on lockdowns and not being an epidemiologist
Hi friends,
A few things are on my mind this afternoon. But first: please send me your coronavirus memes, playlists, your favorite tranquil animal webcam, etc.
People have started messaging me for advice on responding to coronavirus. I really appreciate your confidence in me and I know the uncertainty around basic decision making right now is super scary. That said, it feels pertinent to remind everyone that I am not an epidemiologist. To channel my own fear and uncertainty, I have tried to understand the situation by reading as much as possible, and of course I can share my perspective as a chronically ill person who's been housebound before. I will happily talk through a decision with you if you would like, but any considerations I raise will be based on information gleaned from other sources, and not any inherent knowledge I have about viruses. I think you all know this, and I try to only share information from reliable sources, but there's a lot of panic and misinformation flying around and I might mess up! I want to be as transparent as possible. I know people have a lot on their plates right now so I'm hoping the newsletter is helpful, but please consider this a friendly disclaimer!
Back to our regularly scheduled content, which is (surprise) pretty dark. Gabi and I have been going back and forth over the last 24 hours about privacy, state power, and the implications of a lockdown (both here and in other parts of the world, though I feel most comfortable speaking to the US context). On the one hand, we have information that strongly suggests we will save lives (like a lot of lives) if people stay home. We know that asymptomatic people in their 20s are major carriers of this virus, and we know that many of them (us) are spending time in crowded bars and restaurants, despite warnings to the contrary. We know our trajectory is generally following Italy's, whose ICUs are overwhelmed and whose doctors are choosing which lives to save. We know that doctors don't always value disabled lives and Black lives and the lives of the most vulnerable. We know Italy eventually shut everything down and went into lockdown, and that they would have mitigated the strain on their healthcare system if they took these steps earlier. And we know that every day without action sharpens the curve, because the virus spreads so quickly. So this seems to point very clearly to shutting things down and doing it now.
On the other hand, we have a president with authoritarian aspirations. "Emergency measures" aren't always temporary. We know that some folks won't even make it to hospitals, either because they don't have insurance or because they're living in isolation (or both). As Gabi said in our conversation, "I am terrified that coronavirus will rip through an area on lockdown. And the draw bridges will go up and it will be left to die." (If this seems implausible, remember the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.)
I think we are heading towards some form of lockdown. Given the current situation, I haven't seen convincing arguments that we have viable alternatives. I would love to hear from folks, though. What do you think? What does solidarity look like under lockdown? How can we protect each other?
And if this scares you (it scares me!), remember that staying home is an act of love. Protecting yourself protects other people, literally, scientifically.
Links, etc., Coronavirus Edition:
Why you should stay home even if you feel fine: Infected people without symptoms might be driving the spread of coronavirus more than we realized
An argument for acting quickly
Advice and thoughts from Sarah on working retail during coronavirus
A preview of the next few weeks from Italy
Send this to your skeptical friends
Newsom is closing bars in California and asking anyone 65+ to self-isolate
A great Mike Davis piece on coronavirus and international solidarity (though I think his advice to take to the streets in this crisis is ill-advised)
If you're in the East Bay, the Disability Justice Culture Club is coordinating mutual aid for disabled folks. Here are forms for allies and those who need support. (Feel free to send me mutual aid docs for your area if you'd like me to share.)
Links, etc., Non-Coronavirus Edition:
Last night, some friends and I watched Sleepless in Seattle together via Kast. While Sleepless in Seattle is even weirder than I remembered (You've Got Mail is definitely the superior Hanks/Ryan rom-com), using Kast worked really well and I recommend it for your virtual watch parties.
A great obituary, worth reading in full (via Anne Helen Petersen)
There’s a Democratic debate tonight (8pm eastern/5pm pacific), the first since the field dramatically reshuffled. I believe the events of the past few weeks make the need for a Sanders presidency more apparent than ever, but in any case I hope you’ll tune in.
Re: the screenshot at the top of the page, if you happened to miss the best meme of 2018, here's Lady Gaga talking about 100 people in a room
From Vin, a picture of a toad and these iMessage finger doodles (he’s promised some Transit Witch content once he’s done with finals):
P.S. I decided to abandon TinyLetter and switch to Substack. If you were subscribed to the TinyLetter as of 4pm today, you should be subscribed here as well. If not, you can click the button below: