I keep thinking about how, during my author event at
@NCRMuseum
, I learned that I am the first Black woman to author a book about Dr. Kingโs assassination, as well as the first Black person to solely author such a book.
In a way, Iโm glad I didnโt know that before, because /1
Amazing to me that a virus could claim more than 6.3 million lives worldwide in fewer than three years, and we still have people talking about it being overblown
My 14yo and I are sitting out on the deck doing our homework (writers always have homework, I tell him), but I make sure this video *just happens to be playing* when we get started.
He overhears it and gets curious. โIs she crying?โ he asks. 1/
I cancelled my New York Times subscription this morning. I'll miss the recipes. p.s. You don't have to like Biden to dislike a newspaper fawning on a clown who wants to be a dictator.
Imagine saying โpolio is going to get each and every one of us,โor โmeasles is going to get each and every one of us,โ or โLegionnaires disease is going to get each and every one of usโ and realize how this sounds
I wish more people understood that saying โEveryone will get COVIDโ is, among other things, highly ableist. We should not be casting aside the lives and health of medically vulnerable people.
Just picked up one one of my kids from schoolโrunny nose and abdominal pain. Now heโs resting at home as I wait for rapid test results, arrange for PCR, and most important, do my best to isolate him from his 4yo brother who is too young to be vaccinated.
But hey, back to normal
But his vaxxed older brother went to in-person instruction, which seemed like the reasonable thing to do. Like all the students, he wears an N95, but they have to eat. He got sick.
Let me stop before I start crying
I just want to live long enough so that when people look back on this time in history and try to soft-pedal it or make excuses, I can say, โNo, those mfers knew exactly what they were doingโ
The saddest store return Iโve ever had to makeโlight-up sneakers for my kindergartner, because they could reveal a hiding place if there were a school shooter
I was once naive enough to think weโd take COVID (all caps) more seriously once we knew more about all the damage it caused.
But now a terrible reality has come into view. 1/2
Feels like weโre living in Stephen Kingโs The Mist, but instead of sheltering in place, everybodyโs flinging open the doors to the damn supermarket
This was the kid that I unenrolled in school (because they took away the remote option without telling anyone) and began homeschooling for the first time ever.
Because heโs too young to get vaccinated and I didnโt want to take any chancesโฆ
โ[H]ospitals cannot necessarily avoid liability by arguing that patients consent to unmasked care. Many patients cannot voluntarily consent to thisโฆ. Moreoverโฆ courts have generally rejected the argument that patients can consent to medical malpractice.โ
โFIFTEEN staff members in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools District have died from COVID-19 in the past TEN days.โ
[emphasis mine because I am yelling]
Iโm suppressing a rant that I feel in my spirit, but let me just say this: Itโs wrong for adults to pressure kids into partaking in activities that open them up to COVID infection.
"โI got called a nigger 15 times today,โ the veteran officer shouted in the rotunda to no one in particular.... โI cried for about 15 minutes and I just let it out.โโ
This is my maternal grandfather, Nelson.
From the 1940 census:
Occupation: Farmer
House Owned or Rented: Rented
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 4th grade
Class of Worker: Working on own account
Weeks Worked in 1939: 52
Income: 0
Part of the violence of the COVID pandemic is that weโre experiencing more deaths per week than there were during Hurricane Katrina, but the official word seems to be to โget back to normalโ and โdo you.โ
Not even a pause to acknowledge the gravity of this, or to mourn.
Four weeks ago, when my 5yo started school, he was the only person I saw thereโchild or adultโwearing a mask.
Yesterday, I spotted a girl his age bounding through the gate wearing one. Today, I saw another.
My theory: People are more comfortable when they arenโt the only one.
I wear a mask in public because Covid is NOT mild, itโs a dangerous level 3 pathogen, and we are still in an active pandemic. I want masking in public spaces, especially hospitals, so if you agree, show me your mask in comments, copy this and letโs see whoโs out there.
#MaskUpC19
Hereโs how I conceptualize my approach to Covid: I avoid it, as I do
โขSmoking
โขLead paint
โขRadon
โขAsbestos
โขPCBs
โขBad sunburns
โขSalmonella
โขPuffer fish toxin
โขRattlesnake bites
She became upset as most staff weren't masking upon request. She brought 50 n95s with her for staff to use in her room. She quickly became labeled as a problem patient. When my shift ended, she was upset. Staff were annoyed with her "paranoia." /2
Weโre led not to increase our efforts but to decrease our expectations. And along with that, our health, our quality of life, even our life expectancy.
