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The Lesser Evil for the Greater Good: How Upper Class Americans Have Left the “Non-Essentials” Behind
I live in California, blessed to be sheltering-in-place while my husband works from home. Sure, the past month I’ve been stripped of many of my basic rights. Hell, today the neighborhood forest trail where I walk several times a week to keep fit and sane has closed, even though I see more people in my neighborhood walking my dogs than I ever have walking that path. Regardless, it’s a state park and it’s now off limits.
Sometimes I feel trapped, like a pretty bird in a pretty cage, but after many weeks of using this SIP time as a “personal retreat” I realize, that’s not the reason my heart is burning. It’s not even fear that I’ll get sick. I don’t want to tempt fate, but I literally have none of the factors that increase risk with this disease. I’m not afraid for my family. Yet every day when I log onto Facebook, my chest feels like someone has lit a match inside of it or stabbed me from behind. My jaw tightens as I read about all my white collar friends who post pictures of working from their cozy beds, or lovely back porches in the sun, or clean and organized shelves, or several hundred masks they’ve sewn, and how great it is to flatten the curve and stay the fuck home memes. Everyone seems so happy to be playing house and having Zoomtails with their friends, patting…
