Items

• 
  2021-12-16

  Asian Lives Matter

  When I went to summer camp, I spoke Chinese to my friends who could not speak english very well. However, we were constantly told that "this is America" and we needed to speak english so everyone could understand and didn't feel left out.
• 
  2021-07-11

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 120

  Disagreement with Biden over Afghanistan
• 2021-02-17

  Living Like An Immunocompromised Person

  I have been living in fear of getting others sick rather than what will happen if I were to be the one to get sick. My FAMILY MEMBER is immunocompromised, so I have spent most of 2020 in my house. I have not been scared of coming back positive because I have had cousins who have been sick but have had no real issues. The reason I have lived a full year with fear and anxiety is the idea of giving the disease to my Diabetic FAMILY MEMBER. Part of the reason I came back to campus when the semester started was to get away from my FAMILY MEMBER and the fear that I could be the one to kill THEM. Coronavirus has made this past year one full of fear, but the main character of my fear, meaning my FAMILY MEMBER, has talked me into feeling comfortable enough to return to college. I knew people who had impaired immune systems had to watch what they did even before Covid-19 came into the picture. These days, immunocompromised individuals can barely leave their houses so I have followed the actions of my FAMILY MEMBER. If THEY has felt comfortable enough to return to teaching for middle schoolers and working at a camp with young children who were just learning to wear masks during the summer then I can go live on campus. I actually have a close friend in my dorm family unit who keeps me in check. My FAMILY MEMBER and my friend do a great job but sometimes, I think I stay home and away from people more than some individuals I know with compromised immune systems or pre-existing conditions that put them at risk of dying from the disease. That thought will not dissuade me from continuing with my partially-quarantined lifestyle. I am confused and hurt by those who have not even tried to protect others or change anything in their daily life. With the numbers that are currently being released in the United States and at my college, I will keep living in a way that will not increase my anxiety or the chance of my fears coming true. If my college continues to see rising positive cases, I hope we get put into a full campus lockdown or I have a little warning of being sent home so I can be tested and have a place to quarantine away from my FAMILY MEMBER. Everyone has Covid-fatigue but I will push through and stay as safe as I can. This year has taught me that when this pandemic is over, I need to live my life protecting immunocompromised people even if I do not know them. If I get a cold, I will wear a mask. I never want to be the one to blame for someone else falling sick or dying.
• 2021-01-11T12:15

  Covid origin

  When the Virus first started to deeply affect America (mid-march) everyone wanted to know how it began. People said it was bats and when I first heard it I was a little unsure. I was uncertain if it was real or just something chosen to put blame on. As weeks gone by I accepted that as the origin because animals carrying a virus was not very unusual or far fetched. To be honest as the virus continues I haven't heard any other causes probably because after a while the need to know sort of settled down. People stopped talking about it because there are way more important things to worry about such as schools, business, hospital room, and peoples general safety. When I was first learning information about Covid as a whole I took everything with a grain of salt until there was more research.
• 2021-01-11T12:13

  The Cause of COVID

  In the beginning, there were many theories of where the coronavirus came from, all of them having to originate in China. I was told that it was from eating bats, which sounded absurd. I think this is one of the many reasons why I thought the virus wasn't real or wasn't as serious as it is because it all sounded ridiculous. And then I was told that it was Chinese scientists' fault and that they had created and manipulated the virus in a lab. I started to believe this theory, and it clouded my judgement when I was told the truth: the coronavirus was from the wilderness. As I said before, I did not believe in the eating bats theory which is why I was skeptical that the new theory involved bats once again. But, once I got concrete evidence, like the fact that in the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak, it originated in bats, I started to believe this new theory, or the truth. Over the last 10 months, scientists have uncovered so much more about the coronavirus than thought possible. Because of the many false theories and accusations made throughout the COVID history, China has become the scapegoat for many people to blame this whole situation on, stating that is all their fault, even though we don't have concrete evidence if this is true or not. Whatever the cause of the COVID breakout, we should not blame it on other people, but help each other get through these tough times.
• 2021-01-11

  The Cause Of the Pandemic

  I personally don't believe there is one person to blame or one specific start of the virus. Yes, it had to have first started somewhere, but because it spread so quickly it's hard to narrow it down to just one specific starting point. I've heard all the different theories of what "truly" caused the virus, but I believe it started with a few people and it then spread quickly from person to person. Because it was a mutation disease no one had the antibodies to fight it off quick enough to not spread it or carry it with them. Since we also don't know where it truly began or even when there is really no way to find the original cause of this virus.
• 
  1918-11-16

  Blame China for the Flue

  In the article, the author states that the pandemic could be traced not to Spain but Asia; and that China was a breeder of all kinds of contagious diseases which might spread over the earth if they were not checked at their source.
• 
  May 6, 2020

  Plague Journal, Day 54: Jumping down a right-wing rabbit hole

  I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. In the latest entry, as the bodies pile up I explore a Trumpian disinformation rabbit hole involving a Wuhan lab, a New York-based research group, and an NIH grant. Also, a potential job goes up in smoke.
• 
  2020-07-05

  Where to Vacation

  Social Distancing has been the name of the game since day one; even as doctors and health professionals have struggled to understand the virus, staying six feet apart has always been a recommendation. As the President has flouted the rules of the CDC, Department of Health, and others people have grown angrier and have began to place a greater amount of blame on him. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #ThisYearMySummerVacation. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it describes the anger that people feel towards the President over his handling of the coronavirus
• 
  2020-05-23

  LGBTQ and COVID-19

  In a post unrelated to COVID-19 that celebrates a new Pixar short featuring gay characters, a commenter blames homosexuality for “weakened immunity” that they claim has led to COVID-19. This was shared to http://reddit.com/r/insanepeoplefacebook.
• 
  2020-05-08

  ‘Jurisdictional limbo’ left Metis in Saskatchewan unprepared for COVID-19 says MNC spokesperson

  “‘There was no plan, no supports, no programs, no supply chain, nothing, because both governments are saying, ‘No, it’s not my jurisdiction. It’s yours.’,’ Metis National Council (MNC) spokesperson David Chartrand told the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN), which met virtually to discuss the pandemic’s impact on Indigenous communities.‘Both are still blaming each other, and [COVID-19’s] still creeping into the next villages now because families are taking it to the next villages not realizing they’re carrying it.’” #IndigenousStories
• 
  2020-04-16

  Hindu Nationalists Blame Muslims For India's COVID-19 Crisis

  This article discusses the growing tensions between Hindu nationalists and Muslims in India. Hindu's have been blaming many of the problems in Indian society on Muslims and Christian missionaries, but this is another example of them attempting to place the blame on Coronavirus on Muslims. India is ripe for a coronavirus explosion in cases due to the large number of people in these packed together spaces. There are multiple false videos circulating through Whatsapp and other various social media sites like Facebook depicting Muslims spitting and distributing currency and attempting to spread the virus. This video is false. Additionally, there was a massive Islamic conference that helped spread the virus through different parts of the country which has enflared tempers and made the situation worse. On top of the pandemic, India needs to find a way to cool religious tensions or there will be even greater ramifications than the virus. For now, as NPR notes, India needs to focus on the response and figure out how to flag false information on Whatsapp and other social media.
• 
  2020-03-18

  Sen. Cornyn: China to blame for coronavirus, because 'people eat bats'

  Speaking to reporters Wednesday, the Republican senator from Texas spread misinformation about the coronavirus and incorrectly cited China as a source of MERS and swine flu.