Blog #8 - Madeleine Perko

Normally I have no trouble choosing a topic for these posts and the words come in an overabundance. Today is different. I have been thinking and thinking and thinking for days and for the first time in a while I feel kind of settled.

In an incredible turn of events, I made an unlikely friend: my ex-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend.

With so much swirling in my head, I feel I cannot effectively compose a blog without a concrete question. I need some kind of direction to channel my thoughts.

Now Caitlyn my roommate, will give me a topic (thank you Caitlyn)…

“Talk about the Corona Virus”

Ugh this feels too broad. We have been ranting about Northeastern’s inaction for what feels like weeks but has been in reality a few days. She is on her way out the door and is already late for her class, so I will have to muster up something to address this topic and hope that it will have some kind of structure…

Am I worried about the Corona Virus? Hard to say. I am worried about it for various reasons, not all of which are concerned with health. However, in regards to health, I am worried for people like my grandparents, especially. That said, I also feel that much of the hype is an over reaction and reflects our country’s and our institutions failure to properly formulate a proactive plan. Our biggest threat is not COVID-19, it is our inability to effectively collaborate. Now, this judgement is made without an inside perspective on exactly how much planning or thought has gone into managing the outbreak once it reaches Boston (which was projected months ago to be inevitable). We are stocking up on sanitizers, masks and food, but we seem to have failed to coordinate a powerful and unified approach toward minimizing COVID-19’s affect on societal health and overall functional wellbeing. The resulting frenzy and polarized approach to the virus is laughable…

https://m.tiktok.com/v/6801892500744293638.html?u_code=0&preview_pb=0&language=en&timestamp=1583709400&utm_campaign=client_share&app=musically&utm_medium=ios&tt_from=sms&utm_source=sms

AND ineffective. I believe that both extremes are problematic and that our failure to be unified puts everyone at risk. At the same time each demographics reaction makes sense given their respective risk factors. But again, this type of individualistic thinking is why a virus that does not discriminate will foil our best efforts to protect ourselves. We are too connected to each other to act independently.

I would like to rap up this hodge-podge of incomplete analysis with two of my favorite COVID-19 memes.

As I am about to press the submit button, northeastern has announced online classes. :)