Here We Go Again
When I was an exchange student, one of the formal requirements of the agency that placed me was to place every student in a different house for a week or so. I don’t know the reason, precisely, but I can infer it was a chance to give both parties a chance to take a break from the other. I liked my host family a lot, so it just seemed like a departure rather than a diversion.
In any event, the other family lived in Solothurn, and in Solothurn was a bar called Das Kreuz (The Cross; Genossenschaft Kreuz; The Cross Cooperative). The older brother used to spend a lot of his time there, and his mom would needle him a bit “Scho wiider is Kruuz? (At the Cross again, so soon?)”
It seems like the Aging Matador has become the Kreuz for me, lately. I put my mask on, and entered. This time when the bartender pointed at the Bender Cauldron, I asked for a beer instead. Mug of beer on coaster, bowl of popcorn in front of me, a look of hopeful completion on the bartender’s face… I said thanks, and he gestured that I again was mostly alone. Help myself if needed, and he took off for the backroom.
This time, my eyes didn’t stare off into the middle distance for a couple hours. This time, I knew what was bothering me. This time, it was a feeling of regret that was working on me. In the early Spring, I was notified that I had an opportunity to get the COVID vaccine. I signed up as soon as I could. I got the shots as soon as they were made available to me. The second one kicked my ass a bit, but not severely. It was within the range of acceptable outcomes. And soon, lots and lots of people were getting vaccinated. Ans soon after that, there was a standing surplus of vaccination doses. those started getting sent to other countries that needed them.
But what didn’t happen was more than 67% of the population getting immunized. Instead, a round of new conspiracy theories arose. The vaccine will kill young kids. The vaccine has microtrackers in it. The vaccine will lead to irreversible genetic modifications. The vaccine doesn’t work. The vaccine is a plot to make us more susceptible to the NEXT virus. I trust my own immune system to fight it off. And so on.
But, none of those have any basis in fact. OK, yes, some people who have pre-existing complications died after receiving the shot. Some of them were going to die no matter what. Some of them were in bad health to begin with, and an additional load on their immune system was too much. Some folks reported that the J&J vaccine caused blood clots. But as soon as that story rose through the ranks of whispers, to conspiracy, to widespread news dissemination, the few cases were attributed to other causes. And now, J&J is not seen as any better or worse than any of the other vaccines.
More recently, there is a delta variant. This one is considered less deadly, but spreads like wildfire. And some folks who were vaccinated against the original strain were getting infected with the delta variant. That fact turns the conspiracy engine even faster… The vaccine doesn’t work, they said. The masks and vaccine are not useful, and so on.
There is a graph showing that as of this moment, 90% of the infections are delta variant. Virtually all of the hospitalizations are folks who were unvaccinated. Yes, there are “breakthrough” infections (vaccinated folks who caught COVID), just as some folks who get the flu vaccine will get the flu. Likewise, the vaccinated COVID infections are way less harmful than the unvaccinated infections. Somewhere less than 1% of the breakthroughs needed hospitalization. That’s 1% of an already small number, by the way.
I fear that what we have now is the popular version of the lessons learned from our 45th President’s term. If a person is steadfast in their denial, and doubles down when faced with accepting fate, sometimes they can get away with it. So, we’ve got folks who participated in the Capitol Insurrection on January 6 who are being told to wear a mask when attending the hearings, and saying they will refuse (can’t MAKE me). Judge says “mask or jail?” Jail. Very well. In one case, the defendant’s attorney almost got klinked up with their client for failure to follow rules and procedure.
It’s exactly like the kid who says “I’m not eating my peas.” And if they are steadfast enough, and willing to suffer the consequences, eventually the peas will rot, and the kid will “get away with it”, and not have to eat the peas.
I used to think that President #45 taught us a lesson about the kind of country and government we have. We have a fairly sizable number of folks who are frankly against the government (no matter who is in charge). There are a sizable number of folks who “don’t like being told what to do.” There is a sizable number of folks who have nothing better to do with their time. What we also learned is that the court system is what saved us. Though the system turns slowly, it does reach acceptable outcomes. Sometimes, there is a wish for greater punishment that won’t come.
I don’t know how Angus sneaks up so effectively. He’s not what a person would call “small”. In any event, I see him pull up a stool next to me, waves for his beer.
“Solving the world’s problems?” he asks.
“Just trying to figure out how to not care so much that it interferes with my well-being.”
“What is it? COVID positivity increasing? Returning mask mandates? Vaccine deniers?”
“Yes.”
Angus’ eyes get big for a second then he turns himself in the chair to face me. “There are folks who listen, and understand, and comply when compliance is reasonable. There are others who get caught up in their own denial, and then repent when the consequences become real. And then there’s like 23% of the people who won’t do anything unless you ‘make’ them. It will always be like that. Sometimes, depending on the situation, or who is asking, the individuals in the groups will switch into another category. There is nothing that anyone can do to change any of that. The only thing that a reasonable person can do is to find reputable information, analyze it according to ones own rubrics, and act accordingly. If there are people under your charge, you need to attend to your understanding of their best interests. All the rest, they aren’t a party to your deliberations, and shouldn’t play a role in your decisions one way or the other. Use your brain to protect yourself and your family, and if necessary, use it to protect them from others and outsiders.” Then, satisfied that he’d touched all the important bases, he turned back to “face front,” took a drink from his beer, and scooped some popcorn into his mouth.
“Angus, I never saw it that way before now. Thank you so much for breaking it down like that. It does help to be reminded that there are only so many things I can control. I think I let some grandiosity slide into my thinking, and I was taking personally something that wasn’t pointed at me personally.”
“I know it’s complicated, friend.” Glasses clink, popcorn bowl replenished, and friendship levels up.