Month: May 2020

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Some Thoughts on Getting Tested

Several people I know (including both coworkers and friends) have somehow managed to get tested for COVID-19. The tests have uniformly* come back negative for antibodies, indicting that they were all still quite susceptible to getting infected.

In the early days of the AIDS crisis, I lulled myself into a possibly false sense of security by telling myself the disease was so rare at the time that anyone who got sick in Arizona was going to have their name splashed all over the news…and I knew I'd never be that famous.

As the years passed with no cure in sight, and after seeing so many of my friends and lovers die—some quickly, some excruciatingly slowly—when testing for HIV started becoming readily available I made the conscious decision not to get tested. If I was going to be stricken with this horrific disease, I wanted to be diagnosed and be gone within a matter of days or weeks afterward.

I took some solace in knowing that my own sexual preferences in combination with adhering to safer sex recommendations when I strayed outside that comfort zone were probably keeping me safe, but let's be honest here…there were occasional slip-ups along the way that introduced enough doubt in my mind that when therapies started becoming available and the SF AIDS Foundation finally came out in favor of testing everyone, I marched my ass down to the Health Center and had my blood drawn.

While I'm sure pure dumb luck played a factor in it as much anything else, it was only when my HIV test came back negative that I could finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that what I'd been doing (or rather not doing) all those years to protect myself had actually paid off.

Although direct comparisons can't be drawn between AIDS and COVID-19, other than the US Government—under Republican leadership (surprise, surprise)—ignored the problem for far too long, there are similarities. I'm not rushing out to get tested because honestly, with no cure or vaccine available before the end of the year at the earliest, what difference will knowing actually make? Will it change my current behavior in any way? If I don't have antibodies, I'm still susceptible. If I do, at some point I was exposed, asymptomatic, and got over it. Would that mean that I could go back to my normal existence? Oh hell no. Unlike what happens with most infections, no one can yet say with any certainty that if you have the antibodies to the Corona virus you're immune to reinfection.

I mentioned all this to my colleagues yesterday during a discussion of how and when returning to work will be implemented, and added, "So if we're forced to return to the office prematurely, y'all will have to forgive me because I'm going to continue to mask and glove up until there's a tested vaccine fully in place."

Not surprisingly, everyone was in agreement.

We get it. Why doesn't the government?

*UPDATE 5/15: I learned today from one of my friends—who I just found out was very symptomatic last week—was tested this week and came back positive.

 

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Selfish, ignorant people are going to make this worse. Don't be one of them.

From Wil Wheaton:

A gentle reminder: when we are out in the world, it's incredibly important to maintain a six foot distance from each other. This virus doesn't go away and stop being dangerous, because we walked into a building.

Most of us who are able to quarantine have been doing that, and it's working to flatten the infection curve, to give our doctors and researchers time to find a vaccine and a treatment to reduce the mortality rate of this virus. Most of us aren't sick, and we aren't carriers. That doesn't mean we should act like it when we are in public.

When we're in public, it's our responsibility to behave as if we are infected and we don't want to spread Covid-19 to anyone else.

This means that we keep our distance from each other, even though it feels weird. This means we wear a cloth mask in public, even if it's uncomfortable or whatever bullshit reason selfish people are using right now to justify their choice to ignore a simple and effective way to keep us safe. It means we respect one-way aisles in grocery stores, and we wait in those aisles, six feet apart, instead of pushing past our fellow humans who are shopping.

If the worst thing we have to deal with in a given day is the inconvenience of actively maintaining six feet from our fellow humans, to protect them and ourselves, there's just no real excuse to ignore that, other than laziness and selfishness.

Let's remember that we are in this together, and let's make an effort to care for ourselves and for each other by making the deliberate choice to stay six feet away from each other, wash our hands frequently, wear our cloth masks in public, and never forget that all of us are going through this at the same time, together.

I know you aren't lazy or selfish, but I know there are people in our lives who need a gentle reminder.

This is for them.

This whole thing we are living through is a lot, and it's really understandable to want to get back to normal. The thing is, science and virology don't care about your timetable, and until science and virology have a vaccine for Covid19, this is our reality. Wishing it would go away, and acting accordingly, is only going to make this worse. Refusing to follow medical guidelines, because you're pissed off and frustrated is only going to make this worse. Ignoring medical advice because you're bored and want to go to the beach is only going to make this worse.

Selfish, ignorant people are going to make this worse. Don't be one of them.

Please, please, please be mindful and self-aware. I get that you're stressed and frustrated and low-key scared all the time, and not just about getting sick. So am I. You're worried about our terrible leadership, you're worried about our cratering economy that our terrible leadership is making worse. So am I. You're worried about this pandemic that we can't control at all. Me too. You just want to get in and out of the store or wherever, the faster, the better.

So do I. So do all of us. But let's remember that we are in this together, and let's make an effort to care for ourselves and for each other by making the deliberate choice to stay six feet away from each other, wash our hands frequently, wear our cloth masks in public, and never forget that all of us are going through this at the same time, together. We can choose to be patient and make the best of a terrible situation, or we can selfishly make it worse for everyone, including ourselves.

Please choose to be kind. Please choose to be patient. Please do not be selfish.

Thanks for listening.

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A fourth-grade teacher asked the children what their parents do for a living. All the typical answers came up – mechanic, business, sales, doctor, engineer… and so forth.

However, little Justin was being uncharacteristically quiet, so when the teacher prodded him about his parents, he replied, "My father's an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes to music in front of other men and they put money in his underwear. Sometimes, if the offer is really good, he will go home with some guy and stay with him all night for money."

The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other children to work on some exercises and took little Justin aside."Is that really true about your father?"

"No," the boy said, "He works for the Republican National Committee and is trying to get Trump re-elected, but it's too embarrassing to say that in front of the other kids."

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The More Things Change…

So I stumbled upon my old Facebook archive on an external drive today. Yes, Facebook. It's embarrassing.

But some things were interesting. Like this bit from my "Notes."

You Might Be a Republican If You Believe…

July 29, 2011 at 9:52 am

1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Barack Obama

2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's Daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Viet Nam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority for years was enforcing U.N. resolutions in Iraq.

5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

10. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools. Evolution is a lie, but get a flu shot every year because the virus evolves.

11. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which tens of thousands die and the nation is plunged into debt is solid national policy.

12. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

13. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

14. You support "Executive Privilege" for every Republican ever born, who will be born or who might be born (in perpetuity.)

15. Support hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail.

16. You can vote to raise the debt limit as long as Obama is not President.

17. Officials should allow Christian prayer and Bible studies in schools and government buildings as a matter of Religious Freedom, but Muslims should not be allowed to build mosques or be elected to office because they practice Islam.

18. You have an argument why every one of the above is sensible and not hypocritical, and besides look at all the terrible things the Democrats may have done.