Reflections on Pandemic - Part 2

It's been over a month since my first blog entry on the subject of the Coronavirus. Here in Florida at least, it's the last day of the lockdown. They're ending it prematurely in my estimation. I've been carrying hand sanitizer with me but I haven't really been wearing a face mask much, but I think now is the time to really start to do it. Ministry's new track, "Alert Level", embedded above and released less than a week ago, really illustrates my feelings at the moment. Doom and gloom. We haven't even seen the worst of it. That's the feeling that I get. The leadership of the US cares more about money than people. This has always been the case. Therefore they're making decisions based on what is most profitable.

 Anyway, here's an update on things.

I'm not sick, and none of my family and friends are sick either. That's what I'm most grateful for. I used my stimulus check to pay off my credit card and get out of at least some of my debt, which is a load off my shoulders. Yes we have cabin fever, but I've almost just gotten used to it by now. I can live without restaurants and such. I know a lot of people have suffered during the pandemic, but I myself been extremely fortunate. So far, anyway.

Due to the fact that everyone is being affected in one way or another (although your experience depends highly on what social class you find yourself in; whether you're an "essential hostage worker" risking life and limb for a paycheck and health insurance, or spending the quarantine on a yacht), I don't know that I have anything special to say about the pandemic that isn't common knowledge, really. I'll simply just say where I stand on it. The lockdown measures have been fair, at least as far as people have been obeying them. I could go into the hilarious and contradictory conspiracy theories being cooked up about it, which seems far more prevalent in the United States than elsewhere, but enough people are talking about that. I'm choosing to trust the scientists; not the right wing nutjobs, not the billionaire CEOs who want their mindless robots to get back to work, and not the politician sock puppets of the rich. Just the scientists. I also plan on supporting the workers on strike at Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart and Trader Joe's starting on May 1st by boycotting those companies.

You can probably tell where I am on the political compass by my stances. Let's just agree to disagree if you don't like where I stand, please. Anyway, here's some interesting articles and videos from somewhat outside the mainstream that you may have missed, and I would recommend checking out.

Articles, Videos and Links of Interest

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/live-concerts-and-festivals-may-not-come-back-until-fall-2021

Expert predicts no concerts until fall 2021. Damn, I'm pretty glad I went to that Mortiis concert earlier this year. Now's a good time to support the bands you enjoy and pay for the music you listen to, because concerts are really the main source of income for a lot of them. No one really makes money off the actual music anymore.

https://oc-media.org/in_pictures/in-pictures-life-under-guarantine-in-gyumri/
What's life been like in the Armenian city of Gyumri during the quarantine? This article will go into it. If you're reading this blog chances are you may be Armenian yourself, but if not, this could be a chance to read some international news that doesn't get reported at all in the United States.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juoI0TQ_dC8
CivilNet covers Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day 2020, which for the first time had to be commemorated remotely. It was still very tastefully done. The monument at Tsitsernakaberd was lit up with the names of victims and survivors of the genocide, there were live streamed concerts. I mean living where I do, with little to no Armenian community around me, this is how I commemorate the day anyway, usually.

https://www.facebook.com/helloagainbooks/posts/214331000004865?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCQRsMKf8JOaREqv9QrT2yhw457cJorOAYRktncIzhFbQQKrzpKtJ9x_NmwASnTZKwb2CCOiSrV8U8LmXiceTYHaWtPJrAqhcPKNH06zSLXPpc4ArKQRcmmzOqOflK8D8dR3Hy6gHKSuddVpz02EoeaZKHNeWI10vF9zxtAHt6gwegdXTXo8U5Sl2UqePwJPo-DJwlrgcifJDnoQmgy60KUg-bhDHu_mjpfFWfMTIEMIUnK3_9v5jTcjRb3R0Soz16LiTZ6lNIAK-FTd22WvCLYBJFP66yuFIZ46nvVoYlWSnzop8QuTCBskYKA6UYq7uSUrRZ8NnzUbUx2y7w&__tn__=K-R

Okay, that is a monstrous URL, I know. But you may remember in my last post on this topic I spoke about a struggling independent book store in Cocoa, Florida called Hello Again books. They almost got evicted by their landlord for not paying their rent due to having to close their doors. Thankfully some wealthy benefactors chipped in and saved the store. This is their post on Facebook about the whole thing. A feel-good story, sure. But the real story here is that all the huge corporations have gotten bailouts, profits have skyrocketed for the wealthiest in society, and the government literally conjured over a trillion imaginary dollars out of nowhere to try and save the stock market, while regular people are left to suffer; at the very least tossed some bread crumbs in the form of a stimulus check, the bare minimum to keep people from rioting. Money isn't real. People need to wake up and realize it's not some finite resource. It's made-up numbers. Other countries are doing rent-freezes, but not the good ol' US. This story should make you angry, not warm your heart. Again, if you disagree with me, that's fine, whatever. 

https://www.facebook.com/RavensAndRockers/photos/a.242170202570500/2861143890673105/?type=3&theater

Here's another small business that's suffering. Ravens & Rockers, a gothic clothing store in Tampa, FL. Much like Hello Again Books, they're barely hanging on, they didn't qualify for any of the small business assistance or any of that. They're selling things through eBay, so if you're into that sort of thing, go ahead and help them out. You can also buy a gift card to be used when they open again, if you're living in the area. I don't live in the area anymore but I've been to this place before.