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Corona and Other Bad Stuff Talk
5 years ago
General
Hello, mostly invisible and ever-present community/audience.
I just thought I'd share some of my own worries and give people a place to talk about the bad stuff that's happening in the states (and the rest of the world) at the moment. I'm finding that most people are just so exhausted by this stuff that it's hard to really process what's happening.
1. Covid19 is scary -
I live in a "Red Zone" state, where things aren't terrible at the moment, but will likely be very bad in 3-6 weeks. I've been staying inside over the summer (thank goodness I don't have anything to teach in the summer. I feel bad for people with jobs that force you to come in with no protections) It looks like the infection and death rates are going to get much worse before they get better. A lot of people don't believe in the need for masks or social distancing, and at this point, I don't believe that Americans have the social technology, or desire, to really curb the spread of this disease.
My parents are old. My boyfriend has bad asthma. I'm no spring chicken myself. No one that I know directly has died yet, but I fear it's just a matter of time.
I have a stockpile of non-perishable food, but not a whole lot else. It just feels like there's not much else to do. Hopefully I won't need any special supplies, and food distribution will not be interrupted It doesn't seem like buying more stuff is going to make me any safer.
The administration is not helping. 136,000 Americans have died. Likely it's going to get much worse.
AAAAAAAAaaaaaaahhh.
2. Politics is Scary -
Let me preface this section by saying that I know we are all have radically different perspectives on what's going on right now. It's very difficult to filter through what's happening and compile "complete" pictures by stapling together accounts from multiple sources. Likely some of my sources or assumptions are false or misleading, but I'd still like to have this conversation. Please, no calls for or endorsements of violence against anyone in the comments.
There's a lot of stuff that has been making me squirm recently.
A. Unmarked Enforcement - In Portland OR and Washington DC I've seen multiple reports and videos of people being detained, beaten, or shot at by unmarked federal officers. This prevents any form of accountability. If one of these unmarked people kills, maims, or takes away one of your colleagues, you have nowhere to turn to. There's no ID number, agency, or organization to turn to. At this point, it seems like the most effective solution is trying to get word out on social media, but that seems like it should be a shoot the moon exception, and not the rule.
B. Consequence Free Governance - Three Presidents of the USA have been impeached, Johnson, Clinton, and Trump. None of them were removed from office. Nixon resigned before such a process could take place. A president has never been removed from power by this process, and I'm pretty sure now that one will never be.
In my opinion, Clinton and Trump should both have been impeached. I realize that Bill Clinton's sexual indiscretions are not such a scandal in themselves, but the fact that he lied to congress about proves that he was unfit for office in my mind. Trump lies frequently, but he didn't even need to report to congress directly. The system, however it is supposed to work, didn't actually answer many questions about 1. The facts of Russian Interference (which was spelled out as very serious in the report, but downplayed and called a hoax repeatedly) 2. The severity of these claims (Is this a new normal? Is the government okay with this?) 3. Any methods to prevent this from happening again.
There seems to be no enforcement of rules to curb individuals abuse of power at the moment. Trump an Ivanka both tweeted for their constituents to buy GOYA products recently, in direct conflict with the Hatch act (which prohibits officials from using their position to promote products or private services.) I know that bean shilling is a small indisgression, but there has been no measures put in place to prevent this from happening.
Likewise, President Trump seems relatively immune to prosecution as a citizen. It's taken three years for New York to get his tax returns from his banks and accounting firms (not Trump himself). If a sitting president can stretch any potential litigation into something that takes more that 4 years, there's no way to affect their stay in office. Even if they are a criminal, there's no way that that can be established by the legal system before the next election.
Also, I have no idea what Trump means about 90% of the time. I'm one of those weirdos that likes reading the occasional political speech. Most of Trump's off-the-cuff remarks are very hard for me to parse, even with a transcript. I can understand the general broad strokes, but very little other than what is good and what is bad. I can not say much about Trump as a person (I've never met the guy.) However, I can judge his words and actions. Largely, I'm surprised that there isn't more argument over "What exactly did Trump mean by that?" This may be by design. It's hard to fully condemn someone you can't understand. Likewise, to shift the blame, Trump can always say "It wasn't me" and fire someone, because we can never know if it was him because it's impossible to understand him in any concrete way.
