Week Eight

Two months down, time is flying by and crawling at the same time, which I guess is probably normal for life in a crisis? I don't know, I've never lived in one like this before.

I've made the decision to isolate, I'll finish this work week and then do the staying at home thing. I am reasonably confident that my interpretation of the rules will allow me to get unemployment under the terms of the stimulus bill. But either way my finances can handle losing a few weeks to a month of income so what the hell.

The ideal, if anything can be said to be that these days, result is for me to get through most of the summer while staying in my house. I'd like to make a trip to see some friends after that, then return to work in the fall. My boss assures me I will have a job when I come back, we'll see how true that ends up being but I am pretty confident of being able to deliver pizza for anyone if it comes down to it.

As I have mentioned before I've been having a hard time thinking of my job as essential, I've also been struggling with the fact that compared to grocery store workers or health professionals I am relatively safe and maybe shouldn't worry so damn much. But fuck, I may as well take another potential disease vector off of the road, it isn't like I am being paid more to be essential.

One of my co-workers scoffed at the idea of hazard pay, saying that hazard pay should only be given to people like soldiers in combat. Now I am not saying soldiers and nurses and what have you don't deserve hazard pay when their jobs become more dangerous than they expected. But you know the difference between a pizza delivery driver and soldier or nurse? No part of my job description included putting my life in danger, if you enlist in the military you generally expect a level of danger what with all the, you know, guns and shit. And hospital workers know that diseases happen better than most. A pandemic is outside of their expectations for sure, but I would argue that it is more outside of mine. So I'll stay home as long as I can afford it. That co-worker is a tool anyway.

There are very vocal people in favor of reopening the country, and we are seeing restrictions being loosened all over, this is a mistake and will cost more lives in the long run, but the global financial system is not built on planning for the long run, it's teetering on the edge right now and without systemic changes will collapse if the crisis grows or stays the same for very much longer. The results of that will maybe not be obvious right away, but it is almost certain to happen. Since systemic changes that make wealth work for the average person are anathema to the rich, reopening is the only options they will consider and make no mistake, the most vocal proponents of reopening are the rich, the much hyped protests are largely astroturfed and many of those protesters aren't delivery drivers cashiers, or retail employees, they are landowners and management who want things to go back to normal before we realize we neither need them or even can afford their existence anymore. Many of them aren't thinking like that of course, they just want a fucking hair cut, but their reaction is based in fear and an instinctive realization that they shouldn't be necessary.

It's also Mother's Day, I hope all of you have a good one if that is your thing, and a good regular Sunday if not. Keep taking care of each other.