So, you love someone who has stopped taking Covid precautions (or never took them to begin with)
from How To Talk To Your Loved Ones About Covid (covid.tips)
https://covid.tips/#so-you-love-someone-who-has-stopped-taking-covid-precautions-or-never-took-them-to-begin-with
What are you going to do now? If you’re here, you’re concerned about keeping your community safe. But how? What do those conversations actually look like? This guide is a template for navigating these emotionally-charged and difficult conversations. It attempts to put you on a good path for teaching others what you know while encouraging mask wearing, doing what you can to protect your community, including yourself.
We are speaking across a huge divide.
Everyone who has stopped masking is living in a different version of reality than we are. In their minds, Covid is over. Or milder, or a problem for the sick. All around, restaurants are open. The bars are open. The mall is open. False ‘normalcy’ is everywhere.
The truth of the matter is unfathomable. What we know to be true defies belief. We are asking people to believe that everything they see around them right now is a lie. That every single person in charge has lied to them. That we are in freefall. It is entirely unsurprising that so many people cannot and will not believe us. Not at first.
The horror of what we are saying is nearly incomprehensible. Please try to fathom what it would be like to hear this, if you believed things were normal. Try to put yourself in this other person’s shoes. Explaining transmission is not enough. Awareness is not enough. We must model and inspire action, and so we have to explain why restaurants are still open. Why the media says it’s over. Why all around us, there is silence.
We are asking people, essentially, to distrust the choices and assessments of everyone around them, as well as what their eyes and ears are telling them. We are asking them to realize their old life is gone forever. This is a huge ask. It is the hugest possible ask. On top of that, people cannot fathom how it could be true.
We have to find a way to build an on-ramp, to essentially “onboard” people into this reality we’ve all gotten so used to. We have to remember that we are asking a lot. All of this is normal to us now, and we’ve gotten acclimated (somehow). Our mitigations reflect the truth, and they are the right things to do. But we are asking people to change their entire lives in a very serious way. It’s not just masks, at this point. It’s everything.
But ALL IS NOT LOST. We have been deeply lied to and actively betrayed—by our governments, media outlets, and even medical professionals—for years. But there is hope and there is a way out. We can make a future without Covid.
To quote perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of the pandemic so far, "Let Them Eat Plague":
You could be forgiven for not realizing we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, considering the total absence of media coverage. If it was important, you’d surely be hearing about it, right? The last variant you heard about was likely omicron. The last you heard about vaccines was likely “we strongly encourage everyone to get boosted.” The last you heard about masks was that they work, but they’re not required. And why would you bother wearing masks anyway if, as the United States president himself proclaimed, “The pandemic is over”?
Here’s the truth: the pandemic is not over. It’s much worse than you have been led to believe. And unless you’ve spent the past several years reading scientific studies on the subject, it can be hard to convey just how wrong the public perception of Covid really is. Everything from how it’s spread, to how it’s prevented, to what it does once it’s in your body, is being tragically misunderstood.
None of this is an accident. It’s not your “fault” if you aren’t a virologist, immunologist, epidemiologist, or evolutionary biologist. It’s the job of experts and trusted voices to convey the truth and give you guidance. Not only have they failed at this, they have engaged in an active disinformation campaign dedicated to making the pandemic “disappear”. This has not been the result of a classic caricature of conspiracy — some tiny council of elites, gathered in the shadows to craft policy out of whole cloth. What we’re actually witnessing is the quiet collusion of class interest. This form of conspiracy is a feature of cultural hegemony, and it has aligned itself in direct opposition to public health and scientific reality. A “conspiracy” of this sort takes place in full view of the public. Every actor within it has openly telegraphed motivations that we are all taught to see as acceptable: keeping the current economic system intact at all costs.
–"Let Them Eat Plague"
The end of the emergency, the continuation of our struggle
On May 5, 2023 the World Health Organization officially ended the public global health emergency, signaling (wrongly) to the public that the threat of Covid-19 is behind us. Never mind that this very same day, they put out another official statement that conveyed the opposite message:
"The worst thing any country could do now is to use this news as a reason to let down its guard, to dismantle the systems it has built, or to send the message to its people that #COVID19 is nothing to worry about."
Never mind that millions are dead, long term outcomes for repeated infections are unknown (though the statistics aren’t looking good), and millions more are suffering from Long Covid.
This WHO announcement was a devastating blow, utterly unsurprising, and paradoxically, a moment filled with potential.
It was devastating, because it made it even easier for workplaces and healthcare providers to justify their lack of mitigations, and because this announcement misled many ordinary people into thinking the threat has passed. It will likely lead to an increase in the harassment that disabled people face in medical settings, or while wearing a mask in public spaces. It is unsurprising, because the capitalist strategy for handling the pandemic has been a strategy of minimization and erasure from the start (as we will discuss at length in this resource). And yet, this is also a moment filled with potential.
Why potential? The truth is that many, many people are waking up to the non-normalcy of this forced “back to normal” approach. People are expressing their disbelief and frustration over being sick all year long. People are running out of sick days. Friends and relatives are getting Long Covid. Basically, the so-called normal world is showing cracks in the façade—and people are asking: “Why is this happening?” Trust in governments and politicians is at an all-time low. People are fed up. And the official narrative (with all of its confusion and contradictions) makes no sense.
Meanwhile, the things that we are saying make a lot of sense. We have the truth on our side. The government’s strategy is one of denial, negation, and lies. But presence, truth, and a vision for a better future will always be more compelling than a lie. Unlike what WHO is saying, our narrative is honest, consistent, and backed by science. Unlike the WHO, we value human life and are offering actual care. Denial as a strategy cannot work for long. People are seeking answers; we have to educate one another and offer a path forward. We have to keep one another safe.
Our mission and the challenge ahead
Most people trust that it is the government’s job to protect them. And most people don’t have the time, resources, scientific literacy, or energy to keep up with the latest research, conflicting guidance, and up-to-date information about the pandemic.
Reducing the number of Covid infections happening in our communities is essential. Giving people the knowledge and tools to protect themselves in the face of government neglect and violence is essential. Trying to reduce harm in our communities is essential. And a livable future depends on us addressing Covid.
As we prepare for what’s to come, we cannot abandon one another or decide that these conversations are pointless. In other words: we can’t leave our neighbors behind. We have to try to share the knowledge that we have learned. So let’s get to work.
Political frameworks
We believe in abolition, mutuality, bodily autonomy, self-determination, equality, and interdependence. We believe in centering the most vulnerable and approaching others with curiosity. We value intentionality, humility, compassion, directness, honesty, trust, accountability, and consent.
Our political frameworks include: the abolitionist movement, Black liberation, intersectional historical materialism, antifascism, anticapitalism, anticolonialism, anti-imperialism, disability justice, transformative justice, Indigenous sovereignty, trans rights, and liberatory harm reduction.
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! 🇵🇸 (All of our struggles are linked.)
We are always willing to learn and grow, but we are not willing to compromise on any of these values.
Summary of praxis
We believe in humanity. It is not true that most people are selfish, bad, stupid, ignorant, or unwilling to learn. Most people do not know what is going on, or feel powerless to stop it, or both.
#CovidPersistente #LlevaMascarilla #RealistaCovid #CovidSonAerosoles #birdflu #gripeaviar
#MaskUp #WearAMask #CovidRealist #CovidIsAirbone #LongCovid
