Items
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compassion
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2020-03-13
COVID 19, and its affect on my morality
During the Pandemic, I actually had the time to sit and reflect on my religion and take time to learn from Allah swt. I strengthened my relationship with him and became a better Muslim throughout these times during the pandemic. The pandemic has provided an unexpected opportunity for many individuals to deepen their connection to their faith, again, including myself. As I found myself with more time for introspection and reflection, I was able to delve into the teachings and practices of Islam in a way that I hadn't before. This period of isolation allowed me to prioritize my spiritual growth and strengthen my relationship with Allah. I am grateful for this newfound connection to Islam and am committed to continuing my journey of Islam. "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book 2, Hadith 12) This hadith emphasizes the importance of treating others as we would like to be treated, which is a fundamental principle of Islam. It highlights the idea that our faith is not just about personal piety, but also about fostering a sense of community and compassion for others. By loving and caring for our fellow human beings, we can strengthen our connection to both our faith and to each other, which is especially important during times of hardship and uncertainty like the pandemic. -
2023-03-15
Kit Heintzman Oral History, 2023/03/15
Kit Heintzman is a recovering academic currently residing in Lenapehoking, who was trained in the medical humanities with a special interest in queer theory, animals, and the history of nationalism. Kit has developed a singular collection of oral histories of the pandemic for A Journal of the Plague Year, collected from a range of individuals with widely diverse experiences. That collection addresses significant silences surrounding the pandemic broadly and within JOTPY more narrowly. In this item Kit is interviewed by Angelica and Erin, both with Arizona State University, about Kits collection process. -
2020-03-21
Education changed
It was my first year teaching middle school history. I was bright-eyed, excited, and felt like I had finally found my calling in life. I went into spring break with such an excited feeling about my new career path. Coming from retail, I could finally have time to spend with my family and not have to worry about making a quota. Then the email came. We would be moving to distance learning and I would not get the chance to finish my first year as an educator with my first group of kids. The sound I most remember was the Google Meets login when someone joined. That sound will forever be associated with the pandemic. The sound I had never heard before became the sound that brought me joy as I was finally able to make sure my students were okay. I remember that sound and immediately checking to see who was logging in. It brought mixed feelings of compassion, empathy, and sadness. Even as we started to get back into the classroom, nothing would ever be the same as it once was. But that sound, that one quick sound, brought on the emotions of this educator. And I hope I will never have to hear that sound again. -
2022-01-18
Is ‘fat positivity’ healthy or dangerous? COVID puts the question in stark relief
This is a news story from New York Daily News by Cathy Young. This is an opinion piece questioning what body positive activists have been claiming about obesity and COVID, with many claiming weight has little to no effect on recovering from COVID. Quoting the CDC, Young says that obesity puts people at greater risk of dying from COVID than those of normal weight. Other parts of this opinion piece deal with the language surrounding the body positive movement, and how there is no distinction made between listening to medical advice and getting harassed. The author says that this is a major issue because it makes it so people reject sound medical advice at the expense of their own health. She says that while outright harassment is cruel, genuine concern and wanting people to improve their well-being is not. There is also criticism towards feminist writers in this article, such as Kate Manne, a philosophy professor from Cornell University, that claims all dieting is "morally bad." Young acknowledges that dieting can be unhealthy, but it is not unhealthy in and of itself. She thinks that if you have realistic goals, maintaining a healthy weight is not impossible. At the end, Young explains that this body positivity movement is destructive towards people, and that those struggling with weight issues should be met with compassion, but not "acceptance." This essay shows some of the social impacts of COVID. With some people reporting weight gain during lockdowns, it is easy to see why body positivity would be encouraged as a result. Though, since obesity puts one at higher risk for more complications with COVID, or any other disease for that matter, it should not be encouraged, in my own opinion. It is one thing to be shaped differently, it is quite another to accept being obese when it poses many health risks. -
2021-10-06
Moving from Turkey to the United States During a Pandemic
This story describes moving a family from Antalya, Turkey to the United States during the pandemic of 2020/2021. It attempts to enlighten the reader to the types of issues people are dealing with and how it can change a person and reveal who people are. -
2021-03-20
If You Need To Read Lip's...
