I've lived through some pretty scary shit. I was in Thailand during the 2014 military coup--and the only way I noticed it in the month I spent in Bangkok were the signs scattered throughout the city that said, "Don't worry. It's safe. Elections are coming." Note that these signs were all in English. There were no such calming signs for the locals. And, unless I'm mistaken, elections still have yet to come (Hail Sataninternet, I just discovered they did finally have elections last year). Fun fact before we leave Thailand: I was glared into obeisance to the emperor at the first movie I went to see (that excellent Tom Cruise flick where he kept dying over and over again) when, during the previews, they played what was basically an advertisement for the monarch. As soon as it started, everyone stood up. I had no clue what was going on. Stirring music played over bucolic scenes of his most serene majesty's majestic childhood. I was moved. And then, as I say, glared into standing along with everyone else. Luckily, I was thus prepared at the other two flicks I caught while in Bangkok.
Not even two months later, I found myself in Lesotho during the whatever-THAT-was coup. One week into the job and I was tasked with first consolidating all the volunteers in country to six different gathering points, and then shipping them, en masse, just across the border into RSA where they spent about a month (deja vu) semi-sequestered away at this quasi-resort about 30 minutes outside of Bloemfontein. I was allowed to stay in country, but the new Dir. of Programming was being kept in Johannesburg--although her cats continued on their merry way and had to be cared for by the outgoing Dir. of Programming, who was also Acting Country Director because ours had gone home on home leave squarely in between the time I arrived and the time of the coup. No Americans in country were allowed to be out on the street after dark. Local Peace Corps staff pointed out to me the hills we could see from our office where Kamodi (the military leader) was camped out. It was pretty crazy.
In both of those instances, history nerd that I am, rather than being put out by the goings on, or scared, I was actually grooving on being involved in a historical moment. Years from now, assuming the human race makes it that much longer, I'll be able to jab my gnarled finger at a computer screen and screech at the poor volunteer visiting me and spooning me soup, "Google Lesotho coup of 2014! I was there! Now Google Thai coup of 2014! I want some Thai food! I'm old!"
And now I can add Coronvirus to my list of lived-through historical moments. And while, on the one hand, it loses some luster to some of my other big history moments in regards to the number of people actually firsthand witnessing said event, it definitely trumps (pun initially not intended, but then deliberately left in place) those other events in sheer.....sheer.....I don't even have the words.
I wanted to get this into the ether to test a theory. I think we're all going to be fine, in the grand scheme of things, and of course with many, MANY exceptions, but if we're all still honestly hunkered down by the last week of April, I just see lots of indeterminate bad stuff happening. Like, really bad. Call it my history spidey senses tingling. I mean, people are making death threats against Dr. Fauci. Seriously. So I feel strongly that, whatever it is that happens, it will have been as a direct result of the COMPLETE abandonment of any sort of leadership from the Executive branch. I can't even type that monster's name (outside of the pun), I am so agog at the mishandling. There has GOT to be a civil suit - maybe even class action - sitting in the wings against this POS for directly contributing to the loss of life.
Am I right? I SAID, am I right?
