Month: April 2020

A sickness more deadly than COVID-19 itself

benfell

Pandemic

In March, the History Channel published an article on the Spanish Flu—this is what they’re talking about when you hear about 1918 in reference to hasty reopenings of the economy. The story then is complicated by war with troops being sent even as, it turned out, they were infected, spreading a deadlier mutation of the virus disastrously to Europe.[1] But the rationale for the lockdown has peer reviewed backing in the Journal of the American Medical Association. History may not repeat, but it rhymes, and it’d be smart not to repeat the mistakes some U.S. cities made with the Spanish Flu.[2] As a country, we seem unwilling to learn from that history.[3]

The trouble, of course, is the economy,[4] and an unemployment rate estimated at between 15 and 20 percent.[5] But what this really says is that we are unwilling to actually take care of people, to give them money to tide them over, even, allegedly, to save their lives. Because neoliberalism, you know, is more fucking important than anything.[6]

So be sure to whisper your devotion to the “invisible hand” as you or your loved ones get sick, as you or they drown in their own lung fluids, in a panic, desperately trying to breathe. The capitalist god demands your sacrifice and theirs.[7]

William Wan, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach, “States rushing to reopen are likely making a deadly error, coronavirus models and experts warn,” Washington Post, April 22, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/22/reopening-america-states-coronavirus/

Zoë Hu, “A New Age of Destructive Austerity After the Coronavirus,” New Republic, April 23, 2020, https://newrepublic.com/article/157417/new-age-destructive-austerity-coronavirus

George Packer, “We Are Living in a Failed State,” Atlantic, June 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/underlying-conditions/610261/

  1. [1]Dave Roos, “Why the Second Wave of the 1918 Spanish Flu Was So Deadly,” History Channel, March 30, 2020, https://www.history.com/news/spanish-flu-second-wave-resurgence↩
  2. [2]Howard Markel et al., “Nonpharmaceutical Interventions Implemented by US Cities During the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic,” Journal of the American Medical Association 298, no. 6 (2007), doi: 10.1001/jama.298.6.644↩
  3. [3]William Wan, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach, “States rushing to reopen are likely making a deadly error, coronavirus models and experts warn,” Washington Post, April 22, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/22/reopening-america-states-coronavirus/↩
  4. [4]William Wan, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Joel Achenbach, “States rushing to reopen are likely making a deadly error, coronavirus models and experts warn,” Washington Post, April 22, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/22/reopening-america-states-coronavirus/↩
  5. [5]Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam, “4.4 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week, as economic pain continued across the United States,” Washington Post, April 23, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/23/economy-coronavirus-unemployment/↩
  6. [6]Zoë Hu, “A New Age of Destructive Austerity After the Coronavirus,” New Republic, April 23, 2020, https://newrepublic.com/article/157417/new-age-destructive-austerity-coronavirus↩
  7. [7]David Benfell, “An impatient capitalist god demands human sacrifice. Now,” Not Housebroken, April 17, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/04/15/an-impatient-capitalist-god-demands-human-sacrifice-now/↩

Someone for Donald Trump to fire

benfell

Pandemic

With Donald Trump desperate to deflect blame for his mishandling of the now-pandemic,[1] the Wall Street Journal helpfully offers him the name of someone to fire.[2]

Meanwhile, if, as I am, you are worried about a “slippery slope” in reopening the economy,[3] one thing to watch out for is complexity. Complexity improves the likelihood of loopholes, thus leading to a wider reopening than expected, thus leading to more contagion. It remains to be seen whether Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf’s plan[4] is simple enough.

Rebecca Ballhaus and Stephanie Armour, “Health Chief’s Early Missteps Set Back Coronavirus Response,” Wall Street Journal, April 22, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-chiefs-early-missteps-set-back-coronavirus-response-11587570514

Aaron Rupar, “Trump and Fox News want to send their hydroxychloroquine hype down the memory hole,” Vox, April 22, 2020, https://www.vox.com/2020/4/22/21230982/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus-trump-fox-news-hype

Kara Seymour, “Gov. Wolf Unveils 3-Phased, Color-Coded Reopening Plan By Region,” Patch, April 23, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h3av0/gov-wolf-unveils-3-phased-color-coded-reopening-plan-by-region

Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman, “Health Dept. Official Says Doubts on Hydroxychloroquine Led to His Ouster,” New York Times, April 22, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/rick-bright-trump-hydroxychloroquine.html

Recession

It’s the fifth-straight week that job losses were measured in the millions. From March 15 to April 18, 26.5 million have probably been laid off or furloughed. Jobless figures on this scale haven’t been seen since the Great Depression. The number of jobs lost in that brief span effectively erased all the jobs created after the 2008 financial crisis.[5]

Meanwhile, it’s a classic double-bind: If you refuse to return to work, because you want to avoid the contagion, you will risk your unemployment benefits.[6] But, of course, you’re also damned—and may face tragedy yourself—if you go back to work and wind up being a vector in the contagion:

State unemployment laws generally do not allow workers to collect jobless benefits if they refuse work available to them, said Thomas Smith, an assistant finance professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. That could force workers in Georgia back to their jobs at a time when it is not clear whether the risk of infection has abated, he said.[7]

Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam, “4.4 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week, as economic pain continued across the United States,” Washington Post, April 23, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/23/economy-coronavirus-unemployment/

Andy Sullivan, “Americans too scared to go to work risk losing unemployment aid, experts say,” Reuters, April 23, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-georgia-worker/americans-too-scared-to-go-to-work-risk-losing-unemployment-aid-experts-say-idUSKCN2251RD

Israel

Haviv Rettig Gur, “‘Monstrous’ coalition deal neuters Knesset. Should judges intervene? Will they?” Times of Israel, April 23, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/monstrous-coalition-deal-neuters-knesset-should-judges-intervene-will-they/

  1. [1]Aaron Blake, “The timeline of Trump’s coronavirus response is increasingly damning,” Washington Post, April 7, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/07/timeline-trumps-coronavirus-response-is-increasingly-damning/; Dana Milbank, “For Trump, a reckoning has come,” Washington Post, February 28, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/28/trump-reckoning-has-come/; David Roth, “The Enduring Delusion of a Chastened Trump,” New Republic, April 3, 2020, https://newrepublic.com/article/157154/enduring-delusion-chastened-trump; Aaron Rupar, “Trump and Fox News want to send their hydroxychloroquine hype down the memory hole,” Vox, April 22, 2020, https://www.vox.com/2020/4/22/21230982/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus-trump-fox-news-hype; Michael D. Shear and Maggie Haberman, “Health Dept. Official Says Doubts on Hydroxychloroquine Led to His Ouster,” New York Times, April 22, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/rick-bright-trump-hydroxychloroquine.html; David Von Drehle, “If Trump doesn’t like the coronavirus news now, he’ll hate what comes next,” Washington Post, March 10, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/if-trump-doesnt-like-the-coronavirus-news-now-hell-hate-what-comes-next/2020/03/10/e478c314-62ea-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html; Paul Waldman, “How coronavirus has deeply flummoxed conservative media,” Washington Post, February 28, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/28/how-coronavirus-has-deeply-flummuxed-conservative-media/; Paul Waldman, “The real reason Trump is obsessed with hydroxychloroquine,” Washington Post, April 7, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/07/real-reason-trump-is-obsessed-with-hydroxychloroquine/↩
  2. [2]Rebecca Ballhaus and Stephanie Armour, “Health Chief’s Early Missteps Set Back Coronavirus Response,” Wall Street Journal, April 22, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-chiefs-early-missteps-set-back-coronavirus-response-11587570514↩
  3. [3]David Benfell, “When confusion starts killing people, it is long past time to recognize it for what it is,” Not Housebroken, April 21, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/04/21/when-confusion-starts-killing-people-it-is-long-past-time-to-recognize-it-for-what-it-is/↩
  4. [4]Kara Seymour, “Gov. Wolf Unveils 3-Phased, Color-Coded Reopening Plan By Region,” Patch, April 23, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h3av0/gov-wolf-unveils-3-phased-color-coded-reopening-plan-by-region↩
  5. [5]Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam, “4.4 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week, as economic pain continued across the United States,” Washington Post, April 23, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/23/economy-coronavirus-unemployment/↩
  6. [6]Andy Sullivan, “Americans too scared to go to work risk losing unemployment aid, experts say,” Reuters, April 23, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-georgia-worker/americans-too-scared-to-go-to-work-risk-losing-unemployment-aid-experts-say-idUSKCN2251RD↩
  7. [7]Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam, “4.4 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week, as economic pain continued across the United States,” Washington Post, April 23, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/23/economy-coronavirus-unemployment/↩

Caste in the U.S.A.

benfell

Class

David Atkins is arrogant, but there’s a key word “persuadable” that I think those who respond to him fail to consider. Atkins is really talking about political ramifications, how the shots of Nancy Pelosi’s refrigerators, filled with an exclusive brand of ice cream, will affect the election.

His respondents are talking, importantly, about class. And there is a real problem in that the poor lack a substantive—except through its absence—voice in politics, in a system, we should note, that is designed to exclude their voices.[1]

So the question arises as to whether the Democrats, more properly called neoliberals, can in fact win without the poor and the progressives. It didn’t work in 2016 and there’s reason to suspect it won’t in 2020:

There is a new blog post entitled, “A constitutional oligarchy: Deconstructing Federalist No. 10.”

Kanishk Tharoor, “The Exclusivity Economy,” review of The Velvet Rope Economy: How Inequality Became Big Business by Nelson D. Schwartz, New Republic, April 21, 2020, https://newrepublic.com/article/157153/velvet-rope-economy-book-review-rich-exclusivity-hides-inequality

Pandemic

  1. [1]David Benfell, “A constitutional oligarchy: Deconstructing Federalist No. 10,” Not Housebroken, April 22, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/04/22/a-constitutional-oligarchy-deconstructing-federalist-no-10/↩

Why are cops still like this?

benfell

Racism

So driving for Lyft, I’m suddenly covering an area a lot lately that’s been a bit off the beaten path for me in the past. I picked up a man going on a pizza run. He wanted to add a stop and discovered the Lyft app wouldn’t let him; this was already a round trip, which takes a stop, in this case at the pizza shop, and a final destination, in this case back home, and that’s all the Lyft app allows. In the past I’ve seen that there’s a way around this, but as he explained he just wanted to stop at a gas station, I suggested one right in front of us.

That suited him, but as I pulled into a parking space, it was right next to a police car, a K-9 unit. My passenger was Black, so I was rather concerned. He said dogs don’t bother him.

When he returned, I explained the story of the K-9 unit I’d seen a few months ago, with the dog barking uncontrollably at a Black man walking across a parking lot.[1] He chuckled when I mentioned the name of the municipality, so I guess maybe that particular police department really is notorious.

It’s a sad thing when I tell this story, because Blacks all recognize it. Even if they’re into “respectability” and defending cops, I think either they or someone they know—in a very close-knit community—has had an experience like that.

He responded by telling me that there are a couple cops out where we were going that if you don’t somehow work with them, being a first responder or a volunteer who works with first responders, “they look at you different.” It happens he volunteers with an organization and works with first responders all the time, and he noticed the difference when they learned that.

This is the 21st century for crying out loud. Why are cops still like this?

Pandemic

take-back-control-rally-pittsbur (8)
Fig. 1. I never knew First Amendment rights extended to communicable diseases. Photograph by Jared Wickerham for the Pittsburgh City Paper, published April 20, 2020,[2] fair use.

Ryan Deto, “Photos: About 120 protest in Downtown Pittsburgh, calling for Pennsylvania to reopen during coronavirus pandemic,” Pittsburgh City Paper, April 20, 2020, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/photos-about-120-protest-in-downtown-pittsburgh-calling-for-pennsylvania-to-reopen-during-coronavirus-pandemic/Content?oid=17167012

  1. [1]David Benfell, “Hey cops! Do you know what year it is?” Not Housebroken, August 27, 2019, https://disunitedstates.org/2019/08/27/hey-cops-do-you-know-what-year-it-is/↩
  2. [2]Ryan Deto, “Photos: About 120 protest in Downtown Pittsburgh, calling for Pennsylvania to reopen during coronavirus pandemic,” Pittsburgh City Paper, April 20, 2020, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/photos-about-120-protest-in-downtown-pittsburgh-calling-for-pennsylvania-to-reopen-during-coronavirus-pandemic/Content?oid=17167012↩

Confusion kills

benfell

Pandemic

There is a new blog post entitled, “When confusion starts killing people, it is long past time to recognize it for what it is.”