With the recent Twitter hacks, I'm worried that the next major incident that happens will likely be instigated not directly by any individual, but rather by a sock-puppet speaking through a high-profile account on the internet.
Also, voting seems to be getting harder, and is no longer a right, but a privilege. Gerrymandering and voter suppression make votes more or less valuable and are decided by the parties in power. Likewise, Trump has repeatedly called into question the results of votes both in the past and future. This seems like a recipe for disaster: Claim that an election was bogus if you lose, and prevent anyone else from complaining of unfair practices if you win.
AAAAAAAaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgh!
3. The Economy is Scary
The last once-in-a-lifetime economic event I lived through was the 2008 financial crisis and recession. I got a degree, couldn't find work in the states, and left to get a job in South Korea instead, then moving on after another bout of schooling to work in Saudi Arabia for 3 years. But I got the news from the states. A lot of my friends and my brother couldn't find work, and had to move back in with their parents or other family. I cannot stress how much this sucks. Rent is at a historical high, jobs are harder to find, less young people own houses, and evictions are looming for a lot of people right now.
This is not because housing is disappearing, but rather, because we can't find a reason to put a growing number of people people in houses at the moment. Yes, most people don't have the cash, but if you put them out on the streets, you'll have empty houses with people living in abject poverty. We need to fix this. In my opinion, it's generally more cost effective to actually house people than it is to make them live on the streets.
I'm likely not going to get a job in American academics. The market after 2008 was insulated for about 4 years before facing a sharp decline in positions and pay in my field. I can't go abroad as much anymore because I'm completely out as a queer person, which does not fly for teachers in a LOT of places where I used to be able to find jobs. I couldn't find an acedmic job 3 years ago, and definitely couldn't if I was seeking one at the moment.
The economy is probably THE driving force in America. It determines how we live our lives, work, where and how we live, and what we value. If it falls apart, I think the amount of unrest would be nothing like I've ever seen before. I'm all for changing the system, but in a crisis like this, I'm very worried about how many people are going to get hurt.
aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa
4. It's getting harder and harder to actually watch, listen, and digest
Within my social circle, there is less and less discussion of what's actually going on (or what we can piece together at least.) Everyone is exhausted. Talking about ANYTHING problematic feels like it's increasingly dismissed.
This worries me.
PERSONAL ANECDOTE: I was chatting with some of my good friends through the internet, and we had a sort of "let's just talk about the things that worry us" day. I shared two articles that worried me, one of which was NPR's coverage of Facebook removing Trump's Anti-ANTIFA ad that featured a red triangle (like political prisoners in Nazi concentration camps [though you could argue the symbol was at one point reclaimed by ANTIFA])
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/18/8803.....ls-it-an-emoji
One of my closest friend's reaction was this: "You don't need such sensationalized news to know that trump is bad"
This put a bee in my bonnet. My good buddy has serious anxiety issues, and I didn't belabor the point with him, but it really got to me.
The news wasn't all that sensational to me. NPR did a pretty good job in laying out the situation in a fairly dry way. But, it felt to me like the point was "You don't need to pay attention to what Trump does and says to know that he is bad"
This actually frightens me.
In politics, I really try to focus on candidates words and actions, and the words and actions of their staff and supporters. If I don't, then it really starts to feel more like sports: support your team, beat the bad guy's team, policy comes second or never. I think I dislike Trump as much as my friend, but also, I don't want to just ignore him and safely file him away as "bad." I want to be able to explain why on a case by case basis, but also understand that keeping up with the news is a major impact on our collective mental health.
I hope Trump does good things. I realize this sounds weird, but if it helps mitigate this crisis or an other one, then great. So far, Trump has not. He's focused on polarizing side issues like walls, xenophobia, rolling back protections for LGBTQIA+ folks, and a bunch of other really damning stuff. He seems much more focused on keeping power than really doing anything with it.
Anyways, my point is, that I think it's very valuable to be aware of A. What actions people are taking, and B. What they are saying. This is kind of why I'm making this post. It's easy to lump people into good/bad groups or us/them groups, but I feel like that kind of thinking is kind of how we got here. Condemning people is not inherently bad, but I think it's important to condemn them for their actions.
