Loss

CoVid19, for whatever school of thought you belong to on the topic, has played a huge part in exposing a topic that really needed to be addressed for a very long time. Mental health. 15 days to stop the spread has turned in to nearly two years of complete disruption of normal life for most of us worldwide. We can't ignore the toll on people's mental health when they're forced to stay indoors, isolate themselves, and then slowly return to a world that is simply different than the world we left. To me, the difference is subtle. Really, day to day life here is pretty much the same, except for the mask mandates. People are really on edge about mask wearing, and without sparking a debate, I think it's safe to say that wearing (or not wearing) a mask has become a political statement all of its own. People feel strongly either way you see masks. Just last week, I was at an antique mall a few miles from my house, and my husband and I forgot our masks in the car. Honest mistake, and I normally carry extras in my purse. I admit, I'm not convinced masks do anything, I've had Covid twice now- and I was pretty diligent with the mask wearing initially. But instead of asking us to put our masks on, or even telling us we couldn't be inside without a mask- the woman who decided to confront us physically assaulted my husband and wouldn't let him come find me and our small child. She wanted him to call me from the parking lot. Her barrage of insults and physicality increased when she came face to face, no kidding- 6" from my face- calling us assholes and threatening me and my 5 year old son. We of course left- but not before explaining to her that our masks were in the car and simply reminding us to get them would have been enough to get an apology from us, and we'd of course put them on. Instead, she continued on that our kind wasn't welcome there- and started pushing her body against my son, who was in turn pushing himself into me in fear. I told her that I'd be forced to get physical if she didn't get away from my child, (all of this while we were walking to the exit anyway) and to back off immediately. She told me she was sorry my son had to deal with a cunt asshole of a mother like me- and he "really hoped he didn't die from Covid". (her tone was mocking, and just absolutely cruel- especially if she knew I have had a child that passed away) And when we got to the parking lot, she locked the door behind us- locking a family friend inside with her- and several other customers. Apparently, this woman interpreted our non-masked faces as the faces of "fucking Trump supporters" and "those fuckers aren't allowed in my business, we don't need their money". To her surprise, another customer put down her stuff and told her that she heard the whole exchange, and the only person that mentioned anything political was this woman. This customer left, and approached us in the parking lot- appalled that the issue continued after we had already left the business and told us the rest of the story. It's gross, and I know that outbursts and violence on both sides of the mask argument have taken place- and both sides are wrong. It's just not necessary to assault anyone verbally or physically. If you're that worried about a virus, getting in an unmasked face to yell about it probably isn't the most effective way to not get sick. But I think it speaks to a bigger issue than this pandemic. People aren't right lately. They've been scared, locked down, alone, and essentially weaponized. It really doesn't matter how you feel about the virus or the mandates. If you're worried about people- you probably don't go assaulting them, right? Mental health is a real issue right now. People are in crisis and at risk of sounding extremely callous right now- they're losing their minds. Tempers are flaring, fuses are short, and people are lashing out on each other. I see post after post about the virus on Facebook- either "stop the spread, get the vaccine, care about people" or "the vaccine doesn't work, this is bullshit, stand up for your rights" and the common thread between them both is blatant indecency. "Have YOU lost someone to the virus?" or "Have YOU lost someone to complications from the vaccine?" The answer for me is no. But I've lost two people in two months to suicide. And I don't think I can act like it's just a coincidence anymore. I'm asking you all to please step away from your political beliefs for a moment. Democrat. Republican. Your religion. Christian, Muslim, Atheist. Your opinions. Your science. At the end of all of this- we're fighting over SAVING PEOPLE'S lives. Why should wearing a mask mean so much to some of you when you're wishing death on those that refuse? The irony of that isn't lost on me. We're screaming at each other to be more inclusive, more politically correct, respect one another- while we disrespect one another in the same breath. I can't wrap my head around it. And as all of this goes on, and long after it passes, we're going to see more and more people we love ending their lives because they don't know where to turn anymore. In a society where you can't speak to people and haven't been speaking, engaging, hugging, loving for going on two years now- how do we expect to heal? How can we be so concerned about saving lives when we turn around and ignore people that are hurting? How can we be lectured to help save people while wishing those we're lecturing harm? To some extent, we're all going through some form of grief right now. Why are we blinded by that? So I'll ask you- how many people do you know that have either: -attempted to commit suicide -committed suicide or -harmed another person physically during this pandemic- that would have otherwise not have to the best of your knowledge? I have lost two people I loved very deeply in TWO months. And please, this isn't a sympathy chase. This is a wakeup call. People that need help stuck isolated and removed from activities, places, people they love- this isn't a healthy combination. My friends, this is a plea. Please step outside of your politics and spend time loving the people you loved BEFORE the pandemic hit. Reach out to a friend. Go for coffee. Find a safe way to engage people that might be missing a bit of the normalcy they used to have. Care for each other again.

People are dying, and it's not just Corona taking them. We need to think beyond the virus and get back to being a community again.