At Muir Woods National Park the park ranger had a sign displayed, If you need to read lips just let them know and they will remove their face coverings to communicate with you. I was super impressed. This year has be rough. I make my husband do the shopping after a man yelled at me at the beginning of the pandemic because I didn't hear the cashier the next isle over when she said she could help me. The man yelled, "What are you deaf?" and I was too embarrassed to defend myself. I don't wear my hearing aids now because of the mask. Insurance wont cover the cost of the hearing aid and it costs more than my car. I am worried a hearing aid will fly off when I remove my mask so against the advisement of my audiologist I just keep them off. It's whatever. Seeing signs like this just impress me. Inclusivity matters. -
2021-02-05
Reducing Jail Sentences for Inmates with Preexisting Health Conditions
The study conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice (BCJ) found that prisons, jails, and detention facilities are rushing to make an effort to release unnecessarily incarcerated people to improve healthcare and conditions of confinement for the remaining inmate population. As part of a larger project to end mass incarceration, the BCJ analyzed the unique health challenges posed by the inmate population both 65 and older, as well as those with preexisting medical conditions. "Brennan Center Recommendation: Elderly and sick people and those incarcerated for parole violations should be released or recommended for release under compassionate release provisions or another authority. Barring that, prison officials should use their discretion to transfer people to community corrections options." -
2020-06-07
Faith and Values: A Buddhist Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
This article speaks to a specifically Buddhist response to the pandemic. The monk in this article offers ways to deal with the pandemic from a Buddhist perspective. While Buddhism is a specific worldview, the advice given in this article can be used by all people. Thinking about questions concerning life and death should be confronted and asked rather than cowering away. From the response given, the pandemic should teach people to love and care for all, even in the midst of a deadly virus. -
2020-11-05
St. Mary's Humanitarians' Effort for Hurricane Eta Relief
Hurricane Eta created catastrophic damage in Honduras. St. Mary's University's Humanitarians have created an go-fund me account in effort to provide relief for the people affected. This shows how the university comes together to serve others on a global scale, even when it faces its own local challenges during the Covid19 pandemic. Because St. Mary's University has students of diverse backgrounds, and international students from Honduras this effort is symbolic of the unconditional support that the St. Mary's community aims to offer these students. -
2020-11-05
Hurricane Eta: Tragedy in Honduras
This is a video that has surfaced on Instagram the night of November 5th. Hurricane Eta has hit Honduras bring flooding and catastrophic damage to the country. This is a video of Toncotín, Tegucigalpa's International Airport. This video is alarming for many St. Mary's International Students from Honduras because of the implications this destruction has on their future. For many students studying remotely in Honduras, this means that they may not be able to come to the United States to study next semester, and for those on campus, it means they may not be able to return home in December. With all the uncertainty that the pandemic has caused, this hurricane has created yet another enormous challenge. -
2020-09-30
Equity: Grad School in Quarantine
This article details 8 things that universities can do to help students have access to the necessary materials so that they could succeed in their educational goals. Many of the professors interviewed stated that there were a myriad of problems students had to deal with in order to learn online. These problems included: relocation due to the pandemic, a lack of internet at home, a lack of access to things such as printers and other items, a lack of childcare, systemic racism within academia and many others. Flexibility and empathy are the keys to navigating a COVID19 world, and recognizing your own privilege is an important step in being able to help others get access to what they need. Graduate school is hard enough already, it's important to work together to get through this. -
2020-09-20
Tweets from Inside a Prison 09/20-09/26/2020 by Railroad Underground
These images show the Tweets of an incarcerated person utilizing a contraband cell phone to let the outside world know about prison conditions during the pandemic. This week he talks about mind, body, soul, freedom, effort to locate contraband cell phones, lack of compassion, support, Breonna Taylor, the rule against shaking a free persons hand, using the word inmate removes humanity, prisons acting as a herd immunity experiment, journalists profiting from the pain of incarceration, and rock bottom. -
2020
Fear of the Unknown
