aren’t out yet, individual sources (like medical centers) are consistently reporting massive spikes in suicide (compared to pre-lockdown levels, which were fairly consistent and far lower). There are also spikes in alcoholism, domestic violence, drug abuse, and related problems, as well as dramatic increases in heart attacks and strokes due to stress.
*US Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-8255; List of International Crisis Hotlines; if you or someone you know is struggling, please seek help*
The World Bank estimates 100 million people will be thrown into extreme poverty by the massive hit to the economy resulting from lockdown measures, and an estimated 23% of US households faced food insecurity this year (which is roughly double the number of households in 2019). Food insecurity rates have tripled for households with children (which, as an uncle myself, is personally disturbing to me).
Thousands of small businesses are going under and won’t ever be able to reopen, which destroys the livelihoods of owners and employees alike. This is not a problem that stimulus checks are equipped to fix without other factors, because money is irrelevant if there are not enough supplies and businesses producing supplies to feed demand. Economies are a complex array of people trading goods and services, and damage to the economy at any level affects people and their livelihoods in often unpredictable ways.
What all of this means, practically, is that many countries are seeing more people die as a result of prolonged large-scale lockdown measures than from the virus itself.
And… there’s no easy solution to this problem. Coronavirus is killing people, yes, but so is the lockdown. As one commentator so bluntly put it, “There are no solutions here; only tradeoffs.” Such tradeoffs ought to force us to put aside partisanship and knee-jerk reactionism and honestly evaluate what to do in a mature fashion.
We need to be careful, we need to protect other people’s health (and our own), and we need to remember that Coronavirus isn’t the only threat to our physical, social, and mental health. No one part of the equation is irrelevant; we have to consider the whole picture, and that means listening to people who raise different concerns, whether we agree with their suggested policies or not.
I won’t say what I think that specifically means as far as altering lockdown conditions, scaling one thing or another up or down, or any number of other factors. It’s immensely complex, and, again I’m not going to make a recommendation of policy.
I’m also not looking for people to argue policy in the comments section. Not to repeat myself too much, but please don’t. This isn’t the venue and that’s not the point.
The point, instead, is to get people thinking about the following question: “What can we, personally, do to deal with this complex sprawl of factors? What can I do to manage the various dangers, including but not limited to the virus itself? What can we do regardless of whether the policies are good where I am or not?”
Fortunately, the Coronavirus is not the first time in history we’ve had to weigh the inherent danger of a deadly threat versus the fact that life must go in in spite of danger. Humanity has faced plague, war, instability, and hardship in all eras and amongst all peoples. Thus, there is wisdom from the past which can guide us here.
One of the most poignant examinations of this challenge was penned by C.S. Lewis at the dawn of the nuclear age, when we came uncomfortably close to annihilating ourselves (on several separate occasions). Lewis did not write these words out of callousness, nor out of a lack of understanding of the cold dangers of life. Having fought in World War I, witnessed the horrors of World War II, and, indeed, having experienced death and loss on many occasions in his personal life, he was a man on familiar terms with pain. In the face of death, Lewis learned to live, and moreover to enjoy life and help others do the same. From this experience, he wrote:
“In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.”
In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented, and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.
This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”
All of which brings me to the true heart of this writing:
What you can do.
You see, our ability to affect the world as a whole is limited, but important. We can write our representatives (which I encourage you to do), but in the end many things are beyond our immediate control.
Rather than obsessing over this, however, it is both more productive and mentally healthier to focus on what we can control. In shifting this focus, we can make far more of an impact than we might otherwise suspect, for the littlest acts of goodness have great consequences.
As Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who served the poorest of the poor in India, so wisely put it, “You needn’t do great things; only little things with great love.” It is in these little things that the world is most effectively changed for the better.
How to Help (in no particular order)
For those who have the means to do so, you can patronize your small businesses – if they have a way for you to order from them, do so. If you are healthy and the lockdown in your area permits, then patronize them directly when safely possible.
You can also help your local charities, many of which are being hit immensely hard by the economic troubles (my previous blog was on helping Veterans’ Charities). If you’re ordering through Amazon, consider using Amazon Smile, which lets you donate to charities of your choice with the purchase of eligible items; other organizations probably let you do the same.
Reach out to the people you know, especially the ones who feel most isolated. Call your grandparents, friends, and neighbors. Ask how they’re doing. Listen to their stories. The more extroverted among you may even see if nursing homes and assisted living centers in your area have people who would appreciate just having someone to talk to for a few minutes now and then.
Call up the family and friends you haven’t talked to in a while. Swap stories. Be a listening ear for the hard stuff. Be willing to talk about light and silly things and let all your moods be lifted. Watch for the signs that they are struggling, and be the person they can count on to help.
Thank the people who deliver things, or work the counters, or manage calls, or whatever service you encounter them in. They’re stressed too, and would probably appreciate a smile and a thank you.
