I thoroughly enjoyed Ed Yong’s talk about how he coped with the pandemic. You’ll probably enjoy it, too.
He’s upbeat and positive about everything, although he did break in a few places: first to berate fucking Jonathan Chait, and secondly when he talked about quitting his job at the Atlantic, specifically citing their relentless anti-trans editorial position. I can’t fault him for that, I feel the same way.
We also share one thing in common: during the pandemic, he turned to photography to escape. Hey, me too! Although Yong was more interested in photographing birds, rather than the more delicate beauty of spiders. I’d advise him to try switching it up a bit, except macro photography and wildlife photography require completely different kits and a completely different approach to the subject. Either way, it gets you outside and focusing on something other than the nightmares of pandemics and politics.
Also, this is pretty good advice.
But what if the strangers are arguing with me? That’s a tough recommendation to follow.
I promise to use power well, if ever I have any.
One of the most worthwhile 35 minutes I’ve spent recently. More
journalistshuman beings like this, please.:-)
I’m not sure that that’s a useful general principle, though. I’m guessing that egoists like Ayn Randians and relativists like “conservative” Christians will have very different ideas about what it means to use power well than you or I do.
What Rob said. Wow.
I don’t argue with strangers online. I just tell them they’re wrong…
What’s the old saying, arguing with idiots online is like playing chess with a pigeon.
Attends the “XOXO” Festival, wears a mask. ^_^
XOXO – One Last Time, With Feeling
Ed Yong is among my favorite writers. I subscribed to The Atlantic because of him and his pandemic stories were amazing. This talk confirms what I suspected when he paused, then quit.
A lot to unpack in that talk. What struck me was his mention of the transition of treatment of epidemics from ones requiring good social structures, quarantine, a robust healthcare system and social equity to simply battling pathogens. Absolutely arse about. I’m from the post-war baby-boomer generation. I remember the polio epidemics and the palpable fear as families queued during mass vaccination campaigns. I can remember when we had quarantine stations in major ports. When the sister of the Queen arrived in Australia from an African tour and her vaccinations were out of date and spent 4 days in quarantine the monarchists were outraged they would miss out on their tea and cucumber sandwiches. Lower down the social ladder I remember families isolated when a member developed hepatitis or tested positive to TB during the regular Mantoux tests. By the time Covid arrived all those social systems were gone. New arrivals and Covid positive people were crammed into Covid quarantine hotels with which only served to spread the infection among the occupants. While my son and daughter in law, both essential service workers were queuing for hours every 3 days for mandatory Covid tests students and staff at two of the wealthiest private schools were vaccinated as soon as vaccines were available and before their use was even approved for school aged people. Roll on a couple of years and the construction of purpose built quarantine facilities is now on hold and those that are finished are now sold or rented out. The virus is still being tracked but there is no screening at airports and no mask edicts or quarantine. In other words all the social infrastructure that would slow down or limit the spread of the next pandemic to buy time to develop a vaccine against the next pandemic pathogen is largely gone and history will repeat itself. Even worse there are already virulent pathogens out there which are far more lethal than Covid. What happens when in this highly mobile world one of those arrives and spreads before its even detected?
Seconding Rob’s comment. Great talk.