Lauren Witzke, the Delaware GOP's candidate for Senate in 2020, has nothing but praise for Putin and "his Christian nationalist nation": "I identify more with Putin's Christian values than I do with Joe Biden."
If yโall donโt think theyโd end constitutional protection for interracial marriage, Iโve got a submersible to sell you.
The playbook has been made public
@amandalhu
Iโm annoyed by it, but not much. As long as you donโt wear it aggressively or accompany it with dirty and condescending glares I let it go.
A familiar pandemic-era safety measure is making a comeback as new COVID-19 variants surface and cases of the disease flare in some parts of the U.S.: Mask mandates.
โThe risk of a stillbirth nearly doubled for those who had COVID-19 during pregnancy compared with those who didnโt. And during the spread of the delta variant, that risk was four times higherโฆ. Cases were found even in people whose COVID-19 symptoms were mild or nonexistent.โ
โI tried to sound the alarm. We tried so hard to get people to listen.
"It was a really frustrating place to be as pathologists doing these autopsies, looking at these placentas and saying, โGod, no, not another case.โ"
An โoh wowโ moment:
For years, my 15yo has listened to an audiobook every night around bedtime. All kinds of genres and subjects. Tonight, I heard bits and pieces and thought, โThis one sounds familiar.โ
Friends, it was *my* book, THE KNEELING MAN ๐ญ
YOOOOOOO
Just got an automated call from the obgyn confirming my appointment, and after a few announcements about not coming in while sick or bringing more than one person along, they said MASKS ARE REQUIRED ๐ซข๐๐ฝ
@HamnerPam
I have many, many thoughts about this lol, but among other things, thereโs a non-negligible number of Black people with naturally blonde hair. (Not to mention the vast number of non-natural โblondesโ walking around.)
I am TIRED
๐งตYesterday, Yankee Wally published WhatsApp screenshots of conversations between her and Ellie Hall. In one particular screenshot, Ellie lied to her source by stating she hadnโt spoken to me in months. I provided Ellie with information related to her story until February 2022...
This is why I canceled my colonoscopy after being told I couldnโt request that the healthcare providers wear masks. This is dangerous, any way you look at it.
Infected on August 31st, at hospital for an endoscopy/colonoscopy. Positive RAT on Sept 2nd. 10 days of Paxlovid later: still positive.
Another 5 days of Paxlovid bc I have no other options.
Immune deficient patients need better medical protections ๐ท and treatments for
#COVID19
@bdtaylor_SU
@WriterWarrior
If a statement must be followed by the qualifier โRussia says,โ it should be neither the headline nor framing ๐คฆ๐ฝโโ๏ธ
A riveting and devastating read. The level of depravity, coordination, and pure hatred are truly staggering.
Without a doubt, there must be action on this (and I believe there will be, on multiple fronts)๐๐ฝ
Exclusive: We published our report on the coordinated hate campaign targeting Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex. We illustrate the conspiracy, and we believe it is the most comprehensive and damning report on this topic.
You can read it here:
โ ๏ธBREAKING: at lastโ
@WHO
has finally declared the
#monkeypox
global outbreak a PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN. The WHO leadership has overruled the committee that had voted 6-8. Thank you
@DrTedros
!
P.s.: This is what I was referencing when I referred to spelling COVID with all caps (which isnโt โscreaming,โ though screaming would be entirely appropriate).
โBut if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.โ
- George Orwell, 1984
@PeterHotez
1. That is appalling, and Iโm very sorry.
2. Would love to see you on other platforms (like Spoutible), where you can get your message out without the hate. This platform is getting worse by the day, and it isnโt productive or sustainable.
โWhen HIV initially spread, we recognized the need for gloves and safe sharps disposal. These practices quickly became standards. The subsequent development of HIV treatments did not cause us to abandon these preventative measures.โ
Thank you
@mercnews
for publishing my op-ed!
"Opinion: California health care providersโ retreat from COVID masking is shameful
In what universe is it ethically appropriate for physicians and hospitals to infect their own patients with COVID?" ๐งต
1/8