March 18, 2020

I have an announcement, one of great scientific import, so please pay attention (cue the throat clearing sounds).

Ladies and gentlemen, despite the rumors making the rounds every-fricking where, toilet paper does not prevent contracting Covid-19. I repeat, toilet paper does not prevent the virus, and owning enormous amounts of the commodity does not give you any superpowers.

Furthermore, diarrhea is not a symptom included on the list of symptoms for the coronavirus, that I have seen. The virus is primarily a respiratory infection. It is not a flu, nor like the flu as we generally think of that seasonal malaise.

Experts are at a loss to explain why the toilet paper has been disappearing off the store shelves. Along with dinner napkins and tissues and paper towels. Oh, and now, diapers too, apparently. Diapers? What are you planning to do there, Bubba and Muffy, cut the diapers into useable pieces? And lest anyone thinks this is only happening in your area, it is not; it’s international! Yes, even here in my little hometown in Canada, there is no TP!

Look, I get it. We’re all scared. There’s a virus making the rounds, and the chances of contracting it are not really as low as we’d like to believe they are. Worse, there is no real treatment, and as yet no vaccine. We’ve all been reading up on what to do to protect ourselves. Hand washing, using hand sanitizer when washing isn’t an immediate option, social distancing, and, if we’re lucky, employing face masks.

I would add gloves to that list. We have a box of vinyl gloves in the car, and when we went grocery shopping on Saturday, we put them on before entering the store. I know there are most likely no virus molecules in my area at the moment because there are no cases of the disease in our county; but there will be. So David and I are trying to form good habits now, before it’s a serious matter of immediate concern.

As well, we are only going out for groceries. My next doctor’s appointment is not until May. Other than a weekly trek for supplies, we’re staying home. We’re both over 65 and we both have underlying health conditions. I sincerely hope that everyone who can, stays home.

I’ve been thinking about this a great deal, since it’s become obvious that this virus is invasive and persistent. Because there are no medical answers, no “shot” to go and get, we’re all forced to pay attention to the few common-sense things we can do to mitigate our vulnerability.

But this fear…this fear is more rampant than I ever remember experiencing or witnessing, certainly more prevalent than with any of the past outbreaks we’ve experienced as a modern society. The fear I am sensing is even greater than it was in the days post 9/11.

And it’s the fear that, I believe, is the most damaging side effect of this pandemic.

I have a theory about that. I believe that over the last few years, the population of North America has been living under unprecedented stress. No one can deny that in the United States, especially, anxiety has been high for an extended period of time. The source of this stress is, frankly, politics.

It’s the height of—is irony the right word?—that when so many had begun to have hope for a change in leadership, and an ending of that stress, when they were just so close to a kind of relief, that this virus has struck and for a lot of people, it’s just…too much.

I generally hate clichés, but I want to say that for so many people, the uncertainty and worry brought by Covid-19 are the “straw that broke the camel’s back”. People have lived under enormous stress over the last three years. Fear has been used as a tool, a political tool, and as far as I’m concerned that should be considered the eighth deadly sin. On top of the fear used by politicians, there is the fear that fear causes. Those who take on the manufactured fear are happy to turn around and terrorize others, causing more fear. Incidents of overt racism are up. In the words of my mother, “assholes abound”.

We all need to take a deep breath. We’ve got this. Stay home. If you have to go out, practice social distancing. Otherwise, just stay home. It will not only help to keep you safe, it will give your spirit a break. Stay home as often as you can and relax in the sanctuary of your own home. Tell family and friends that you’re ensuring that if you have the virus, you’re not passing it to them. If you can, see to it that you have 30 days of medications on hand, and at least two weeks of food.

Oh yes. And toilet paper. Don’t forget to get some toilet paper, if you can.

Love,
Morgan
http://www.morganashbury.com
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury