An Imperfect Place
The last “normal" social gathering I experienced before NYC went into lockdown was In Her Own Write, a reading I gave with five other Regal House Authors at KGB Bar on March 8.
Well, somewhat normal. Covid-19 had already infiltrated our awareness and manifested amongst the attendees in three distinct ways: the unconcerned who greeted as they normally would; those already practicing social distancing (though we weren’t calling it that and the distance was only a few inches); and those who fell somewhere in between—huggers and handshakers who either offered abashed comments post-embrace, or fell into habitual shows of physical affection despite an intention not to. I fell into the last category.
We drew a good crowd in KGB’s Red Room, our listeners elbow-to-elbow at the closely situated tables common in a city where space is a premium. In normal times, we’d describe the scene as “cosy” or “intimate,” perfect for a reading. Within our current context, the gathering would result in fines.
The onset of the new normal has been breathtaking (though some medical experts suggest it was far too slow). At the time of our reading, folks were still getting used to avoiding handshakes. By March 22nd the full stay-at-home mandate was in effect. In between, sanitation guidance flooded our newsfeeds, restrictions ratcheted up, and the knowns of Covid-19 shifted and evolved. Certainty about the full resolution of the pandemic remains elusive though these benchmarks have been suggested for reopening the nation.
For today, I choose to trust (most) of our government officials, and more importantly the science guiding them in the tightrope walk between containment and salvaging the economy.
Unfortunately, the risk of human error and miscalculation are inevitable as the scale of this event, and the protean nature of this disease and its symptoms, is unprecedented. And let’s be honest, our collective nervous system has been in hyperdrive for the past four years, quick to outrage, to assume the worst, to operate from defensiveness and suspicion. “Othering” has become our default.
A shaky foundation upon which to combat a national pandemic.
And yet, in NYC and other places, we’ve flattened the curve, an extraordinary display of large-scale human collaboration. Aside from a few small protests, we’ve seen no major acts of civil unrest. The most polarized congress, possibly in U.S. history, has managed to push through legislation to shore up the economy (yes, the first tranche wasn’t perfect, but let’s see how part II pans out). And most folks seem to be heeding the restrictions to protect themselves and their fellow citizens by choice, rather than to avoid fines.
For today, I also choose to believe that though imperfect, most of our elected leaders are responding from a good place, a caring place, though certainly an imperfect place.