This post is going to be a bit ranty. I find myself once again being disappointed with society and I have some things I need to say. (Also, new this week~ Joe Curtatone, the Mayor of Somerville, is my spirit animal.)
First- Teachers
Teachers are not the problem. Teachers are not the reason kids aren't in school. The virus is the reason. The eight months of letting the virus run unchecked for eight months is the reason why. People who won't make responsible decisions are the reason kids aren't in school. Yes, teachers have been advocating for a safe workplace but that's very different than saying they don't want kids in school. No teacher wants an empty school. No teacher wants to put his or her life in danger to make that happen. Both of those statements can be true. In Massachusetts our state leaders have demanded schools be reopened to full capacity, five days a week by April 1st. There is so much wrong with that ultimatum. First, many districts cannot do that safely. Second, many districts have just begun phasing students back into the building, in hybrid form. The amount of planning to make that happen has been monumental. Teachers have been asked to shift their way of teaching again, with little time to prepare. To make schools shift again so quickly is not right. How much can teachers handle? Then, there's the issue with the fact that teachers have been moved lower on the vaccine list. It's really hard to watch teachers in other states get vaccinated while we just wait. It really makes us feel unvalued, under appreciated, and like we are disposable. Finally, the governor has decided to open up a whole lot of industries, at the same time he is demanding a full return to school. If you want kids back in school, that has to be the actual priority. Not music venues, not sports venues, not full restaurants. (I say this with the strong belief that all of those industries should be supported so that they can remain closed or at reduced capacity to help ensure a safe return to school.)
I can't believe how p*&^ poor Massachusetts' vaccine roll out has been. We are so far behind other states. It's unbelievable. We were super lucky this week to get JO's dad an appointment. I'm glad we took the Natick appointment that we saw available early in the morning. If we had waited for Gillette it wouldn't have happened. The wait times on the website were upwards of 22 days. (News Flash~ the website is still garbage.) It's embarrassing.
People
Many people just are taking this whole thing seriously and it's really disheartening. We ran an errand at a store at the mall yesterday. I kind of felt guilty about the errand because it wasn't essential but I figured it would be ok in the store because it's large and we wouldn't be there too long. The parking lots were full. The mall was full. Restaurants were full. There are still 1600+ cases a day here in Massachusetts. So many people have died. It's really just sad. I really thought we would rally as a country, the way we did after 9/11. Instead, our most selfish tendencies were exposed. As a society, we have no self-control, we have no desire to follow simple guidelines like wearing a mask (or maybe even two), and no desire to support those people working in industries that need to be closed right now.
Ok, my rant is over. I'll leave you with a picture of the fire pit table we enjoyed at Bow Market on Friday night. It was a lovely way to end the week!
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