Isaac Stanley-Becker and Tony Romm, “Pro-gun activists using Facebook groups to push anti-quarantine protests,” Washington Post, April 19, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/04/19/pro-gun-activists-using-facebook-groups-push-anti-quarantine-protests/

Jamie Martines And Tom Davidson, “Protesters in Pittsburgh demand Gov. Wolf to reopen businesses amid coronavirus pandemic,” TribLive, April 20, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/protesters-gather-in-pittsburgh-demanding-gov-wolf-reopen-businesses-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/

Ishaan Tharoor, “Trump wants to lift lockdowns. Other countries’ attempts show why the U.S. isn’t ready,” Washington Post, April 21, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/04/21/trump-wants-lift-lockdowns-other-countries-attempts-show-why-us-isnt-ready/

The grip slips

benfell

Pandemic

Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf has set a target end date for the lockdown: May 8.[1] Is such a date consistent with his previously declared criteria?[2] Of course not. We don’t have the testing, let alone a cure or a vaccine. I can’t blame him, but this is a political decision, not one based on medical science. It is what he does because people are blowing off the order anyway and he knows his grip is slipping. On paper, it’s a very limited reopening,[3] but I’m guessing this’ll be a time when the slippery slope is not a fallacy and the capitalist god will get its human sacrifices.[4] Let’s hope I’m wrong.

Andy Sheehan, “Coronavirus In Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Wolf Says State Will Start Gradually Reopening On May 8,” KDKA, April 20, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/04/20/gov-tom-wolf-reopens-pennsylvania-may-8/

Israel

Marcy Oster, “Netanyahu and Gantz sign agreement for ‘national emergency government’ that keeps Netanyahu as prime minister for now,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, April 20, 2020, https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/netanyahu-and-gantz-sign-agreement-for-national-emergency-government-that-keeps-netanyahu-as-prime-minister-for-now

Times of Israel, “After more than yearlong impasse, Netanyahu and Gantz agree to form a government,” April 20, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-gantz-reach-agreement-to-form-national-emergency-government/

  1. [1]Andy Sheehan, “Coronavirus In Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Wolf Says State Will Start Gradually Reopening On May 8,” KDKA, April 20, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/04/20/gov-tom-wolf-reopens-pennsylvania-may-8/↩
  2. [2]Natasha Lindstrom, “Gov. Wolf: No specific date for ending covid-19 shutdown, getting ‘back to life as we once knew it,’” TribLive, April 16, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/gov-wolf-no-specific-date-for-ending-covid-19-shutdown-getting-back-to-life-as-we-once-knew-it/↩
  3. [3]Andy Sheehan, “Coronavirus In Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Wolf Says State Will Start Gradually Reopening On May 8,” KDKA, April 20, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/04/20/gov-tom-wolf-reopens-pennsylvania-may-8/↩
  4. [4]David Benfell, “An impatient capitalist god demands human sacrifice. Now,” Not Housebroken, April 17, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/04/15/an-impatient-capitalist-god-demands-human-sacrifice-now/↩

We are not getting out of this pandemic fast

benfell

Pandemic

Antibody tests, which only might show some immunity to COVID-19,[1] were rushed into production and distribution. Many are unreliable.[2] And I’m guessing it’s going to be real hard to know if you’ve got a reliable one or an unreliable one.

Here the problem is with false positives, where a person is reported to possess antibodies to the novel coronavirus when, in fact, they do not.[3] The problem with the swab test is with false negatives, reporting a person to be clear of COVID-19, when they are not.[4]

This likely directly undermines[5] the study reported by the Guardian that suggested that COVID-19 had infected more people than previously believed.[6]

There’s a real rush here to achieve twin goals of Donald Trump’s reelection[7] and of limiting the number of human sacrifices to the capitalist god.[8] But what we’re seeing is that there are reasons science is often slow and that, to all appearances at least right now, we aren’t getting out of this crisis fast.

