Fear Mongering

 When I worked as a meteorologist, I noticed certain meteorologists really liked snow so whenever there was even the smallest possibility of snow, they would forecast it. I called those meteorologists snow mongers. They gravitated toward the outcome they wanted. 

In the years prior to the recent pandemic I learned a number of things. I learned not to trust politicians for obvious reasons.  The Jerry Sandusky incident and subsequent slander of Joe Paterno by the media taught me to not trust the media. They don’t report just the facts and let viewers or readers formulate their own opinions, they report the facts they want you to hear and the opinions to accompany those facts.  I also learned not to trust most businesses.  The primary aim of a business is to make money not to help the public. Pharmaceutical companies are a prime example of this given the significant number of lawsuits against them. 

Enter a pandemic and the primary entities calling the shots are politicians, the media and the pharmaceutical companies. The media is spreading fear to get more viewers/readers, the politicians are falling for it and the pharmaceutical companies are profiting from that fear possibly at the cost of our future health and safety. 

I find myself wondering why so many people are not reading the scientific, peer reviewed studies that are being published that are disputing a lot of the “facts” being spread. Censorship is the answer. If someone tries to talk about one of these studies that is against the popular opinion, it gets removed from most social media platforms.  I didn’t want to believe it was true but I’ve seen it happen myself. A little 1984 with a twist of Fahrenheit 451 anyone?

Why are we as a society not fighting this?  Many people just don’t know this is happening or don’t want to hear about it.  The media, government and drug companies are turning us against each other by fear mongering. Our brains are being hard wired to shame and not show kindness. To blindly believe and not question.  Only when we start listening to both sides can we develop an opinion of our own and start sowing kindness and understanding. But that takes courage and in this age of fear mongering courage is in short supply. 

When will we as a society develop the courage to overcome our fear and listen to one another with open minds?  That is how we are going to beat this pandemic, not by getting a shot every 6 months. 

I Like Banned Books and I Cannot Lie

 There have been lots of reports of fights over books in schools this past year. Whether it’s Dr. Seuss or school districts in Texas or Pennsylvania, the goal is the same. Censorship. Censorship is something I feel very strongly about.  So much so that I wrote a paper about it. When we ban books, we are denying free speech.  But beyond that we are also denying ourselves and our children of an opportunity to not only learn about things that we don’t have direct experience with but also the opportunity to talk about these things. 

Two books that I have learned the most from are on the list of books that are the most challenged.  The Hate U Give and All American Boys. I am a middle-aged white woman, therefore, I see the world through the eyes of a middle-aged white woman. Books can give me a glimpse through a window into a world I don’t understand because I don’t experience the world in that manner. For example, before I read The Hate U Give, I assumed that if you sold drugs you were a criminal and therefore a bad person. I never stopped to think about why someone might be selling drugs. While there are some who chose to do that, there are others who are in such a state of desperation that they feel they have no choice. For example, a character in the book lived with his grandmother who lost her job in a hospital because she had cancer and could no longer perform all aspects of her job. So, the character, a high schooler, had to support his family and make sure his grandmother could get the care she needed. He worked in a supermarket but with that job he could afford to feed his family or keep the electricity on. Selling drugs, he could afford both. 

If you are not faced with a scenario like this, you can’t understand it.  I’m not saying even now that I understand what that level of desperation is like but at least through The Hate U Give, I got a glimpse into that world and can see that there are lots of gray areas and empathy is needed in these situations. They aren’t as cut and dry as I originally thought.  If this book is banned, how will anyone ever learn that lesson?  

In honor of banned books week this week, I will close with a quote from Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. from his report on the case U.S. v. Schwimmer in 1928.  He wrote, “If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought - not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.”  This philosophy is something that we should keep in mind now as unpopular opinions, points of view, books and even scientific studies are being censored.  Nothing can do more harm to our society than censorship.  

An Invisible Thread

 Another book talk today. This time I’ll be discussing An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff. 

This is a non-fiction book, about a business woman in New York City developing a friendship with a disadvantaged pre teen begging for money on the street.  Maybe it is because I’m from New York and was growing up there at the same time this story was unfolding but it really hit home for me.  Many times walking in New York I have seen the people begging for money and just walked past them as Laura initially did.  The difference is that Laura stopped.  She turned around and she offered to take young Maurice to dinner.  

Maurice would later say that that one action saved his life but Laura would say it saved her life as well.  This book follows the friendship of Laura and Maurice across decades.  It delves into the heart and soul of what it was like growing up in New York City with drug addict parents.  The book also talks about Laura growing up on Long Island with an abusive father.  

At the heart, this book is about families.  The ones you are born into and the ones you make for yourself.  This is not just a feel-good book although there are plenty of those moments in the book.  This book tackles not only surviving family situations but situations that could damage the friendship of Laura and Maurice.  It is a stark look at reality and how we can use our differences to either divide or unite us.

Book Talk

 I need to start practicing my book talks so I’m going to use this forum to discuss books that I’ve read. I just finished reading Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. I’ll start by saying this book was not at all what I expected.  The premise of the book that I went in with is that a babysitter is accused of kidnapping while on the job at a grocery store. That happens in the beginning but that starts a chain reaction pitting two old flames against each with the babysitter stuck in the middle. 

