The Daily Q: You Go First. No, You Go.

I feel like we are sitting on a cliff in the midst of thick fog just daring each other to jump, not knowing if the distance to the ground is two feet or two thousand feet.

In Las Vegas, the mayor happily offered to shove the hotel and casino workers off the cliff to test the vertical drop of Pandemic Precipice. Is it a coincidence that many of those workers are Latina/Latino? I think not.

The non-white among us, including immigrants and refugees are — like older adults — apparently a reasonable price to pay so the rich can stay rich. Consider, if you will, the case of Smithfield Foods as you chow down on that hot dog or crunch through your bacon.

There should be a national voice of reason we can all trust to know how and when to jump safely — and there isn’t. This leaves all of us scrambling to decide when and how to act.

Some are jumping because they were told it is safe — we need to wait 14-days to see where they all landed.

Others — like my Dear Daughter and many more — continue to show up for work because they are considered essential.

We have no idea how a mass exodus from the safety of home will impact essential workers. My daughter and people like her are just part of the social experiment being conducted by those who thumb their noses at science while staying safely isolated as they fret over their bank accounts.

I have an idea. Anyone who votes to open something needs to work there.

If the Missoula School Board wants to open schools again, each School Board member should be in a classroom. I am sure the mayor of Las Vegas can roll dice and clean toilets, and that liberty-loving governor of South Dakota can certainly get down and dirty with the dead hogs.

I suspect if the decision-makers were the ones doing the jumping, we would all sit tight on Pandemic Precipice for a bit longer — at least until the fog lifts.

And the reality that decision-makers are essentially telling our essential workers (including health care professionals!) and some of our most vulnerable populations to jump first says much about the need to stay home — and to vote their amoral asses right out of office as soon as we get the chance.

The Daily Q: An Answer

Asking questions is not actually as easy and straight-forward as it would seem but Sparkle and I finally got the question sorted out…

We posed said question to the Pandemic Canine Pregnancy Test…

…ignoring any labeled disclaimers about validity, accuracy, reliability, and so on. Who needs all that negativity shit in their life right now?! Not me!

We gave it a few good shakes and waited for the answer…

There you go. Now you know as much as I do.

The Daily Q: Uncertainty

I am teaching — remotely — three different courses. I check in with my students regularly, both because I care and because I want to model the importance of tending to self and others when a crisis strikes.

A theme I identified in student check-in responses yesterday was the difficulty associated with uncertainty. Because remote education landed on all of us without a lot of notice or planning, the transition has not been 100% smooth. Totally understandable — even as we are all doing our best.

Students are confused about when classes are ending, when summer session starts, what fees are mandated, how the new grading option works, and so on. I made a list, clarified and validated concerns, and wrote an email to the Provost sharing the student feedback; he responded promptly and kindly.

The nature of life in crisis is uncertainty. We haven’t done this pandemic-thing before. There are so many questions and things we just do not know. How should we act? When will it be safe? Are gloves are a good idea or not?

All the uncertainties add to our stress level, and make us desperate for something solid and sure. The danger is, of course, resolving the anxiety by becoming certain about things that are not actually certain at all.

Sometimes uncertainties can be resolved quickly and easily — like a quick email to the Provost, for example.

But often the best strategy is being still in that space of not knowing, and patiently waiting for the clouds of uncertainty to lift.

They will.

They always do.

We cannot force clarity and certainty when it does not yet exist — we can only pretend that we can.

The Pandemic Canine Pregnancy Test has arrived!

Just make sure your pretending won’t kill you or someone you love — please.

You all matter.