Thank You for Social Distancing
The more I think about this, the more frustrated I become.
I know it’s getting warmer. I know it’s hard to not be with your friends. I know that in the same week that the @cdcgov recommended that everyone wear #masks, cities and beaches and private pools were opened.
People are thinking about #summer plans. The plans that they made last year, the plans that they have been looking forward to.
The PLANS.
And I know you don’t think that your #plans are more important than the interrupted plans of humans who are suffering from #Covid. Or more important than the plans of the humans who are caring for those who are suffering from Covid. I know you don’t think that.
But the more that I think about social distancing, the more I think about #socialjustice. Staying at home may not be for you, but it is for the people around you. It is for humans who live in oppressed bodies.
It’s for the Black and Brown folx who have been the subject of the news for the last months...with mostly white anchors reporting with astonishment at the high rates of infection in these populations. As though lack of equitable access to #healthcare or the ability to not work or safely distance is a shock. It shouldn’t be.
It’s for the humans who live in larger bodies who have been living in a weight stigmatizing society forever. Who are carrying the burden of an elevated allostatic load because weight-based discrimination and oppression is real. And these humans are now being told, falsely, that their bodies are high risk for infection. #haes
It’s for the #disabled #folx who rely on delivered meals and prepared items and safe entry and exit from pharmacies and doctors offices. Those who navigate the planet with assistance, and those who are made to go it alone.
It is for humans with compromised immune systems who will need to stay inside longer if you don’t.
If you are under the impression that the #quarantine, or stay at home order, or closure of your social club is about you, you’re mistaken.
If you think not following SD guidelines is NOT an issue of #racism, #fatphobia, #weightstigma, and #ableism, you’re mistaken.
Thank you for #socialdistancing.