Look after your physical health and wellbeing – manage distance, wash your hands, and the like – and also look after your mental health. Take the time to read an edifying book or watch something innocent and charming. If social media is toxic, take a break from that and spend your time learning about something that interests you. Take the time to take care of yourself. If you’re really struggling, talk to someone about it and let them help you – you deserve to be helped.
Remember that people need to be able to look beyond themselves to be happy. That means we need to look beyond ourselves and be willing to help others. It also means that others can be helped by our providing them the opportunity to help us. For people who love helping others, one of the best things you can offer them is the chance to do so.
Be patient with people as the stress of lockdown leaves our tempers frayed. Ask for forgiveness when you’re the one who snaps. Use the present adversity as an opportunity to challenge yourself to be better – just as we work out at the gym to build our muscles, work out in the challenges life presents to build stronger moral character.
Remember to tell the people you care about that you love them. Be kind to people you don’t know. People aren’t having as many personal interactions right now, so love your neighbors by treating them with dignity when you do interact with them.
This is not an exhaustive list – spend some time thinking about the stuff it would be nice to do for people (and to do self-care), and then think “how can I do that in this environment?” If you’re stuck for ideas, search for ideas online. People have been impressively creative in finding ways to reach out and help each other remotely. You can do more than you might think.
My Thanksgiving message to you…
Which brings me to that personal message I promised you.
When I first started writing on fimfiction about three years ago, I did not think it would take off or be anything more than a passing hobby. I thought I’d perhaps top out at one or two stories.
But you folks proved me wrong.
I never thought people would take much interest in my writing on this site, certainly not to the degree you all have. Yet I have been blown away by the outpouring of support I’ve received from readers these past three years. You have helped me get through some immensely difficult times in my life, and you have allowed me the privilege of sharing something meaningful with people who are searching for that.
In the midst of the lockdown and pandemic especially, it has brought me much happiness to have people telling me that my hobby writing has helped them deal with life. Having been helped myself, I like to pay it forward, and being told that I’m doing so is both gratifying and reassuring.
Seeing the impact I’ve been allowed to make in so many of your lives has been immensely humbling, and I am truly grateful that you have given me that gift.
Words are so often inadequate in times like this, so I shall simply say, “Thank you. Thank you for being a part of my life.”
I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving.
~Antiquarian
Citations
https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/documents/reports/ipr-rapid-research-reports-pulse-hh-data-10-june-2020.pdf
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/13/cdc-mental-health-pandemic-394832
https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2020/04/09/Coronavirus-hit-food-industry-faced-with-packaging-shortages
https://fee.org/articles/suicide-claimed-more-lives-in-october-than-10-months-of-covid-19-in-japan-report-shows/?utm_source=ribbon
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/16/yelp-data-shows-60percent-of-business-closures-due-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic-are-now-permanent.html
https://www.bu.edu/sph/2020/09/02/covid-has-likely-tripled-depression-rates-in-the-us/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-has-thrown-around-100-million-people-into-extreme-poverty-world-bank-estimates-11602086400
https://fee.org/articles/economic-lockdowns-kill-people-yes-literally/
https://fee.org/articles/a-years-worth-of-suicide-attempts-in-four-weeks-the-unintended-consequences-of-covid-19-lockdowns/
https://fee.org/articles/4-life-threatening-unintended-consequences-of-the-lockdowns/
https://fee.org/articles/suicide-claimed-more-lives-in-october-than-10-months-of-covid-19-in-japan-report-shows/?utm_source=ribbon
*US Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-8255; List of International Crisis Hotlines; if you or someone you know is struggling, please seek help*
We're glad to have you, Antiq. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter.
It's absolutely nerve-wracking that people still aren't taking the virus seriously. Of all the people in my family, I was the least likely to get it, and I take in-person/hybrid college classes on campus. I have a sibling that works in hospitals, a parent who travels for work and pre-existing conditions, and one who has multiple immune-related issues. I'm a twenty-year-old dude who usually holes up in places with a book and is physically just fine. Plus, I got my flu shot early and wear a friggin' mask. All the good stuff.
Yet, near the end of this semester, I ended up with what was very likely a false negative when I got tested. I still had numerous corona-specific symptoms. had to be quarantined, and my symptoms lasted nearly two weeks, which is the usual runtime for COVID. The only symptom I didn't have was a loss of smell because I've had anosmia since I was a kid. (In other words, one of the most tell-tale signs of the coronavirus is one I can't possibly assess in myself) When I thought back on it, the place I would have picked up the virus would have had to be at a doctor's appointment where I needed to have my mask off for a prolonged time. It was that easy.
I've recovered since then, but it's such a fucking anti-intellectual wave that's really taking hold of people. Businesses, basic resources, and people's health matter, but so does preventing the spread of a very real and serious sickness. My university email has been filled with too many notices of people's grandparents and elderly relatives dying this year, and many of them likely died from covid because when lockdown began is when it became a barrage.