Emira is out celebrating her friend’s birthday when she gets a call from her boss, Mrs. Chamberlain asking her if she could take her daughter, Briar out for a little while.  Emira takes Briar to a grocery store around the corner to hang out for a little bit.  While they are there, a customer alerts a security guard that something may not be right.  You see Emira is black and is dressed for a night out with friends and Briar is white and from an affluent neighborhood.  The security guard harasses Emira while another customer records the scene on his phone.  Emira is eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.  

A few days later, Emira encounters the customer who recorded the event, Kelley, on a train.  Maybe I read too many thrillers but I kept thinking in the back of my mind that this was not a chance encounter.  

As it turns out, Kelley and Mrs. Chamberlain (Alix) have issues with each other from the past.  When Emira and Kelley start dating, that starts a tug of war between the old flames over Emira.

This was not at all what I expected.  I kept expecting a more sinister plot twist.  In the end it is just two misguided adults trying to influence a young woman on their way of thinking.  Maybe if the characters were more likable I would have been more emotionally invested but after the grocery store scene the rest of the book seemed to fizzle out for me.  I found it realistic and I was sad to realize that it is realistic but the book itself climaxed in the early pages.

E-M-P-A-T-H-Y

 See that word in the title. I want you to sing it, Aretha Franklin style. That word right there has been something that has been severely lacking, at least in my corner of the world for almost two years now and it is really starting to grate on my nerves. Mostly because of the hypocrisy of most people which is a pet peeve of mine.  Last month I talked about shaming and this is a facet of that. Mostly I talked about shaming of people who did not get the vaccine but this can apply to many things, for example mask wearing or lack thereof is quickly making it’s way back to the shaming forefront. 

As part of my training for heading back to school last week, I watched a video on showing empathy. The video showed a bunch of people, mostly in a school setting with captions such as, “Worked 2 jobs before school today to help my family” or “Couldn’t wait to get to school to have breakfast because there is no food at home.”  The video was all about how you don’t know what is going on in someone’s life so show empathy as your first reaction.  Easier said than done, especially now when public shaming seems to be the first reaction. 

I had a conversation with someone this past week about the vaccine and why there may be a legitimate reason why someone doesn’t get the vaccine. Before I even finished speaking the reaction of the other person was, “prove it!”  This person is a loving, caring individual who I have witnessed many times going above and beyond to help a person in need. That reaction caught me completely off guard.  

I saw a post on social media this weekend stressing the importance of wearing masks to save lives. The post went on to say that even if we find that it doesn’t save lives at the most wearing the mask is just uncomfortable so wear the mask and stop complaining. I can’t disagree more with this sentiment. For some people out there wearing a mask poses more of a risk to them than making them uncomfortable. I myself, am asthmatic. I wore the mask when I was required to do so, including all day at work last school year. By the time the spring rolled around my asthma was so bad I was hardly sleeping at night. I went from having a few attacks a month to 10-20 per day!  My medical doctor concluded that as long as I was wearing a mask my asthma was going to continue to get worse. She petitioned my job to allow me to wear a face shield instead of a mask and within weeks I saw a noticeable difference in my breathing. I will continue to wear a face shield at work this school year instead of the required mask. In 3 days back at school I have had 3 people make commentary about my lack of mask. I just say I have a medical excuse approved by HR and they grumble but go away. I and anyone in a situation like me don’t owe anyone an explanation. We need to show each other empathy. Things aren’t always cut and dry for everyone and shaming should not be the first tool in our toolbox. 

The pandemic has gone on for a long time. I understand that people are scared.  People are getting really sick and people are dying. That is scary. But I would argue that the pandemic has done more damage socially and emotionally than it has physically. Of course my heart goes out to anyone that has watched a loved one suffer or lost a loved one but how many others have we lost from our lives because of our behavior?  The pandemic has pitted us against each other. At a time when we need each other the most, the pandemic has been tearing us apart. We can only get through this together and to do that the first thing we need is…(sing it with me) E-M-P-A-T-H-Y.  Thank you Aretha. :)

I’m Back!

 About 5 years ago I was working out one day, working on my legs and I noticed that my right knee started to hurt. I backed off, iced, rested, it continued to hurt. After a few weeks I sought medical advice.  MRIs, X-Rays, specialists, physical therapy for years followed. Nobody could tell me what was wrong with my knee aside from the fact that my patella moved diagonally instead of up and down and that motion had eroded the cartilage and bone in some areas. As a result my patella had a tendency to get out of joint and would hurt until it snapped itself back into joint and the cycle would repeat itself.  I was told bike riding, the stair master and everything else that required repetitive knee motions were off limits and I’d probably never do them again. I was specifically told no kickboxing. I was also asked when I first noticed the pain and it was when I was squatting with 35 lb dumbbells. I was told to not do that ever again.  Up to that point kickboxing was a staple in my fitness arsenal and how could I skip leg day?