So . . . anyways, this is sort of an experiment. Feel free to vent here, to disagree with me, to tell me and others about what this experience is like for you, to show me worrying news, etc . . . But, please be respectful, no calls for violence, and in general, try to make this journal post something other than a huge mistake on my part.
I just thought I'd share some of my own worries and give people a place to talk about the bad stuff that's happening in the states (and the rest of the world) at the moment. I'm finding that most people are just so exhausted by this stuff that it's hard to really process what's happening.
1. Covid19 is scary -
I live in a "Red Zone" state, where things aren't terrible at the moment, but will likely be very bad in 3-6 weeks. I've been staying inside over the summer (thank goodness I don't have anything to teach in the summer. I feel bad for people with jobs that force you to come in with no protections) It looks like the infection and death rates are going to get much worse before they get better. A lot of people don't believe in the need for masks or social distancing, and at this point, I don't believe that Americans have the social technology, or desire, to really curb the spread of this disease.
My parents are old. My boyfriend has bad asthma. I'm no spring chicken myself. No one that I know directly has died yet, but I fear it's just a matter of time.
I have a stockpile of non-perishable food, but not a whole lot else. It just feels like there's not much else to do. Hopefully I won't need any special supplies, and food distribution will not be interrupted It doesn't seem like buying more stuff is going to make me any safer.
The administration is not helping. 136,000 Americans have died. Likely it's going to get much worse.
AAAAAAAAaaaaaaahhh.
2. Politics is Scary -
Let me preface this section by saying that I know we are all have radically different perspectives on what's going on right now. It's very difficult to filter through what's happening and compile "complete" pictures by stapling together accounts from multiple sources. Likely some of my sources or assumptions are false or misleading, but I'd still like to have this conversation. Please, no calls for or endorsements of violence against anyone in the comments.
There's a lot of stuff that has been making me squirm recently.
A. Unmarked Enforcement - In Portland OR and Washington DC I've seen multiple reports and videos of people being detained, beaten, or shot at by unmarked federal officers. This prevents any form of accountability. If one of these unmarked people kills, maims, or takes away one of your colleagues, you have nowhere to turn to. There's no ID number, agency, or organization to turn to. At this point, it seems like the most effective solution is trying to get word out on social media, but that seems like it should be a shoot the moon exception, and not the rule.
B. Consequence Free Governance - Three Presidents of the USA have been impeached, Johnson, Clinton, and Trump. None of them were removed from office. Nixon resigned before such a process could take place. A president has never been removed from power by this process, and I'm pretty sure now that one will never be.
In my opinion, Clinton and Trump should both have been impeached. I realize that Bill Clinton's sexual indiscretions are not such a scandal in themselves, but the fact that he lied to congress about proves that he was unfit for office in my mind. Trump lies frequently, but he didn't even need to report to congress directly. The system, however it is supposed to work, didn't actually answer many questions about 1. The facts of Russian Interference (which was spelled out as very serious in the report, but downplayed and called a hoax repeatedly) 2. The severity of these claims (Is this a new normal? Is the government okay with this?) 3. Any methods to prevent this from happening again.
There seems to be no enforcement of rules to curb individuals abuse of power at the moment. Trump an Ivanka both tweeted for their constituents to buy GOYA products recently, in direct conflict with the Hatch act (which prohibits officials from using their position to promote products or private services.) I know that bean shilling is a small indisgression, but there has been no measures put in place to prevent this from happening.
Likewise, President Trump seems relatively immune to prosecution as a citizen. It's taken three years for New York to get his tax returns from his banks and accounting firms (not Trump himself). If a sitting president can stretch any potential litigation into something that takes more that 4 years, there's no way to affect their stay in office. Even if they are a criminal, there's no way that that can be established by the legal system before the next election.
Also, I have no idea what Trump means about 90% of the time. I'm one of those weirdos that likes reading the occasional political speech. Most of Trump's off-the-cuff remarks are very hard for me to parse, even with a transcript. I can understand the general broad strokes, but very little other than what is good and what is bad. I can not say much about Trump as a person (I've never met the guy.) However, I can judge his words and actions. Largely, I'm surprised that there isn't more argument over "What exactly did Trump mean by that?" This may be by design. It's hard to fully condemn someone you can't understand. Likewise, to shift the blame, Trump can always say "It wasn't me" and fire someone, because we can never know if it was him because it's impossible to understand him in any concrete way.
