Locking Down and Protesting at the Same Time, As Chaos Continues
This essay was supposed to be about post election activism. My original thought was to explore ways for activists to influence the incoming administration’s agenda. We’re not there yet.
So here’s the situation…
Today’s insider info on the White House says the President knows he lost the election but doesn’t want to end the campaign.
A collection of far right supporters is descending on Washington DC to support his cause, the GOP needs to keep the base energized for the upcoming US Senate races in Georgia, and being an ass has always been part of Donald Trump’s brand.
It’s all coming together, folks. The man child currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has decided to burn the joint down on his way out. The purge of those in government deemed not loyal enough, denial of access to transition resources for the Biden/Harris team, and a case of amnesia about the millions of Americans who need help now are all connected.
And it won’t stop on January 20th. The president is both considering a 2024 comeback campaign and discussing plans to kneecap Fox News --who he blames for his loss-- with a competing network.
At the rate new COVID-19 infections are arising in Trump’s circles, incoming President Joe Biden may have to wear a hazmat suit to work in the oval office.
https://twitter.com/jdawsey1/status/1326940959209385986?s=20
Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders -- according to CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta-- is now focusing their aid on the United States, having decided that it’s the most looming humanitarian disaster in the world.
The country reported the highest number of hospitalizations ever on Wednesday -- with more than 65,000 Covid-19 patients nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
More than 110,000 additional people in the US are projected to die from Covid-19 in just the next two months, according to the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
The nation has also topped 100,000 daily infections at least nine days in a row, and new reports show the pandemic is only ramping up as the country approaches a critical holiday season.
The Strategic National Stockpile has only 115 million N95 masks — a little more than a third of what the administration had planned to amass by winter, according to the New York Times.
While new treatments are available and doctors are better-versed in treating severe cases, the sheer numbers of new infections with complications has already overwhelmed hospitals in several states. Hospitalizations, ICU admissions and ventilator use are rising in every single state, with COVID-19 patients in the Midwest now occupying more than 25% of ICU beds.
North Dakota healthcare workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been told to return to work while infected, so long as they remain asymptomatic.
In El Paso Texas, the four mobile morgues on the ground are no longer enough to meet the stream of dead bodies.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Policy Lab is warning that conditions will worsen in the West Coast, the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic states over the next several weeks.
Here in San Diego we’ve been moved into the state’s higher lockdown purple status, even as KUSI-TV, the chair of the GOP, and County Supervisor Jim Desmond are encouraging defiance and/or mocking people who publicize the dangers.
https://twitter.com/KUSINews/status/1326586374422622209?s=20
The above tweet leaves out important context, namely that state guidelines are for larger gatherings of people up to three households. In person gatherings are now a primary driver of new infections.
(And there is no language in the guidelines for the holidays about putting a mask back on between bites.)
From the Washington Post:
“Earlier in the outbreak, much of the growth in new daily cases was being driven by focal outbreaks — long-term care facilities, things of that nature,” said Nirav Shah, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Maine, where cases have soared in the past two weeks. “Now, the kitchen table is a place of risk.”
In Maine, as in other states, case investigators are seeing a new and related pattern: People who are infected list more close contacts than they did earlier, making the work of contact tracers more time-consuming and complicated. From March through September, the average number of contacts identified in Maine coronavirus investigations was 3.5. In October, that rose to 5.8.
“We’ve all gotten used to our bubbles, but I don’t think we’ve really asked whether someone who’s in our bubble is also in another person’s bubble,” Shah said. “People’s bubbles are getting big enough to burst.”
For months, the danger of large events has been a focus of state and local restrictions and of media coverage. Experts say less attention has been paid to the peril of small gatherings among family and friends, who may appear healthy and take similar precautions to avoid the virus.
https://twitter.com/LorenaSGonzalez/status/1326897273201045504?s=20
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So, what is to be done? We need to chew gum and walk at the same time.
An activist movement focused on social change naturally includes the concept of taking care of people. The public health crisis we’re headed into dictates what needs to be done, namely:
Be a helper, in the sense of what Mr. Rogers once famously said. As things worsen the need for assistance --at a safe distance-- in the most vulnerable populations will rise. Let’s be those people who step up and do the right thing.
Challenge misinformation. The Trump/anti-vaxxer/QAnon conspiracy crowd is doing their damndest to sow confusion and distrust. Respond to arguments via social media posts or otherwise with the truth -gleaned from reliable sources-- before calling out the lie.
Don’t be misled by the whining about small businesses in trouble. The political response to coronavirus must combine economic recovery with virus control. Economists are saying the same thing as public health officials – that you have to stop the virus.
What needs to be done in response to the Trump administration’s antics --which admittedly look like a tin horn dictator’s actions-- shouldn’t be kneejerk.
First of all, today’s provocation may be over by tomorrow. Remember the ban on Tik Tok after the Trump campaign was embarrassed in Oklahoma? It hasn’t happened because the White House has moved on to managing other tantrums. (There are real problems with this and other apps concerning data sharing, but the administration’s response had nothing to do with them.)
Secondly, there are traps. Trump’s troops are spoiling for a fight. Left alone, they will end up fighting with each other every time. This doesn’t mean that people’s lives who are endangered by these types shouldn’t be protected. It does mean that picking one’s battles is always a wise idea.
Thirdly, don’t forget the local scene. Example: The newly authorized police oversight mechanism for the City of San Diego needs to be funded now (not next July), and the city council will be tasked with creating the agency’s shape and standards. Take your eyes off this prize, and the police unions will weaken its impact.
Finally, control of the US Senate will come down to in January two runoff races in Georgia. Your help is needed. See this article for ways to join in.
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https://twitter.com/StinkenderKase/status/1326738362720530432?s=20
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