Coronavirus Pandemic Day 173 - Insanity

Just when I think things can't get worse in 2020, it does.

So far we've had

- COVID-19
- travel bans
- economic chaos
- record unemployment
- murder hornets
- cops gleefully killing black people on camera
- cocaine boars
- protest marches
- a president who is trying to establish a fascist regime
- meth gators
- parents attempting to homeschool/parents refusing to homeschool
- record heat
- record number of hurricanes

Then came the week of August 23-29

- Both Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Marco hit the U.S. coast
- Jacob Blake was shot seven times and paralyzed by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Protests in Kenosha resulted in an alt-right teenage sympathizer killing two people and wounding a third
- Wildfires rage out of control in California
- The number of dead from COVID-19 surged over 180K in the U.S.
- The number of confirmed infections crossed 6M
- BLM supporters and white supremacists clashed in Portland, resulting in one death
- Unmasked white supremacists, many of whom were armed, stormed the Idaho House of Representatives
- The Milwaukee Bucks walked of the court in a wildcat strike over the Jacob Blake shooting
- Other NBA, WNBA, and MLB teams followed
- Sportcaster Kenny Smith walked off the set in solidarity with the NBA players

And last, but hardly least, I got an e-mail late Friday night from my buddy Jo, saying actor Chadwick Boseman died.

That news was a punch in the gut. Mr. Boseman had a heck of career, and I expected to see more from him. He brought a singular gravitas to the role of T'Challa.  When DH and I went to see Black Panther, Mr. Boseman had the entire audience, black and white, standing and cheering at the end.

There are no words, and I'm a middle-aged, middle-class, white woman. I can't imagine how all the little kids who saw themselves in Mr. Boseman on the big screen feel right now.

The chaos seems to be growing exponentially. I've got to find the strength to write Hero In Camera because I want it to reflect an America where everyone has a fair chance, and they don't have to worry about being shot.

Coronavirus Pandemic Day 40 - Watching Your Country Go Insane in Real TIme

Joshua A Bickel, The Columbus Dispatch

The last week was bizarre. I watched videos of protesters in Lansing, Michigan, and Columbus, Ohio, march for the  alleged infringement of their constitutional rights. Someone did a meme showing a photo of protesters pressing against the glass door of the Ohio state house side-by-side with a poster from Simon Pegg's Shawn of the Dead zombies pressing against the glass door of the mall.

The result is striking and terrifying at the same time. I have no doubt a few of these people were asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. How many of these protesters will need hospital care?

Even scarier were the protesters in Lansing who deliberately blocked the entrances to Sparrow Hospital. The clogged streets in Michigan's capital not only caused a delay in the shift change. In a video, you can see a doctor begging the protesters to make way for an incoming ambulance.

Other disturbing things about these protests were the need to carry guns, the signs promoting Trump and Pence with swastikas, and Confederate flags.

Exactly how is a gun going to stop a virus? All this is going on while the death toll in the U.S. ticked over 40,000 this week.

Then there's the idiot in Australia who tried to return the 13-year supply of toilet paper to his local supermarket after Ebay shut down his account for price gouging. The photo of the supermarket manager giving the guy a double-bird was delicious!

In the other side are the thousands of folks who dug out the sewing machines and extra fabric to make face masks for healthcare workers, friends and family. These aren't as effective as N95 masks, but they're better than nothing.

Tattoo artists and nail salons are donating their protective gear to healthcare workers since their places or business are currently shut down.

Others are donating what they can to food banks. Some folks are giving large tips to the delivery and service people.

I think I have more faith in these people doing their best to be kind and sharing in these difficult times. Those are the people who will get the human race past this.