On the 28th of June, 2020, my step-uncle Michael (younger brother of my first step-dad, Lee) passed from Covid-19. While, I wasn’t close to him (the last time we met was a brief meeting eight years ago at Lee’s 80th birthday party), his passing had the effect of making the Covid-19 pandemic real to me.
Prior to that, Covid-19 was something I knew from the media. I knew it as a reason for changing my lifestyle for two to three months. Covid-19 was statistics and something the wife and kid talked to me about but it still wasn’t real. Then Michael died and suddenly Covid-19 became real. It was no longer a statistic; it was the end of a life that had touched mine.
It wasn’t just a case of someone I knew from my childhood getting the virus. It was the account of how he got it. He had something else that needed treating, so he went to hospital to get it checked out and it was there that he got the virus. It was as easy as being in the wrong place at the wrong moment.
While he didn’t plan for it, I believe that my step-uncle’s passing should remain a cautionary tale. We should be reminded as the world tries to return to “normal,” that the virus is anything but under control. Countries that thought they had it under control and opened up have seen sudden spikes and have had to quickly reimpose restrictions.
I do get the need for some opening up. I’m back to the office and no matter how much I’ve not wanted to return to an existence that is clearly unhealthy (offices being places that encourage sloth of thought and body), I’ve accepted that the income that comes along with this primitive existence is something that I have to earn in order to keep afloat until I can create something better.
The facts are simple enough. There are bills to pay and economies around the world do need to have some activity in order for enough cash to flow round the system. I also understand that the population at large cannot survive on handouts from the government – even governments with large fiscal reserves can only give out so much.
Yet, despite the obvious need to make a living, we should tread carefully. The virus is still floating around quite happily and you never know where it might float into an area where you are. The last thing my step-uncle expected was to breath the “wrong” air in a hospital of all places.
I think of the people protesting the need to wear mask when they go outdoors and wonder how willing would they be to lie in a hospital bed or a few dollars. I remember joking with the wife about how I should get Covid-19 so that she and the kid could their hands on a $30,000 grant. Her reaction was “You want to die? If you don’t die, your body will never be the same again.”
Which leads to the point of why the hell do we still stick onto brain numbing and physically degenerative forms of work like insisting that people come to offices. Technology has reduced the limitations set by geography. Work can be done anywhere. The question remains, why should it be a choice of staying safe from a pandemic and making a living. Surely, as a society, we have the means to ensure that people don’t have to make such tradeoffs.
Prior to that, Covid-19 was something I knew from the media. I knew it as a reason for changing my lifestyle for two to three months. Covid-19 was statistics and something the wife and kid talked to me about but it still wasn’t real. Then Michael died and suddenly Covid-19 became real. It was no longer a statistic; it was the end of a life that had touched mine.
It wasn’t just a case of someone I knew from my childhood getting the virus. It was the account of how he got it. He had something else that needed treating, so he went to hospital to get it checked out and it was there that he got the virus. It was as easy as being in the wrong place at the wrong moment.
While he didn’t plan for it, I believe that my step-uncle’s passing should remain a cautionary tale. We should be reminded as the world tries to return to “normal,” that the virus is anything but under control. Countries that thought they had it under control and opened up have seen sudden spikes and have had to quickly reimpose restrictions.
I do get the need for some opening up. I’m back to the office and no matter how much I’ve not wanted to return to an existence that is clearly unhealthy (offices being places that encourage sloth of thought and body), I’ve accepted that the income that comes along with this primitive existence is something that I have to earn in order to keep afloat until I can create something better.
The facts are simple enough. There are bills to pay and economies around the world do need to have some activity in order for enough cash to flow round the system. I also understand that the population at large cannot survive on handouts from the government – even governments with large fiscal reserves can only give out so much.
Yet, despite the obvious need to make a living, we should tread carefully. The virus is still floating around quite happily and you never know where it might float into an area where you are. The last thing my step-uncle expected was to breath the “wrong” air in a hospital of all places.
I think of the people protesting the need to wear mask when they go outdoors and wonder how willing would they be to lie in a hospital bed or a few dollars. I remember joking with the wife about how I should get Covid-19 so that she and the kid could their hands on a $30,000 grant. Her reaction was “You want to die? If you don’t die, your body will never be the same again.”
Which leads to the point of why the hell do we still stick onto brain numbing and physically degenerative forms of work like insisting that people come to offices. Technology has reduced the limitations set by geography. Work can be done anywhere. The question remains, why should it be a choice of staying safe from a pandemic and making a living. Surely, as a society, we have the means to ensure that people don’t have to make such tradeoffs.
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