Dear Covid

Apollo Fields | Dear Blank | Terrence Huie | Dear Covid

“Dear Covid,

As of today, you have taken 836,000 lives in the U.S.; and 5,490,000 worldwide. While the observed case-fatality ratio in the U.S. is 1.4%, it is as high as 7.3% in Mexico (according to analyses by John Hopkins University). What is tragically worse than all of these statistics is what you’ve exposed about the human response.

Ardent defenders of individual human rights have show that they would rather put others at risk than wear a thin piece of fabric over their nose and mouth. Others have gone to such extremes as washing their groceries and quarantining their mail. In the age of the Internet, people have gone mad when presented with something experts didn’t yet understand. I’m still trying to make sense of it all.

Combine the homosapien quality of superiority with the omnipotence of the Internet and what do you get? One big, angry ape.

I’ve always taken great pride in listening to as many perspectives as possible and weighing their validity. I understand as a small business owner of a wedding photography business the financial impact that you have (and continue) to cause. I also know people you have killed. Not to mention the essential and health care workers that you torment day-in-and-day-out.

We haven’t even gotten into vaccine mandates! Your body is your body in Texas unless you’re a woman. Don’t Tread on Me (and fuck everyone else). It’s impossible to have discussions about human rights when we don’t treat each other as humans. Hold on a second while I scratch my apelike head.

Maybe I should thank you for scaring all us neanderthals in and out of our caves. The first time quarantine was lifted I remember thinking: “Maybe everyone will be nicer to each other.” Now I wonder how we all got along. “Cause we are living in a material emotional world, and I’m a material rational girl he/him/his.”

Your confused ape,

Terrence”