Steve Eder, Megan Twohey, and Apoorva Mandavilli, “Antibody Test, Seen as Key to Reopening Country, Does Not Yet Deliver,” New York Times, April 19, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/coronavirus-antibody-tests.html

  1. [1]Christie Aschwanden, “Sorry, Immunity to Covid-19 Won’t Be Like a Superpower,” Wired, April 16, 2020, https://www.wired.com/story/sorry-immunity-to-covid-19-wont-be-like-a-superpower/↩
  2. [2]Steve Eder, Megan Twohey, and Apoorva Mandavilli, “Antibody Test, Seen as Key to Reopening Country, Does Not Yet Deliver,” New York Times, April 19, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/coronavirus-antibody-tests.html↩
  3. [3]Steve Eder, Megan Twohey, and Apoorva Mandavilli, “Antibody Test, Seen as Key to Reopening Country, Does Not Yet Deliver,” New York Times, April 19, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/coronavirus-antibody-tests.html↩
  4. [4]Christopher Weaver, “Questions About Accuracy of Coronavirus Tests Sow Worry,” Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/questions-about-accuracy-of-coronavirus-tests-sow-worry-11585836001↩
  5. [5]Steve Eder, Megan Twohey, and Apoorva Mandavilli, “Antibody Test, Seen as Key to Reopening Country, Does Not Yet Deliver,” New York Times, April 19, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/coronavirus-antibody-tests.html↩
  6. [6]Kari Paul, “Antibody study suggests coronavirus is far more widespread than previously thought,” Guardian, April 17, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/antibody-study-suggests-coronavirus-is-far-more-widespread-than-previously-thought↩
  7. [7]Aaron Blake, “The timeline of Trump’s coronavirus response is increasingly damning,” Washington Post, April 7, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/07/timeline-trumps-coronavirus-response-is-increasingly-damning/; Adam Cancryn and Nancy Cook, “Health officials want Trump to ‘double down, not lighten up’ restrictions,” Politico, March 23, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/23/coronavirus-economy-trump-restart-145222; Matt Zapotosky et al., “Trump administration pushing to reopen much of the U.S. next month,” Washington Post, April 9, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/trump-reopen-us-economy/2020/04/09/10d42b4a-7a7b-11ea-9bee-c5bf9d2e3288_story.html↩
  8. [8]David Benfell, “The capitalist death cult,” Not Housebroken, March 27, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/03/27/the-capitalist-death-cult/; David Benfell, “An impatient capitalist god demands human sacrifice. Now,” Not Housebroken, April 17, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/04/15/an-impatient-capitalist-god-demands-human-sacrifice-now/↩

We have told the poor to do what they cannot do

benfell

Pandemic

There is a a new blog post entitled, “Don’t just say #COVIDIOTS.”

The Washington Post has a story detailing the various reasons for not wearing face masks to try to limit the spread of COVID-19. Some of it really is political, reflecting a level of support for Donald Trump that risks one’s own life and that probably is another reason for defying lockdown orders. But there are other reasons as well.[1]

Marc Fisher, Clarence Williams, and Lori Rozsa, “Will Americans wear masks to prevent coronavirus spread? Politics, history, race and crime factor into tough decision,” Washington Post, April 18, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-masks-america/2020/04/18/bdb16bf2-7a85-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html

Recession

unnamed
Fig. 1. Cartoon by Matt Pritchett of the Telegraph, April 19, 2020, fair use.

Oh, and as people lose their health insurance because they’re losing their jobs,[2] remember that Joe Biden thinks Medicare for All would be an insult to his dead son.[3]

Amy Goldstein, “First, the coronavirus pandemic took their jobs. Then, it wiped out their health insurance,” Washington Post, April 18, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/first-the-coronavirus-pandemic-took-their-jobs-then-it-wiped-out-their-health-insurance/2020/04/18/1c2cb5bc-7d7c-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html

  1. [1]Marc Fisher, Clarence Williams, and Lori Rozsa, “Will Americans wear masks to prevent coronavirus spread? Politics, history, race and crime factor into tough decision,” Washington Post, April 18, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-masks-america/2020/04/18/bdb16bf2-7a85-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html↩
  2. [2]Amy Goldstein, “First, the coronavirus pandemic took their jobs. Then, it wiped out their health insurance,” Washington Post, April 18, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/first-the-coronavirus-pandemic-took-their-jobs-then-it-wiped-out-their-health-insurance/2020/04/18/1c2cb5bc-7d7c-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html↩
  3. [3]Tim Marchman, “Joe Biden: It Would Be an Insult to My Dead Son for Everyone to Have Healthcare,” Vice, August 27, 2019, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb5d7y/joe-biden-medicare-for-all-would-be-an-insult-to-my-dead-son↩

Millions may die even if the lockdown isn’t lifted

benfell

Gratuitous Guns

During the pandemic and still driving for Lyft, I’ve been traveling farther for rides than I have before, putting more mileage on the car.

