I’m Sick, But I Don’t Have COVID-19

I’ve been feeling sick, but it’s not COVID-19. What I’m sick of are the viruses that have long infected humankind.

I’m sick of racism. 

The family that owns the Chinese restaurant around the corner didn’t create COVID-19. The public health official who was born in Hong Kong, the one who is looking out for your health isn’t conspiring with a foreign government to ruin the economy by making people stay home or kill us all about opening things up too early.

Indigenous people in Canada and Native Americans in the U.S. deserve quality health care. They also deserve clean running water and any other supplies they need to battle this virus (and live healthy lives beyond the pandemic).

I’m sick of us vs. them.

I’m sick of people on both sides of the political polarization making jokes or even serious comments about harm coming to those who support someone they disagree with. 

I’m sick of generalizations based on geography. No, everyone in New York is not the same, just as everyone in Saskatchewan isn’t. Unless you’re saying they’re all human beings who deserve respect and compassion, stop generalizing.

I’m sick of greed.

The stock market goes up and down and up and down over and over again. If a person dies, they don’t get back up. Your business can’t survive if, in the end, there’s a shortage of workers to make the goods you sell and a shortage of people to purchase any goods you can get.

Price gouging in a time of crisis is immoral, and in some times and places, illegal. People who jumped on supplies of hand sanitizer, house-hold cleaners, etc. with the plan to sell them to desperate people for a large profit are appalling. 

I’m sick of lies.

I’m sick of people sharing information online or on television that isn’t true, might even harm others, but fits their narrative. I’m sick of people being more interested in quick answers that are lies or twisted versions of something close to the truth, instead of thoughtful answers that may be difficult to take.

These viruses aren’t new, and this certainly isn’t the first tragic event in history made worse by the flourishing of these viruses.  As we look for real treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, let’s not overlook the need to conquer these viruses as well.