The Coronacation Diaries, Episode 26

This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things This is Why We Will Prevail

I always try to believe in the inherent good of humanity: the common thread of human spirit that connects us all. I'm not a naive Pollyanna, but I have to believe that people are generally good, if I'm going to be able to do my job day after day. Jim Casy, one of my all-time favorite characters, said it best: 

"There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do. It's all part of the same thing. And some of the things folks do is nice, and some ain't nice, but that's as far as any man got a right to say."

Photo by Biegun Wschodni on Unsplash

There's a lot of truth in those four simple sentences. Good and evil are all a part of the same thing, maybe even the same force. People do good things and people do bad things, and it's not our job to judge.

But sometimes the assholes are yelling so damn loud that it's hard to remember that people are inherently good. 

I can't get over the backlash against a scared mom who posted on a local Facebook community page, asking people to not burn leaves, because her son has terrible asthma and she can't risk taking him to the hospital right now. Some people posted notices of the burn bans that are in effect in Michigan, pointing out that burning leaves would actually be illegal. But then the backlash started. How dare this mom tell them what they could do in their own backyard? It's a free country. They'd burn their leaves if they wanted to. Maybe she should just move.

I can't get over the people who insist that only certain people (local residents of an acceptable age and income) should be able to pick up food from local schools and that everyone else should just go find a food bank. As various meddling moms said, " It's bullcrap how kids from other school districts collect from that district and then collect from the school they go to" and "the food is NOT for the whole family and NOT for the elderly" and "it should ONLY go to those who are on free- and reduced-lunch."

I can't get over the vitriol against the shelter-in-place order. Certain Facebook groups (that I will not link you to because they are toxic) are raging against the Governor and her Executive Order. How dare SHE violate THEIR FREEDOM? As one particularly rabid man ranted, "Why in the hell should 100% of us lose our freedom to do whatever we want, just to protect 2% of the people who are probably weak anyway?"

Why in the actual hell?

I'll tell you why.

Because it's up to us to save each other. It's up to us to do the right thing and protect everyone around us. Even if they are weak. Especially it they are weak. Even if they are rabid, ranting assholes. Even if they are selfish social media police, trying to make sure that no one takes too many cheese sticks. Even if they insist that their right to burn leaves and go up North to their lake cottage is more important than a kid's life. It's up to us to protect them.

We are not sacrificing a great deal to stay home. Yes, it's frustrating. It's anxiety-inducing. For many people, it's terrifying as they risk losing their jobs, their income, their businesses. But we are going to be okay. The government is acting, but bureaucracy takes a long damn time and our years of social safety net inertia make it hard to get the wheels rolling in the right direction.

In the meantime, the local schools are handing out meals to every student and family who stops by, "eligible" or not. One of my favorite online news writers, the editor of Wonkette, has set up a slush fund through GoFundMe and is handing out cash to those in need. Donors have kicked in almost $58,000 and handed out small cash payments to cover rent, food, bills. Tiny food pantries have popped up next to tiny little libraries, and people are keeping them stocked. Crafters in mid-Michigan, led by Jessy Gregg, owner of Seams Fabric, have sewed 11,000 masks to give away to those in need, even as some of the donated supplies were stolen off Gregg's front porch. 

Because good people will win, dammit. They just will. They will social distance. They will (safely, with hand sanitizer and Lysol) hand out food. They will donate money to strangers. They will sew until their fingers bleed. They will stand up for those in need. 

Some of the things folks do is nice.

And the nice folks doing the nice things: they will donate their time and their energy and their money if and when they can, and they will help us all remember that the assholes are yelling so damn loud only because they are so full of hot air.