Ya know... Maybe this 'situation' we're all being affected by will be a good thing. Never in my lifetime, nor my father's have we experienced this. And all these precautions and warnings - it's about defeating an invisible enemy that you can not detect. We've all survived illness. I was laid up sick one January - February where for easily 7 days in the middle, I felt death's presence. It was just... Awful. But I pulled through. BUT here's the thing. I've survived. Every time I've gotten sick, I've tried to stay away and limit my sickness to just... whomever was taking care of me. To not endanger others. Especially Dad.
Right now, he's living with me as I help him through a very difficult healing process. It's my honor to do things that go against one's basic nature of self preservation, but it isn't contagious and once you understand a thing you can handle it.
But - here's the point of this all - when you read about Coronavirus - it is targeted to kill exactly my father's generation. BOOMERS. He's a BOOMER that served in the military guarding Fort Knox while others fought in Vietnam. He and my mom did Lightshows all over this country giving people great material to trip out to. He opened the first Comic shop in Austin, the first film festivals in Austin, the first comic book shop in Austin, he did dirty tricks for the Republicans (NIXON) and then he met my mom, saw the errors of his way and went hard LEFT. Opened that comic shop, did those shows and Festivals which influenced Louis Blackto one day do SXSW which was canceled by this scare.
But ya know what. Good. We've yet to detect a single case in Austin - and maybe - we could go without ever having one. All these closing of events - shutting down anything that would spread this.
I've already read that this attempt to head off an outbreak shows the absolute reason for MEDICARE FOR ALL - and some Republicans are seeing a very real reason for it. They're beginning to consider PAID SICK LEAVE for all. Because - this disease - it's aimed squarely at every silver haired person on planet Earth. And that's them and it is all their friends, brothers & sisters. Their parents. It's why they're reacting. Maybe not as quickly as we like, but the Republicans know that if the virus kills mainly the silver hairs - that's their last big crop of voters. The future generations are 70% in the other direction.
Then there's just the pure awareness of how mass pandemics spread. The greatest threat to our species on planet earth - is a virus that just KILLS US ALL. Or makes everyone sterile. Or makes us all male. Or - ya know, something most definitely uncool.
Another aspect of this that could be cool is... the new instillation of Civic Duty. As an Eagle Scout I believe that there are things that we do for ourselves, our families, our friends, our community, our city, our state, our country and our world... as well as the future of humanity.
At this juncture in time, we're seeing how other competently run countries have reacted. We see how the SCIENCE community has reacted - we see how TECHNOLOGY is charging towards ways to make sure this doesn't become our giant asteroid strike.
Perhaps as people joke and lose Great Grandparents and Grandparents they realize their sly ironic givenoshits attitude is toxic and that compassion and respect for the institutions that really were trying to save your elderly loved ones... really were.
The raised awareness of sanitation and self care could help you avoid many things. Maybe this is the antiseptic to wipe out FOMO - and realize there are things bigger than our own wants and desires. That being glib and heartless is ultimately an empty hollow pursuit.
Now, don't get me wrong... As I see the market tumble, I recall Trump talking about the greatest moment in American history was The Great Depression - and that's a nigh impossible statement to understand, until you realize his cowardly grandfather who fled serving for the Kaiser, to found Whorehouses and hotels and saloons, pocketed all that money and gold from miners wanting pussy - and during the Great Depression as banks foreclosed on properties, he made mad smart acquisitions upon the misery of others... but Don was raised hearing about how great this was.
However, Donald never lived through a time like that, but his Presidency has created one. An opportunity for the rich with millions and billions in the bank to just get more. Yeah, I get that. My mother's side of the family did the same thing during the Great Depression and I was always told the story with "How smart my Great Great Grandfather was" - and then I went to High School with the Great Great Grandkids of families thrown off their family farms and became... workers and cowboys - good lives, but oil was found on their land - and there was a degree of bitterness about it all.
That's the time we're in again. If whole industries shut down for months, foreclosures will occur - and it doesn't matter if they lose the presidency or get another term - they've already won.
Yeah, I see that. I get that. BUT - one day more people will see that. Get that reality of the callous nature of the megarich.
Then there's... the increased dependency upon non-brick&mortar stores. To get what you need dropped at your doorstep, not using your cars, enjoying the bliss of home life and making your homelife the kingdom you'd prefer to party in.
Hollywood has long been flirting with the concept of delivering first release films for home use. 3-6 months of THIS THING we're at the start of.... People scared of sitting next to one another communally. Possibly something new will come about. TVs that can see who is watching and charging a ticket price for everyone watching. That can stop if it detects a filming device on? It could happen.
Why would that be good? Because the difference between those in big cities and those in rural areas - they see different stuff from all of us. They just simply don't have access to it all. As a result there's a resentment. There's all those urban folks all sharing orgasmic of the moment experiences.
As the world is wired at similarly impossible to fathom speeds 20 years ago - as the world CATCHES UP - we all share experiences without a jealousy of the division between Urban and Rural. As the Online Shopping saves us all - gets us the needs that speculators buy up and empty our local shelves. The Online world provides.
Don't get me wrong, I love limited audience experiences. To hear your fellow humans geek and clap, to cheer and hiss, to ewwwww and yell "OH SHIT" - that's all nirvana.
We have so much further to grow as a world - and a lot of that is sharing things with those out in the woods. To have them try exotic and wonderful things delivered to their homes.
We need an event that makes people compassionate. That humbles us. Reminds us of the precious time we have here on Earth and that ultimately sharing things with our loved ones and families - as the Big Bad Wolf is out there to get ya. You're a smart little pig that built your house of Brick and has Solar Panels on your house and you've all the physical media to get past... ELECTRIC PLANTS that shut down.
I had a friend that said this was the Zombie Apocalypse - but if people you love die, they're not coming back. You can't chain them to your couch and hand them a video game controller as you play with them from a safe distance. But FINALITY.
We are at a juncture of history where in the Greatest Generations' time - they learned, "THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR IS FEAR ITSELF!"
So through this all - just know there's a whole lot of good that if we just listen to advice, miss out on the short term fun, that we as humans on this planet... we could... just maybe, not be sick and coughing in each others directions, but instead - staying home - taking care of one another. Listen to the science and medical professionals and survive and look at how we... could be on the cusp of changing things. Just how we want. Not by voting, but by giving a shit and doing the right thing for all of us. Then voting and doing the right thing for all of us.
Keep it cool,
Harry
