We're Number One - COVID 19 Deaths

If you're walking 'round think'n that the world owes you something 'cause you're here 
You goin' out the world backwards like you did when you first come here yeah 
Keep talkin' bout the president, won't stop air pollution 
Put your hand on your mouth when you cough, that'll help the solution 
Oh, you cuss around women and you don't even know their names, no 
Then you're dumb enough to think that'll make you a big ol' man... 

--Luther Thomas Ingram and Mack Rice,
second verse of "Respect Yourself", released in 1971, as sung by the Staple Singers.

source: Wikipedia

Statistics change rapidly, so by the time you're reading this, the numbers will have changed. I'm not a journalist, but a very concerned American.

As of this writing, the United States is number 1 with over 55,000 deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is 26.7% of ALL official deaths worldwide.

ONE IN FOUR DEATHS WORLDWIDE ARE FROM THE UNITED STATES.

I am thoroughly fed up with the bullshit from the White House. TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP.

To the doctors, nurses, therapists, and all essential personnel working tirelessly for what seems like an eternity, THANK YOU.

In Memory of Vincent Chin: Why Calling it Chinese Virus Bothers Me

source: NBC News

I bet many of you have no idea who Vincent Chin is.

I bring this up because if we don't recognize why we're so sensitive about the term "Chinese virus", perhaps hearing about Vincent's tragic end might help you understand.

In short, 2 white autoworkers blamed Vincent Chin for the increased presence of Japanese auto manufacturers in the United States.*
(*taken from NBC News)

Vincent Chin was Chinese American. Not Japanese. A fight ensued. Vincent died of head injuries from the fight a few days later.

PBS's POV and NBC News have several YouTube videos on Vincent Chin, who died in June 1982. He was out with friends celebrating his upcoming wedding. Instead, his wedding became his funeral.

Here's a short NBC News clip that provides a brief, but very informative clip about Vincent Chin's story.

Gone Viral

COVID-19
source: Live Science

As the spread of COVID-19 forces us inside, normal life as we knew it is on hiatus for the time being.

Any public gathering of 50 or more has been closed or cancelled such as bars and nightclubs. Restaurants are limited to takeout and delivery only.

It's going to be a tough run for restaurants. With no dining on premises permitted, lack of business may or will force them to close or shut down completely. The small Korean owned deli in my building closed on Friday and won't open again until Tuesday due to lack of business. As a child of restaurant operators, I am showing my support by ordering takeout as often as I can.

Shopping, tourist destinations, commuter traffic is next to non-existent.

My Monday and Wednesday night bowling leagues are cancelled for the remainder of the month. Many offices have instructed staff to work from home.

The most significant changes for me since the state of emergency:
incessant hand washing, TV/OnDemand viewing and a nauseating overexposure of panicked grocery shoppers hoarding food, hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

Cover your sneezes and coughs in your elbow or crook of your arm.
Stay hydrated. Go out only when you have to until the viral numbers flatten out.
And as Sgt. Phil Esterhaus of the Hill Street precinct ended with each roll call, "Let's be careful out there".