Thank you, Antonia. This was a balm, a catalyst for thought, and a call to action. And I just ordered the Economic Science Fictions book from my [independent, non-Am***n] bookseller!
Another thought provoking and wonderful column! Some of this reminded me of an intriguing line from the movie "Deliverance", when Burt Reynolds sez: "The system is gonna fail. Machines are gonna fail. Then it's who has the ability to survive". I hope we never to that state, but as a race developing increasing complexity in everything we do, you wonder how fragile things really are? Great article - have not read it all - recently in The Atlantic about climate change and how extreme it could be. Anyway, more chaotic thoughts, but this is enough.. have a great weekend!
I'd tweak that slightly to add that it's who has the ability to survive *together.* Over and over we can see that it's not the individuals with hardened bunkers of hoarded resources who do well in times of crisis, but those who live and participate in resilient communities. Healthy social networks are such a crucial part of all of this and I think that's going to be even more true as climate change bears down more heavily.
I've been thinking about our text conversation yesterday about the vaccinations in Missoula. JLB and his wife did indeed have an easy path to it, but I also recall him calling his daughter "a wizard" for making it happen. Which speaks to what you say about the bullshit concert ticket analogy, and the necessity of having someone with the time and inclination to wade through all that electronic fuckery. And it's not just health care. It's unemployment, it's insurance, it's all the machinery that must exists for a healthy and happy citizenry that gets hosed at every opportunity.
I don't even think about the vaccine. I just can't imagine I'll be eligible for months. Maybe that's a shitty attitude, I don't know. I don't think my emotional framework at this point can handle the hassle. I've been solid for months but these last couple have been hard. Putting on a brave public face takes its own toll.
Similar issues here with older people who do not have Internet, and how does 'the system' find them? As you say Chris, it's not just HC, but EVERYTHING. When I signed up for Medicare, talk about an incredibly complicated process, so many rules/regulations, etc. I just wonder how people who are not tech-savvy get through all of this??
There used to be some kind of a legal help services office right down the hall from the yoga studio where I practice (or did, pre-COVID). Often these were people with mental health issues, or homeless, etc. So often I would hear the clerks trying to explain the process for going online for this or that, and the befuddlement and fear on the faces of the people seeking help. It was heartbreaking. I've felt for years that this drive to put every damn thing online is bad for society. Especially in places like Montana, where broadband issues make so many of these transactions unworkable.
The internet is great for so many reasons, but it's not *human,* and by that I mean a lot of things: It's not tangible or tactile, which leaves even people like me often befuddled when it comes to organization and access. Having papers and pamphlets you can shuffle and read and take around with you is, I truly believe with no real evidence, integral to how most people are able to make sense of things. It also can't respond to all the non-verbal cues that people's faces give when they're confused, lost, need more guidance, whatever. It also demands that people know exactly how to form whatever question they need answered, leaving most of humanity in a perpetual conversation like that in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, where the answer to "life, the universe, and everything," "42," has no meaning because people didn't know what question to ask. It also, obviously, requires good internet connections and up-to-date computers, which cost money.
There's another aspect that shows up in school that drives me out of my damn mind, which is a claim that doing stuff through a computer program "individualizes" learning. Nothing could be further from the truth! It only provides that benefit for those individuals who learn well interacting with those kinds of programs, which is, from what I've seen, not most of them.
It's everything. My sisters and I have been waves of helping our mom with things like medical debt for probably 20 years now. It's all stupid and destructive.
We haven't thought about it for ourselves. Don't see much chance of getting it before maybe July, but then we both work from home and I'm homeschooling the kids (which is taking its own toll but remote learning was far worse) so our risk trajectories can stay pretty low.
What you say about the toll of putting on a public face is HUGE. My sister manages coffee shops here and the damage that is causing psychologically and physically is enormous. I can't even wrap my head around the likely millions of people trying to deal with those personal costs.
So a friend on Twitter who saw this post of yours—whether as a subscriber or because I shared it to Twitter myself—pointed out that I am likely eligible as an Indigenous person for a vaccine through All Nations here in Missoula. So I looked, registered, and I'll keep you posted as to what happens. Proof the internet doesn't ALWAYS suck.
I was just wondering the same thing! Good luck? (Why should it need luck?) But yes. Reminds me of that now-old but still fabulous piece on depression by Hyperbole and a Half: Maybe Everything Isn't Just Hopeless Bullshit!
