You're probably as tired of hearing the advisories and doomsday sentiments as I am. You've already heard to wash your hands thoroughly, avoid large groups, and stay at home if you're sick. Things kind of suck right now, but you already know that. We'll flatten the curve and eventually be okay as long as we're diligent.
The reason why I felt the need to write something is because we could always use a reminder to be good to one another. I'm fortunate to live in a small community, and that we're generally all good neighbors to one another, but I know a lot of people are islands unto themselves in larger cities, especially with quarantines and social distancing in place. Message your friends to catch up. Wave to your neighbors. Call your loved ones. Don't be a dick to store clerks and other patrons when you're stocking up on food. Knock it off with the coughing "jokes" when you're in public spaces. Be kind. Be considerate.
More than all that: don't be a fucking racist. The response toward people of Asian descent has been far from graceful or productive. It's shaping up to be the same sort of finger pointing and fear mongering that spawned toward Muslims after the 2001 WTC attacks, the LGBT community during the 80s AIDS epidemic, and the Japanese in the 40s after Pearl Harbor. Being a good neighbor extends across national borders, not just across the street. Calling COVID-19 "The Chinese Virus" isn't helping anyone; if anything it's opening Asian communities to acts of aggression from already emboldened white supremacists. We already know where and how the disease started. Let's focus on how to fix it and not on pointing fingers or committing microaggressions in the form of jokes.
I know I'm just a relatively healthy 30-something-year-old white dude from the middle of nowhere, and I know listening to this hippie "peace and love" bullshit doesn't seem that important, but doing what we can as a global community to unify is how we'll best weather the scary and uncertain times we're currently in.
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay informed, don't be a dick, and don't be a fucking racist, for now and forever.
