Everybody has taken sides over the COVID vaccination. To get or not to get.
I have friends who refuse the vaccine. They are educated and sane. They are not religious nuts or in the Big Lie cult. They are not Republicans.
They baffle me.
I mean it’s like throwing a lifeline to a drowning person who refuses to grab it because they don’t like the looks of the person who tossed it or think it might scratch their hands.
We could say: Well, let them drown in their stupidity! But these are friends. I’m guessing you have such friends and kin as well.
Live and let die is not the answer.
This past August, Paula and I flew out to the Northwest to visit family and friends. In California, we were required to wear masks in all public places. Same with Oregon and Washington. And then we crossed into Idaho to visit Paula’s brother and his wife, recent—and vaccinated—immigrants from California.
You won’t need masks here.
Welcome to Idaho. Birthplace of the Aryan Nation!
Sorry. That’s not the state motto.
The state motto is Esto Perpetua (“Let it be perpetual!”). I’m not sure what “it” is, but I guess “it” won’t be changing anytime soon.
In case you didn’t know, Idaho is ranked as one of the least diverse states in the nation. Sure enough, you look around and swear you’re in Sweden.
So I must admit I was surprised when I spied at a distance a bumper sticker that read CELEBRATE DIVERSITY.
How cool is that? At least one Idahoan is speaking out against White supremacy. And where there’s even one, there’s hope. Idaho can change. Idaho will change. Idaho won’t be Republican perpetually.
I got closer and closer to the car and saw that the sticker sported images. Under CELEBRATE DIVERSITY was an array of assault weapons.
Welcome to Idaho. We’re safe here. We’ve got protection.
Esto Perpetua
While walking around Coeur d’Alene, Paula and I came upon a park with hundreds of maskless people, packed together for a concert. They were having a good time. Unsafe. Unprotected.
Two weeks after we returned home, I read the news: Idaho had nearly run out of ICUs.
I could say: Serves them right. Live and let die!
I don’t know what the answer is, but that’s not it.
Let’s keep throwing out the lifeline.
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PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR. Four Seasons Books has sold 98 copies of my book—98—just two short of 100. So close!! After the big launch in June, sales stagnated in August. Twenty books languish on a shelf like abandoned kittens in an animal shelter, hoping and praying someone will claim them. If they’re not claimed by the end of October, they’ll be shipped back to the warehouse and shredded! Don’t you think someone you know would get a kick (and maybe some inspiration) from 80 Dispatches from the Devil’s Domain? Here’s an idea: Give one as a Halloween gift? Order here.
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See Paula’s new photo (“Swept Fields”) on the home page. Posted October 3.
Yes, I have those friends & family & acquaintances too… truly baffling! As a public health nurse administering Covid vaccinations, I keep throwing out that lifeline, so that one by one, we are saving lives – our own, our children, our hospitals & beleaguered healthcare workers and our communities. You can lead a horse to water…choosing life & love over & over again…
I live in Florida, where 1 in 6 residents has contracted COVID. 1 in 6. Our elementary school of about 1,000 children registers 2-4 new cases per day. We have several friends and neighbors who have lost family members. It seems that many people have lost their imagination; until the virus affects someone personally, it’s often not taken seriously or considered a reality. And so many Americans seem blind to the international crisis, which you would think would lend a little objectivity to the perspective, since surely the humanitarian crisis in India has little to do with American Republicans or Democrats. Your point is well taken, however: stupidity is not a fault that should be punishable by death.
I hear you all, agree, and more. There is a “but” in my thinking, though, and it might be because I am feeling grumpy today. With all of the unselfish compassion and protection we offer, having been vaccinated and possessing apparently infinite miles of lifeline, even death is not “punishment enough” to move the unvaccinated. I bear my frustration and incredulity with not a little astonishment.
I have a cousin who married a girl whose family is Mormon. They have 5 children and live in Boise. He mentioned no one in their immediate family chose to get the vaccine. Why, I asked? He told me it was a conspiracy created by the left. I asked him what he thought of the huge numbers of individuals in hospitals across the nation dying or on ventilators fighting for their lives from it. He changed the subject! I just don’t get it!!
Frustrating and sad that there are those close family and friends who refuse the vaccine. Particularly disturbing is the neice who “hasn’t gotten around to getting it” even though she has a 9 year old son! Keep praying and throwing out the lifeline
Yeah, still baffled and I hear lots of reasons why students at SU, friends, and neighbors don’t want the vaccine. We all know the list of reasons.. Sadly, this is mob mentality with too much disinformation from varied sources. We should be done with this mess. Unfortunately, we will continue to mask and take social precautions, read about more unfortunate deaths and continue to counsel our neighbors and friends who are now living with long-haulers covid. Disappointing and frustrating to say the least.
A new piece of the pandemic deniers conspiracy theory says that newly fired hospital workers are whistleblowing on “what is REALLY happening in the hospitals” that say they’re full of COVID patients. I have a close friend, who works as a pharmacy assistant and won’t get vaccinated, who is helping to spread this latest craziness on Facebook. She fervently believes all of the theories. There is no way to reach her. If she or one of her loved ones end up in the hospital with this, she will find a way to explain it to fit the conspiracy line. They – the deniers and anti-vaxxers – have become a national cult. It’s frightening and heartbreaking.