With the recent Twitter hacks, I'm worried that the next major incident that happens will likely be instigated not directly by any individual, but rather by a sock-puppet speaking through a high-profile account on the internet.
Also, voting seems to be getting harder, and is no longer a right, but a privilege. Gerrymandering and voter suppression make votes more or less valuable and are decided by the parties in power. Likewise, Trump has repeatedly called into question the results of votes both in the past and future. This seems like a recipe for disaster: Claim that an election was bogus if you lose, and prevent anyone else from complaining of unfair practices if you win.
AAAAAAAaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgh!
3. The Economy is Scary
The last once-in-a-lifetime economic event I lived through was the 2008 financial crisis and recession. I got a degree, couldn't find work in the states, and left to get a job in South Korea instead, then moving on after another bout of schooling to work in Saudi Arabia for 3 years. But I got the news from the states. A lot of my friends and my brother couldn't find work, and had to move back in with their parents or other family. I cannot stress how much this sucks. Rent is at a historical high, jobs are harder to find, less young people own houses, and evictions are looming for a lot of people right now.
This is not because housing is disappearing, but rather, because we can't find a reason to put a growing number of people people in houses at the moment. Yes, most people don't have the cash, but if you put them out on the streets, you'll have empty houses with people living in abject poverty. We need to fix this. In my opinion, it's generally more cost effective to actually house people than it is to make them live on the streets.
I'm likely not going to get a job in American academics. The market after 2008 was insulated for about 4 years before facing a sharp decline in positions and pay in my field. I can't go abroad as much anymore because I'm completely out as a queer person, which does not fly for teachers in a LOT of places where I used to be able to find jobs. I couldn't find an acedmic job 3 years ago, and definitely couldn't if I was seeking one at the moment.
The economy is probably THE driving force in America. It determines how we live our lives, work, where and how we live, and what we value. If it falls apart, I think the amount of unrest would be nothing like I've ever seen before. I'm all for changing the system, but in a crisis like this, I'm very worried about how many people are going to get hurt.
aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa
4. It's getting harder and harder to actually watch, listen, and digest
Within my social circle, there is less and less discussion of what's actually going on (or what we can piece together at least.) Everyone is exhausted. Talking about ANYTHING problematic feels like it's increasingly dismissed.
This worries me.
PERSONAL ANECDOTE: I was chatting with some of my good friends through the internet, and we had a sort of "let's just talk about the things that worry us" day. I shared two articles that worried me, one of which was NPR's coverage of Facebook removing Trump's Anti-ANTIFA ad that featured a red triangle (like political prisoners in Nazi concentration camps [though you could argue the symbol was at one point reclaimed by ANTIFA])
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/18/8803.....ls-it-an-emoji
One of my closest friend's reaction was this: "You don't need such sensationalized news to know that trump is bad"
This put a bee in my bonnet. My good buddy has serious anxiety issues, and I didn't belabor the point with him, but it really got to me.
The news wasn't all that sensational to me. NPR did a pretty good job in laying out the situation in a fairly dry way. But, it felt to me like the point was "You don't need to pay attention to what Trump does and says to know that he is bad"
This actually frightens me.
In politics, I really try to focus on candidates words and actions, and the words and actions of their staff and supporters. If I don't, then it really starts to feel more like sports: support your team, beat the bad guy's team, policy comes second or never. I think I dislike Trump as much as my friend, but also, I don't want to just ignore him and safely file him away as "bad." I want to be able to explain why on a case by case basis, but also understand that keeping up with the news is a major impact on our collective mental health.
I hope Trump does good things. I realize this sounds weird, but if it helps mitigate this crisis or an other one, then great. So far, Trump has not. He's focused on polarizing side issues like walls, xenophobia, rolling back protections for LGBTQIA+ folks, and a bunch of other really damning stuff. He seems much more focused on keeping power than really doing anything with it.