I hope your recovery continues to go well and that people are helped by your blog, even if it's only one person. Happy Thanksgiving to you too, dude.
It's gotten to the point where I actually kind of fear going to work, because I work around people who work around kids who don't like wearing masks in a region of the state where people don't take the virus seriously.
But that's not what I want to talk about. I'm thankful that I have places like this one to read and enjoy the small snippets of other peoples' lives that they are willing to share. I'm thankful that I have a place to sleep and food to eat, even if the virus and other things has thrown my life out of synch. And I like to think this time is a time where we can have something a reset, where we can just detox from all the meaningless bull
we've been hopped up on since who knows how long.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Stay safe out there.
It is hard to find such a well-spoken, good-natured message these days, especially on this site. My respect for those who continue to spread said messages isn't quantifiable. For many, including myself, it is the reason to keep going.
You continue to amaze with how perfectly positive and genuine of a person you are. Even in times where you might be allowed a time of self-pity or disdain, it seems you continue to project nothing but goodwill, though I'm sure you have your moments of darkness. And to do so without intentionally starting fights or lighting fires that need not be lit? To do so with not the intention of polarizing people, but rather the hope of unifying them, even a little? That is something I have undying respect for, and blogs like this make the world that much brighter.
Thank you, Antiquarian. For your thoughts, your stories, your perspective. Thank you for trying to be brighter than the world around us.
Twilight and I wish you and yours a safe and happy Thanksgiving
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/16c0bacb-0ba8-4acf-9a45-d500dc820949/de9bn69-0c7f340e-2647-451e-ab08-e07ef71fc58d.jpg/v1/fill/w_1280,h_1707,q_75,strp/the_pilgrim_and_the_pony_by_ilvbrownies_de9bn69-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xNzA3IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMTZjMGJhY2ItMGJhOC00YWNmLTlhNDUtZDUwMGRjODIwOTQ5XC9kZTlibjY5LTBjN2YzNDBlLTI2NDctNDUxZS1hYjA4LWUwN2VmNzFmYzU4ZC5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.hDvz1Lbmkcb5_kIrs0u3kuVQjMsSMkwBYlJmkbC32AY
I have things to say, but in the end, you’re right: Not here.
As all this happens, we are witnessing the greatest transfer of wealth from the lower and middle classes to the upper class, resulting in an even greater transfer of power between them. But we can do something about that: Don’t buy from Amazon. Don’t buy from Walmart, or Target, or Kroger or Safeway or any large national or multinational business, if you can. Go to the corner grocer and buy from them. Buy your shoes from the family owned shop down the road instead of DSW.
Won’t that cost more? It might, just a little bit. But then, look at where the money will go. Sure, some of it will still leave the community. Maybe even most of it, if you’re unlucky. But “some” is still more than “none”, and that’s how much will stay if you buy from Amazon. “Some” means that a mortgage payment will be made on time; it means that a child will go to bed with a full belly; that a three-generation family business will survive for a fourth.
We’ve made it this far in spite of everything: The Plague, Spanish flu, two World Wars, the Dust Bowl, the Depression, and the Cold War. The Sword of Damocles has always been there; we just stopped noticing it when all we could notice was television, computers and smartphones. But it’s always been there, and it’s even fallen on us more than once, but we’re still here in spite of it. Mankind is a species of survivors; we’ve beaten the odds before, and we‘ll do it again, so long as we remember that we can.
Stay groovy man, it's always nice to see someone who isn't obsessed with finding as many different ways to be angry as possible.
You're a rare light of affable sanity.
And your stories are pretty good too!
Thanks (as always) for your thoughtful words, my man. God bless you and your loved ones, and have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Thank you for helping us to look past the bridges of our snouts and see the magnificent colors of the world around us. Even as everything seems to collapse around our ears, I'm proud to have the acquaintance of so many wonderful people who can smile in spite of their situation and say "This too shall pass."
If I may share a personal story for a moment, I'll be brief. This year brought the most important medical change in my life, and I'm still acclimating. I was supposed to receive a hearing aid in March. Thanks to the hospital shifting their priorities - and understandably so - that got pushed until July. And now that I have it, my hearing is ... healing? I didn't believe it at first, but in many situations I don't even need the aid. What exactly that means going forward is still an unknown frontier, but to reiterate what I said above, I will choose to smile and say, "This too shall pass."
Lord bless you, Antiquarian. You've certainly blessed me.
Thanks, Antiquarian. Every time I've seen you speak up, you've been a light.
I'll have to try a bit harder to look outside myself and be a light to others, especially in these perilous times. Letting people who thrive on helping others have opportunities to help me, rather than trying to hide my weaknesses so as not to trouble them... It feels paradoxical, but it makes sense.
You are a treasure my friend, one that I know I am very grateful for. God love you.