We are (not particularly) all in this together
Readers beware…you have now entered my brain’s Angry Zone. You may find thoughts you don’t agree with and words that make you blush. It happens from time to time. I go from Pollyanna to Madonna (and not the representation of Mary, the mother of Jesus).
During this coronavirus adventure, one of the phrases that just annoys the living shit out of me is “we are all in this together.” It really is a lovely thought and in the beginning of this cataclysmic fuckup, I probably shed a few tears over the idea of us all holding hands and singing (like in the iconic Coca-Cola commercial from the 70s, not the one they redid in 2016 that was just a cheap knock-off) about Covid and how we were all going to bring each other chicken soup and shelter in place and wear face masks and the virus would just implode like Mr. Mucus in those absolutely disgusting Mucinex commercials (yes, I do watch too many commercials; they are the spice of life).
Cut to a few months later and it has grown abundantly clear that we are not in this together. Like at all. Yes, of course there are moments with our loved ones and those moments are really fantastic, but in the grand Trumpian (thank you Ruth) scheme of things, we don’t really give a rat’s ass about our fellow Americans.
This Independence Day weekend, I don’t think there was one politician, doctor, local celebrity, etc., who did not make some sort of statement about the dire need for people to stay home and avoid crowds. As everyone was keenly aware, people did NOT do this for Memorial Day weekend and the Covid numbers skyrocketed (and no, it was not because we did more tests!!!). Hospitals are at capacity and we will be in deep shit if our numbers continue to climb. Now, even for complete idiots, this concept seems incredibly easy to grasp. Just stay home. Stay in your house. Grill up some ribs or something and crack a Diet Coke. Put googly eyes on your furniture and pretend you are with a bunch of friends (that’s probably easier if you swap out the Diet Coke for daiquiris). By next week, you won’t even care about Independence Day anyway (as if you ever did; you know it was just an excuse to party).
All of this being said, Bill and I drove over to 360 just to see if people were out. Huge line of cars at the overlook place near Courtyard Drive. Packs of people on the cliff with no masks and most certainly not six feet apart. We drove by the boat dock under Pennybacker Bridge and there was an incredibly obvious closed sign stuck to the gates, which were CLOSED, yet the parking area was pretty darn full and we saw all sorts of people with coolers just walking around the gates. Many, many boats on the water. We drove by Mount Bonnell and there were also closed signs at both points of entry and even yellow tape across the entry to the stairs and we saw at least a dozen cars parked out front (now granted it’s usually like a million cars, but still). People just walking over the yellow tape like it was just a nuisance, not an actual message that they weren’t supposed to be there. Seriously, would you just walk over crime scene tape at a triple homicide? And I forgot to mention that it was a thousand degrees outside. Imagine if we’d actually had nice weather.
I was pretty disheartened when we got home. OK I was pissed. PISSED. What is so hard to understand? You may think that your little outing doesn’t count because everyone else will be at home, but hey, you ARE part of “everyone.” You think you are so special that your outing is OK? Every other person in the world is going to stay home so you will be fine? That’s not how this works. Everyone has to “be in this together.” Haven’t you been watching all of the commercials???
The thing is that I get it! I get why people want out of the house. I want to be out seeing friends and going to the movies and swimming at Barton Springs. I want to have parties and not think about this stupid virus anymore. I’m not better than any of these people by any means. Yesterday, I felt like I was in prison. I was so sick of Law & Order that I wanted to smash all of our dishes into the TV. But you see…we are not in prison. Ask someone who has been in prison. This is a pretty small price to pay for the health of our community. It doesn’t always feel like it, but it really, really is.
And let’s talk about masks. I watched a news report on Canada and Trudeau was wearing a mask. Then they interviewed a regular Canadian wearing a mask and he said it was just a respectful thing to do. By wearing a mask, he was respecting those around him and other people wearing masks were respecting him. It was not political. It was about saving lives. I would like to want to apologize for what I am about to say, but I’m just not there yet because it’s not an opinion. It is a fact that wearing a mask will slow the spread of the coronavirus. Anyone out there buying into B.S. conspiracy theories that masks kill people or they mean that you deny the existence of Jesus Christ because he created the perfect respiratory system that kills the coronavirus or if you are following the example of the current occupant of the White House regarding masks, you are a complete dumbass. You are not being respectful of your fellow Americans and you are not part of the “we are all in this together.” And jeez, those of you that shoot people or cough on them or scream, “there is no coronavirus” because someone asks you to wear a mask are just beyond stupid. Like first place stupid. Congratulations. I’ll get you that blue ribbon here in a minute.
Am I angry? Well, yes I am Alex, thanks for asking. It is crap that we do not have a functioning adult as the leader of this country who could have prevented most of what is happening. Instead, he decided to pass the buck and pretend none of this was his responsibility. And because of his cowardice, there are a whole slew of people who are confused. They don’t know shit from Shinola. Their ass from a hole in the ground. They actually think this dickhead knows what he is talking about and they are willing to put their lives (and everyone else’s too) on the line for a baboon (sorry, that denigrates baboons).
So yeah, I would not exactly say we are ALL in this together. There are a bunch of people who are really trying to be in this together. Who do nice things for each other and try and pretend we live in a civilized country where people respect one another. Sometimes I can see it. And I’m not even talking about a political divide either. I know lots of amazing people, both Democrat and Republican. All of who are trying to do the right thing. It’s this insidious entity of evil. And their leader is a moron (sorry, once again, this denigrates morons).
Perhaps, like myself, other people are angry too. And if it’s that anger, for whatever reason, that has caused them to become the people I am complaining about, then I really should learn to listen. I should really try to be more open and hear what they have to say. I don’t know anything about their life experience and what has formed their beliefs and opinions. I let my anger get me all riled up and I can’t hear anything. And I don’t know how to make it stop. It appears that none of us do. And I think that’s the work we really need to be doing so we really can say, “we are all in this together.”