Yesterday, I made it farther north and east along the Allegheny River than I’d been before on surface streets and noticed yet another gratuitous gun (figure 1).
IMG_20200418_194720
Fig. 1. Gratuitous gun at the Springdale Veterans Association, photograph by author, April 18, 2020.

I had a passenger in my car when I saw it so I didn’t get a chance to take a picture. I got a few more rides before getting one that took me out of the area entirely.

I was wondering when I could get back to take a picture. As it happened, I had a ride out in that area again today, close to my quitting time, so I made it my last trip and returned to take the photograph in figure 1.

From what I have seen this area, it seems to be predominantly white, but not prosperously so. That said, it is only a short ways upstream from Fox Chapel and Oakmont which are both very prosperous towns.

(continues in next section)

Pandemic

I was still hoping to get some grocery shopping done, so I stopped at a Giant Eagle Express, which turns out to be a glorified GetGo convenience store. But as I paid for a flat of bottled water, I had to pull my mask down for the face unlock on my Pixel 4 to work so he could scan the loyalty code and I could pay with Google Pay.

The cashier ribbed me. And he was ribbing. He made it very clear he was in opposition to these measures to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. I was too hungry to respond.

But he’s not alone. Many of my passengers, both Black and white, seem to embrace the conspiracy theories of the far right on COVID-19.[1] Many affirm that the economy needs to keep going, that is, that the capitalist god must be appeased.[2]

The only thing I can see here is that government has completely lost credibility with a large portion of the population around Pittsburgh. These people certainly have no reason to believe they’ll be made whole from the economic shutdown[3] as we plunge into what will likely be a new Great Depression.[4]

I continue to see more and more traffic on the roads, more people out and about. Some are clearly observing social distancing and wearing face masks. Some are not.

We’d best hope that I am wrong and that the restrictions can be lifted soon. Because if they aren’t, I think we’re going to see the consequences of lifting them too soon regardless.

  1. [1]Eric Cortellessa, “US far-right extremists are now calling social distancing a Nazi policy,” Times of Israel, April 17, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-far-right-extremists-are-now-calling-social-distancing-a-nazi-policy/↩
  2. [2]David Benfell, “An impatient capitalist god demands human sacrifice. Now,” Not Housebroken, April 17, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/04/15/an-impatient-capitalist-god-demands-human-sacrifice-now/↩
  3. [3]John Cassidy, “What Would a Proper Coronavirus Stimulus Plan Look Like?” New Yorker, March 14, 2020, https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-would-a-proper-coronavirus-stimulus-plan-look-like; James Hamblin, “What Will You Do If You Start Coughing?” Atlantic, March 11, 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/where-do-you-go-if-you-get-coronavirus/607759/; Michael Hirsh, “Is $2 Trillion Too Little, Too Late?” Foreign Policy, March 25, 2020, https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/24/us-congress-2-trillion-rescue-package-too-little-too-late/; Michael Hudson, “A debt jubilee is the only way to avoid a depression,” Washington Post, March 21, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/21/debt-jubilee-is-only-way-avoid-depression/↩
  4. [4]David Blanchflower, “Pandemic Economics: ‘Much Worse, Very Quickly,” New York Review of Books, March 26, 2020, https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/03/26/pandemic-economics-much-worse-very-quickly/; Justin Lahart, “Great Depression Unemployment Levels Are on Tap,” Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/great-depression-unemployment-levels-are-on-tap-11587053071; Heather Long, “U.S. now has 22 million unemployed as economy sinks toward Depression-like scenario,” Washington Post, April 16, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/16/unemployment-claims-coronavirus/↩

The mirage of ‘herd immunity’

benfell

Pandemic

There is a new blog post entitled, “Don’t bet on ‘herd immunity.’”

Christie Aschwanden, “Sorry, Immunity to Covid-19 Won’t Be Like a Superpower,” Wired, April 16, 2020, https://www.wired.com/story/sorry-immunity-to-covid-19-wont-be-like-a-superpower/

Kari Paul, “Antibody study suggests coronavirus is far more widespread than previously thought,” Guardian, April 17, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/antibody-study-suggests-coronavirus-is-far-more-widespread-than-previously-thought