I stopped kickboxing but I didn’t skip leg day.  Instead I started out doing leg day with no weights.  Just body weight.  It hurt at first. But over time it stopped hurting and when it consistently stopped hurting I added weight. It was a slow process and I had setbacks. There were times I’d be off of leg day for weeks at a time or down in weight or back to no weight.  Slowly but surely I was able to add weight.  I also added kickboxing back into the mix. Not every day, just once or twice a week but it’s something. Some days it isn’t pretty. I can’t do the basic leg turning motion because of the way my patella moves but I adjust the moves for me. Any movement is better than no movement. 

 My knee still hurts some days but that’s just part of the process and along the way I got stronger.  I built strength in areas of my body that weren’t my legs.  I also gained weight which sent me on cycles of eating less. But, that never worked because you can’t do more with less.  I learned the hard way. Last week I was listening to a podcast and it stated that when you grow muscle you will gain weight because muscle weighs more than fat. The light went on. I’ve been building muscle so of course the number on the scale will go up.  I’m done with dieting. I’m going to fuel my body with nutritious foods that it needs but also eat foods that make my body feel good. Screw the scale!

Last week I finished up an 8 week program and I finished strong. On leg day guess who was squatting with 35 lb dumbbells?  That’s right, this girl!  It was a long road but I made it back. What’s next?  I’ve already started a 9 week program that will help me continue to build strength. Will my knee hurt again at some point?  Guaranteed. But the key is to keep moving forward, no matter what that looks like. 

Science or Shaming?

 I’ve seen this image popping up on social media many times this week. As a retired meteorologist, I have a huge dose of respect for science.  I have taken many science classes and lived in a world where not only was I expected to be 100% accurate in an inexact science but I was also expected to be an expert in geology, astronomy, seismology, etc.  I believe in science but I also know what happens to science and good scientists when the almighty dollar becomes involved.  I’ve seen it firsthand. As a matter of fact that is why I left the meteorology field. I was told to put the facts of science aside to protect the reputation of the company I worked for. In other words lie or find another job. I found another job. I realize some people don’t have that luxury and I know I am lucky I did. That is why I am sure that there are outstanding scientists out there every day being put in precarious positions for the sake of money.

 Maybe I’m jaded but let’s consider the pharmaceutical companies for a minute. Anyone who knows me knows that I have been railing the pharmaceutical companies for years. I’ve also been calling for a complete overhaul of our healthcare system. There is absolutely no reason that healthcare and prescription drugs cost as much as they do. Nobody should go into debt, lose everything they own or die because they can’t afford their healthcare bills. It is preposterous!  Yet it happens every day. Our politicians have the ability to do something about it so why haven’t they?  Back to the Benjamins again. The pharmaceutical companies and healthcare conglomerates line their pockets so they remain mum while our citizens are DYING!  

Enter COVID.  If you listened hard enough you could almost hear the pharmaceutical companies licking their chops.  They spent money, which was provided to them by the government (you and I, the taxpayers) to find vaccines which were then rushed through the testing process (usually this takes years and in some cases decades) and everyone was encouraged to get vaccinated. Many people even told me that there was no reason not to get vaccinated because the vaccines are free!  Let’s think about that for a minute. Do you honestly think that the same companies that would cause citizens to lose everything they own to pay for the prescriptions that are keeping them alive would give all of us the vaccine for free???  I highly doubt it. The government is paying them for the vaccines which means that once again we are all paying for the vaccines.  So not only did we provide them with the funding to research and make the vaccines but then we bought the vaccines that we already paid for back from them. Business is booming in pharmaceutical land!

Now let’s talk about testing.  According to www.health.ny.gov most vaccines require 10-15 years of research and testing before they are made available to the general public. The polio vaccine took 50 years!!!!!  50 years. Let that sink in for a minute. According to biospace.com the fastest vaccine developed was for mumps and that took 4 years.  Think about how quickly the COVID vaccines were developed, tested and made available.  I’m not being a conspiracy theorist, I’m being a scientist and telling you to look at the scientific facts. Hopefully the vaccines are safe but do you have questions about that?  Was the scientific model followed?  I understand the necessity of a fast solution in this instance but you have to ask yourself, was this science or business or politics?  

This brings me to my last problem with this image. Now that we’ve established the science I can’t help but wonder is this image a rallying call for science, a go science if you will or a means of shaming?  I tend to think it’s the latter.  Despite the constant stream of propaganda (whether you agree with it or not that is what it is) the vaccination rate for COVID has slowed or even stalled altogether.  So now as a society we have resorted to shaming people into getting a vaccine.  The true irony here is that the people doing the shaming are mostly the people who criticize others for shaming yet here they are doing what they fervently chastise others for doing. If there is one thing I can’t stand it is a hypocrite. I know you think you are doing what is best for society as a whole but stop. There may be a very good reason why someone decides not to get the vaccine and science may or may not have anything to do with it. 

For those who don’t believe me according to britannica.com the definition of

propaganda is, “the dissemination of information - FACTS, arguments, rumors, half-truths or lies - to influence public opinion.”  Food for thought.