Anyways, my point is, that I think it's very valuable to be aware of A. What actions people are taking, and B. What they are saying. This is kind of why I'm making this post. It's easy to lump people into good/bad groups or us/them groups, but I feel like that kind of thinking is kind of how we got here. Condemning people is not inherently bad, but I think it's important to condemn them for their actions.
So . . . anyways, this is sort of an experiment. Feel free to vent here, to disagree with me, to tell me and others about what this experience is like for you, to show me worrying news, etc . . . But, please be respectful, no calls for violence, and in general, try to make this journal post something other than a huge mistake on my part.
But I do get what your friend was saying. Every terrible thing that is happening and that Trump does is important and infuriating, but it can be altogether too much. You gotta put that oxygen mask on yourself before helping the people around you, and if following and engaging on every single news item is overwhelming and dangerous, then partially disengaging becomes a survival issue. And yes, I know that attitude comes from a place of privilege, but it can be really, really helpful to take even a small break if at all possible.
Things that have helped me a lot include:
* Putting a cap on twitter time
* Not reading any news besides daily newspapers
* Generally not engaging in political discussions online, but trying to do so in real life. IRL, people are a lot better about engaging and being civil, and you have the energy for it if you don't blow it all in a strawman-y shoutfest online.
Your mileage may vary.
The economy really is terrifying though. Inequality is way up, economic mobility is way down. Half the country is convinced that they're the ones benefiting from deregulation and taxes reductions when it's almost entirely the ultra-wealthy.
I guess the one shining light is that it seems that progressives still have the numbers advantage. Conservatives need to rely on dirty tricks like voter suppression, misinformation, and rigged systems to win in a lot of cases. And we are only just starting to see the influence of the Internet on culture. Sure it's a rocky start, but the access to information and different points of views will end up accelerating a lot of social changes, probably for the better IMO.
Hang in there. Times are really tough, and there are a lot of moments that feel hopeless. Feel free to DM me if you ever want to chat. Maybe we can grab a beer (or a coffee!) when this coronavirus stuff is all over : P
I don't really have any social media acounts these days (I fell out of the habit when I finally came back to the states.) Because of this, I don't have many folks to talk to about this stuff. I don't want to become "that guy" who always talks about depressing politics. It's a weird and lonely gap.
I mostly get my news from online sites. Reuters and the Associated Press are my go to ones at the moment. Even then, there's about two headlines a day that concern me deeply.
I also hope that the internet ends up helping make things better.
Thanks for the offer of a DM chat in times of need! I'll probably take you up on it when there's more headlines that I can't fully ruminate by myself.
Thank you for the advice.
I haven't really been on social media for the three years I've been back in the states. I have a Facebook account I check every few months. I also watch Reddit for headlines (often without context) though I don't have an account so I can't participate.
I've never had a twitter account. Initially, the character limit was kind of a turn off.
Mostly these days I have abut 10 people I talk to pretty regularly, and an extended crew that I check in on every few months.
The social distancing makes it hard to meet up with folks responsibly, so most of my communication is digital at this point. I'm pretty bad at this whole digital telepresence thing though, so I'm kind of at a loss for what to do.
Also, I tend to feel quite similarly, so that probably colors my opinion as well. Seriously though, well-said.
Also, stay safe and sane out there.
Using few good news sources and questioning almost every news item costs time and energy, only a few people can do this. You belong to the few, and so you are more likely to become a lonely caller in the desert.
If you are worried about your economic existence, you prefer to invest this energy in your economic basis and so the culture of discussion becomes worse and worse.
The electoral system in the USA promotes this tendency even more strongly, since the equality of votes is not given. At some point, there are then only free, secret elections, but they are no longer equal. The electoral system alone leads to this inequality.
Policemen or other employees of the security organs in civilian clothes who take part in demonstrations are a means of totalitarian states to direct the mood. I was born and raised in the GDR. The state disappeared when I was 15 years old, so I didn't notice much of it. I only know the reports of various demonstrations of opposition members in the context of the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the state around 7 October 1989, where members of the state security were among the demonstrators and blew up these demonstrations, and when the police arrested the demonstrators, these members could leave because they made themselves known. Then, when the state considers its own citizens as enemy, the state is finished.