Thank you, Antonia. This was a balm, a catalyst for thought, and a call to action. And I just ordered the Economic Science Fictions book from my [independent, non-Am***n] bookseller!
Would love to know how it is! I only read that one piece but I'm kind of curious about the rest of it.
Another thought provoking and wonderful column! Some of this reminded me of an intriguing line from the movie "Deliverance", when Burt Reynolds sez: "The system is gonna fail. Machines are gonna fail. Then it's who has the ability to survive". I hope we never to that state, but as a race developing increasing complexity in everything we do, you wonder how fragile things really are? Great article - have not read it all - recently in The Atlantic about climate change and how extreme it could be. Anyway, more chaotic thoughts, but this is enough.. have a great weekend!
I'd tweak that slightly to add that it's who has the ability to survive *together.* Over and over we can see that it's not the individuals with hardened bunkers of hoarded resources who do well in times of crisis, but those who live and participate in resilient communities. Healthy social networks are such a crucial part of all of this and I think that's going to be even more true as climate change bears down more heavily.
Agree... well said as always!
Not always but thanks! ;)
I've been thinking about our text conversation yesterday about the vaccinations in Missoula. JLB and his wife did indeed have an easy path to it, but I also recall him calling his daughter "a wizard" for making it happen. Which speaks to what you say about the bullshit concert ticket analogy, and the necessity of having someone with the time and inclination to wade through all that electronic fuckery. And it's not just health care. It's unemployment, it's insurance, it's all the machinery that must exists for a healthy and happy citizenry that gets hosed at every opportunity.
I don't even think about the vaccine. I just can't imagine I'll be eligible for months. Maybe that's a shitty attitude, I don't know. I don't think my emotional framework at this point can handle the hassle. I've been solid for months but these last couple have been hard. Putting on a brave public face takes its own toll.
Similar issues here with older people who do not have Internet, and how does 'the system' find them? As you say Chris, it's not just HC, but EVERYTHING. When I signed up for Medicare, talk about an incredibly complicated process, so many rules/regulations, etc. I just wonder how people who are not tech-savvy get through all of this??
There used to be some kind of a legal help services office right down the hall from the yoga studio where I practice (or did, pre-COVID). Often these were people with mental health issues, or homeless, etc. So often I would hear the clerks trying to explain the process for going online for this or that, and the befuddlement and fear on the faces of the people seeking help. It was heartbreaking. I've felt for years that this drive to put every damn thing online is bad for society. Especially in places like Montana, where broadband issues make so many of these transactions unworkable.
The internet is great for so many reasons, but it's not *human,* and by that I mean a lot of things: It's not tangible or tactile, which leaves even people like me often befuddled when it comes to organization and access. Having papers and pamphlets you can shuffle and read and take around with you is, I truly believe with no real evidence, integral to how most people are able to make sense of things. It also can't respond to all the non-verbal cues that people's faces give when they're confused, lost, need more guidance, whatever. It also demands that people know exactly how to form whatever question they need answered, leaving most of humanity in a perpetual conversation like that in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, where the answer to "life, the universe, and everything," "42," has no meaning because people didn't know what question to ask. It also, obviously, requires good internet connections and up-to-date computers, which cost money.
There's another aspect that shows up in school that drives me out of my damn mind, which is a claim that doing stuff through a computer program "individualizes" learning. Nothing could be further from the truth! It only provides that benefit for those individuals who learn well interacting with those kinds of programs, which is, from what I've seen, not most of them.
Many of them just don't :(
It's everything. My sisters and I have been waves of helping our mom with things like medical debt for probably 20 years now. It's all stupid and destructive.
We haven't thought about it for ourselves. Don't see much chance of getting it before maybe July, but then we both work from home and I'm homeschooling the kids (which is taking its own toll but remote learning was far worse) so our risk trajectories can stay pretty low.
What you say about the toll of putting on a public face is HUGE. My sister manages coffee shops here and the damage that is causing psychologically and physically is enormous. I can't even wrap my head around the likely millions of people trying to deal with those personal costs.
So a friend on Twitter who saw this post of yours—whether as a subscriber or because I shared it to Twitter myself—pointed out that I am likely eligible as an Indigenous person for a vaccine through All Nations here in Missoula. So I looked, registered, and I'll keep you posted as to what happens. Proof the internet doesn't ALWAYS suck.
I was just wondering the same thing! Good luck? (Why should it need luck?) But yes. Reminds me of that now-old but still fabulous piece on depression by Hyperbole and a Half: Maybe Everything Isn't Just Hopeless Bullshit!