We’re back, baby! Two days ago:

“The US records over 28,000 cases in 1 day, the most since the beginning of May as all 50 states reopen.” ~ CNN

Fear isn’t something to be afraid of.

It’s something to be aware of, and commonsense about.

Testing is nowhere near it should have been months ago–it’s a crying shame. 100,000 and far more dead in the U.S. alone and many restless folks on Facebook claiming “this is a plot.” Christ. The only plot is our willful incompetence and uncaring.

For those saying “the economy causes pain and death, too!” you’re damn right. That’s why we should have taken this seriously early, instead of wasting weeks and months. Get testing in place. Get tracing in place. Pay folks to stay home, and keep safe, smush it, and reopen carefully with testing and tracing. It’s not either Economy or Lives, friends–that’s President Trump’s logic. We could tackle both.

There’s a better way, and we ain’t doing it. I’ll repeat: despite Trump cutting funding and our Pandemic Response team, we were ranked best prepared for a pandemic. We’re now ranked among the worst worldwide responses.⁠

The second wave (see: history) comes when we think, “it’s over!,” and yet, nothing’s changed. Covid is here. We don’t have a vaccine. That’s not fear-mongering. That’s facts. Fear helps us be aware, take commonsense steps, and save lives. Wear a mask when around others. When you’re not, don’t. A mask says “I care about you.”

Please, maskless “rebels,” let’s think about those we’re spreading it to–and the hospital worker responsible for our laziness. If you’re out exercising and not wearing a mask you’re a big baby, not a hero.

PS: let’s pay our true heroes more, and support them by staying sane.

 

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A mask simply says, I care about you. ♥️? I wear mine only when I’m around others. There’s a middle ground between fear and arrogance—it’s called sanity. If you view that as partisan, then you should also protest for the right to shop without shirt or shoes, and the right to hurt or even kill vulnerable people. ? This is a challenging time. Let’s be patient with ourselves and one another, and find common sense solutions that work. Let us engage in kindness. It’s more fun.

A post shared by Waylon Lewis (@waylonlewis) on May 23, 2020 at 10:49am PDT

“How this isn’t immediately apparent to people is beyond me.” ~ Reddit reader comment