Monday, May 18, 2020
I'm not the first person to seek distraction while in a synagogue, but on Saturday, Zoom allowed me to attend Shabbos services while resting on my sofa doing the crossword puzzle. Admittedly, I did not keep up with all the standing up and sitting down that notoriously characterizes most Jewish services. However, I alertly caught the key part of our rabbi's d'var Torah (sermon). She repeated something that she had recently read: "We are all in the same storm, but not in the same boat." I thought that this brilliantly captures the health emergency we face and the disproportionate toll that it has taken on racial minorities and the elderly. According to the New York City Health Department, "race and income have proven to be the largest factors in determining who lives and who dies." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/
It's not that Covid-19 has the uncanny ability to identify and seek out the more vulnerable; some people have the wherewithal to remove themselves from harm's way. "The Richest Neighborhoods Emptied Out Most as Coronavirus Hit New York City." https://www.nytimes.com/
Another article graphically illustrates the destinations sought by those with sufficient mobility and the second or third homes that only some of us can afford. https://www.nytimes.com/
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
We know that some folks are more than willing to put other people's lives at risk (pick the next Republican state governor popping up on Fox News), but what of the gun-toting, flag-waving, unmasked crowds seeking "liberation" from home confinement and possibly from the Earth itself.
Fareed Zakaria effectively connects the political/economic views of white, non-college educated Americans with their disregard for warnings about Covid-19. "They see the [credentialled] overclass as enacting [trade and immigration] policies that are presented as good for the whole country but really mostly benefit people from the rulingclass, whose lives have gotten better over the past few decades while the rest are left behind. . . . [They] turn on the television and hear medical experts, academics, technocrats and journalists explain that we must keep the economy closed — in other words, keep[ing them] unemployed — because public health is important. . . . Is it so hard to understand why people like this might be skeptical of the experts?"
Each day, the New York Times publishes obituaries of people who have died as a result of the coronavirus. They are usually a cross section of people from everywhere, in a variety of fields and endeavors, more "democratic" than the standard obituaries. Today, for instance, it reports on the deaths and lives of a British rapper, 47; a Brooklyn baker, 81; a Tibetan woman who founded an orphanage, 69; a Brooklyn man who operated a Nigerian restaurant, 57; and, identical twins who worked at a major ski resort in Vermont, 64.
After first naively wondering why the disease has cut such a wide swath, I thought about those clamoring for the reopening of public and private enterprises. Even if they don't read the New York Times, they likely know some one or more of the 1.54 million Americans reported infected, as of today (https://g.co/kgs/drPgQc), or even one of the 90,694 people who have died.
We know that some folks are more than willing to put other people's lives at risk (pick the next Republican state governor popping up on Fox News), but what of the gun-toting, flag-waving, unmasked crowds seeking "liberation" from home confinement and possibly from the Earth itself.
Which will arrive first, understanding or illness?
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
I thought that I knew it all, but this morning I belatedly learned that Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association, was a volunteer in George McGovern's ill-fated 1972 presidential campaign. https://www.ajc.com/news/national/who-nra-head-wayne-lapierre-and-what-did-say-the-cpac-meeting/zSLqKKI4Uc1k4Uf4JrXhcI/
. . .
. . .
Fareed Zakaria effectively connects the political/economic views of white, non-college educated Americans with their disregard for warnings about Covid-19. "They see the [credentialled] overclass as enacting [trade and immigration] policies that are presented as good for the whole country but really mostly benefit people from the rulingclass, whose lives have gotten better over the past few decades while the rest are left behind. . . . [They] turn on the television and hear medical experts, academics, technocrats and journalists explain that we must keep the economy closed — in other words, keep[ing them] unemployed — because public health is important. . . . Is it so hard to understand why people like this might be skeptical of the experts?"
This corresponds to the insights about the 2016 presidential election by Joan C. Williams, University of California law professor, written 3-1/2 years ago. "[M]ost blue-collar workers have little direct contact with the rich outside of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. But professionals order them around every day. Hillary Clinton . . . epitomizes the dorky arrogance and smugness of the professional elite." https://hbr.org/2016/11/what-
Thursday, May 21, 2020
I walked to my bank branch 4 blocks away, only to learn that transferring $106 to a merchant in Nairobi, Kenya would cost $50. On the other hand, I walked 4 blocks and back.
Friday, May 22, 2020
A member of my household, who wishes to go unnamed, referred me to this observation by a marriage counselor. “Instead of listening
to their partner, digesting the information and caring about why they
feel bad, I’ve found that guys invest their energy in one of three
ways. They dispute the facts of the story their partner
just told; agree with the facts, but believe their partner is
overreacting; or defend their actions by explaining why they did it. In
all three cases, his partner’s feelings are invalid.” Hmm.
... and some of the boats are leaking badly.
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