Hi, thanks for asking. Truth be told, I’m not doing very well. I have tried to keep this blog free from reminders about the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending United States election, but as with all things I try to avoid, they have finally caught up with me.
As you know, a plague has descended upon the world beginning in January of this year, and has persisted from then until present day. Ever since March 2020, when things began to go south in the USA where I am, I have been overwhelmed with anxiety and a looming sense of dread. Coronavirus has spread unchecked across the USA and killed thousands of people, and has left countless more with permanent injuries. According to the Mayo Clinic, organs such as the heart, lungs and the brain can suffer long-term damage after exposure to COVID-19.
Blood clots are another worry. Also according to the Mayo Clinic, “COVID-19 can make blood cells more likely to clump up and form clots. While large clots can cause heart attacks and strokes, much of the heart damage caused by COVID-19 is believed to stem from very small clots that block tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in the heart muscle.” [1] “Other organs affected by blood clots include the lungs, legs, liver and kidneys. COVID-19 can also weaken blood vessels, which contributes to potentially long-lasting problems with the liver and kidneys.” [1]
Some people have made the health regulations put in place to slow the spread and flatten the curve into partisan issues and have classed them as an attack on freedom. However, these regulations—which include mandatory mask wearing for indoor spaces, social distancing of at least six feet apart, and statewide shutdowns—are simply a way to preserve life and promote health and safety. I honestly never thought that the desire to stay alive would become political.
Where I am, I have had to contend with people insisting on holding mass gatherings with little to no protections in place, in-person meetings, and the refusal by some people to do the bare minimum and wear a mask. I have refused as many mass gatherings and meetings as I can, but I have been forced to attend some of them because they were work events. As we all know, not even the threat of death and illness will convince the capitalist overlords to treat employees as human beings, rather than disposable property.
Now this brings me to the election.
Pandemic anxiety and election anxiety have converged and coalesced into a raging storm of pure, unadulterated fear. I fear for my rights as a woman to have final say in my reproductive health decisions. I fear for my fellow LGBTQ+ people losing the rights we have fought decades to achieve. I fear for BIPOC being further disenfranchised and discriminated against. All of these fears are extremely personal, as I am a queer Black woman. These three indelible characteristics have placed me in a precarious position in this country, and I am not sure if life will ever get better, or if it would become considerably worse. As it stands now, life here has become untenable.
So no, friends. I am not doing very well at all.
Sources
- COVID-19 (coronavirus): Long-term effects
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art-20490351 - Daily Updates of Totals by Week and State
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm - World Odometer COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
Thoughts of Amethyst 