At the Monday demonstration in Leipzig, those responsible for it, in my opinion, resorted to a very effective means of neutralising these state-directed provocateurs. All demonstrators carried a candle as a sign of their peaceful protest. But whoever carries a candle with both hands and has to keep it burning in the open cannot call for violence against the state power, in addition the motto of this demonstration was "no violence".
Covid19 will speed up some things, we live in a time of change, if you live in this time, it is hard to see it yourself. Later generations will say that this was the time of transition. But none of the people involved know where it is going. The citizens of France did not know that either when the king was overthrown there in 1792. They were concerned with things of daily survival.
I was 4 when the wall came down. At the time I didn't really understand it, but hearing about it from someone who lived through it really helps me understand the gravity of the moment.
I agree about the internet giving everyone a stage. I feel like every one that I actually get to chat with is quite reasonable, but online it just looks like an us vs. Them nightmare.
I'm genuinely worried about voting rights and the election. It feels like we are moving away from voting as a right to voting as a game.
The candle idea seems like a very good one. The one protest I went to was ended early by the organizers who chanted "we come in peace, we go in peace." It felt very strange, because it was like the walls were closing in at that point, but thankfully there was no violence.
The fact that you are more likely to meet people who have similar views to yours, and with whom you can have a good conversation, is in the nature of things again. Here meet many people who think similarly different than the rest of the population. I think statistically speaking, the percentage of LGBTQIA+ is higher than in the rest of the population and what you know is viewed differently. Here in Germany many people have prejudices against foreigners in regions where hardly any foreigners live. Because they only know the news about the bad deeds of foreigners, but no foreigner personally, because then the point of view is usually different. People generalize very quickly, this makes things easier, but blurs the greyscales. Thinking in good and bad, black and white is easy.
So I can only hope that some things will change in the USA and that there will be more balance between the different classes of the population. At the moment it's more likely that white people are being played off against black people. If you don't see a chance to improve your life through your work, you are prone to this - the others are to blame for your situation. There are others, but it is essentially the system.
I don't know how to change it either. But I am happy to live here in Germany, because there is a different social security system, it is not as good as in the 80s, but it still secures you halfway. In the 80s there was still this competition of the systems, the socialist promised social security, which it demanded the freedom for it, the fewest have seen.
Yeah, I worry about what people will do when they don't feel like they can participate in the direction things are going.
Thanks again for sharing!
In continental Europe there is a somewhat different basic understanding of the nature of the state, it is also responsible for the care of the population. I believe that the coronary crisis will push back in Europe a whole section of the neoliberal changes from the period around 2000.
I hope that the time will come again when everyone is welcome everywhere. But it will probably take even longer until the epidemic is under control everywhere.
Europe is certainly worth a visit, including Germany. Germany is complex, and has a lot of history to offer. I can only say that Berlin and the Brandenburg area alone has a lot of history to tell.
I know you said you avoid social media, I do too, but much like the corona virus, if your family and friends don't you get exposed to their worries second and third hand. I think that is the other aspect of the internet. We are simply made more aware of what is happening, while feeling powerless to do anything about it. Even if things were not actually worse than normal, we might perceive them as such because its more apparent, the availability bias. Combine that with the fact that we are in the middle of a global pandemic, so things are decidedly worse than normal, and it makes perception of the events even worse.
Obviously you don't know me, but I am open to DM's as well. I am also dubious about my own prospects of an academic job one day (at least one not as an endless adjunct) so I can commiserate on that at least.
Yeah. This seems like the true end of cowboy internet. One way or another, I think the net is going to look a lot different after this crisis.
It's hard because I everyone has wildly different norms for their sources these days. I can't blame folks for giving up traditional media, but I really do worry about social media news. It's a bit too catered towards people's tastes, I feel. Or, spookiest, it cultivates new tastes in people and what news they want to see.
American acedemics hasn't been in a good spot for awhile. Some universities are still doing well, but the costs are quickly becoming such a barrier that I feel guilty being a part of it. We shouldn't be sending young adults into heavy debt for education . . . Or medicine.
I'm also not sure what my degree in Rhetoric does. I want to teach, but largely, it seems like most people in the department are drawn towards very complicated theory or activism. I'm a bit dumber than that. I really just want people to be able to analyze and produce meaningful communication.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvwa9_ppJts