Dealing with the coronavirus, I now appreciate the outdoors and what I previously considered daily hassles have become beautiful memories. I have become more patient as the unsurety of the situation is intense. We are left wondering when public institutions will open or merely when we can step outside the house without worrying about the six-foot distance with others. The initial shock and denial have metamorphosed into solidarity among communities and humankind. Whereas otherwise we would have ignored the part of our routine in which we communicated with others, we now felt a longing for that same one-minute interaction. The minute-by-minute increase in deaths instilled fear in the hearts of many and individuals were living on the edge. It was fear of the unknown and desperation for an end to this extended period of isolation. The most significant change I am noticing due to this pandemic is that people have mellowed down. People have put their fast-track life on pause, specifically New Yorkers, and are waiting out the storm to pass. During the pre-quarantine life, not many would have payed attention to the needs of their elderly neighbors. However, the current situation has encouraged everyone to be on the lookout for anyone who needs help. People have become more sympathetic and I envision the same of the post-coronavirus world. The world will change in the future as a result of this pandemic as everyone will become more cautious, constantly monitoring the littlest of changes in our health. People will think twice before touching their face or a seat on the bus. Ultimately, I envision a post-pandemic world to be more sensitive and informed. -
2020-06-02
Protests amid a Pandemic
When George Floyd was murdered, the country erupted in a way I had never experienced in my life before. I thought I had seen chaos with the multitude of protests that followed the US 2016 election, but I was wrong. People who had always claimed to not be "political" were posting, sharing stories, and there was outrage. In the first week, in Ohio, we were met with violence. Being immunocompromised, and fearful, I stayed behind when I was in Columbus. Some of my good friends got arrested downtown. Others got maced, shot at with wooden bullets with a rubber coating, and went to the hospital in an already stressful situation. When I moved back to Cincinnati, I was no longer living with 4 roommates, and I decided if I wore a mask, and brought hand sanitizer and disinfectant, and did my best to stay 6 feet apart from everybody, I needed to get out there. The protests I attended over the next two months included vigils, organizers meetings, community panels, and celebrations of Black lives. My parents were unhappy with my decision, due to the news coverage, and several people I know getting arrested. However, this was too important. Growing up, I heard the names Trayvon Martin, Eric Gray, Tamir Rice, Sam Dubose, Sandra Bland, and many more. This was the straw that had broken the camel's back. The pandemic had meant many were furloughed, and out of work, leaving more time to read the news, watch the news, and research issues. Many were angry at how the pandemic disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities, and for this blatant, act of police brutality to be filmed and shared across the world, it was too much. In Cincinnati, over 300 people showed up to hastily planned protests, and some of the more organized and advertised ended up with well over 7,000 people. The protests themselves were nothing like what I had seen on the news. Every 10-15 minutes, a fellow protestor would offer everyone cold water, snacks, hand sanitizer, and masks to anyone who did not have one. There were always medics with a first aid kit ready for the people who overheated, twisted an ankle, or got maced. I learned the ratio of baking soda to water that many carried if people were to be pepper-sprayed again. It was a community of people who cared about each other, took care of each other, and want the world to be better. I want that story to be told, because it never hit the media. The compassion I witnessed every single day. The groups of people meeting up every night, individuals carrying someone who was having an asthma attack to a shady area and giving them cold water, a ring of people around a young girl who stepped on a piece of glass that pierced through her shoe into her foot. Immediately, there were bandaids, water, alcohol wipes, and help to be given. The medics tent, offering granola bars, fruit, and snacks if anyone gets hungry. Food not Bombs catering many events, giving full meals to anyone who needed one. The care packs we had made for the friends who had been arrested, the community resource pages which allowed people to express needs and them being taken care of, from needing cat food to needing to pay rent. The resource guides, the calls and letters and emails to public officials. Although this is a weird time, strangely it was one where I had felt the strongest sense of community, in my 21 years of living. -
2020-04-04
a nationwide mourning for the death from Covid-19 in China
On April 4th, China established a nationwide mourning for the martyrs died in the conflict with Covid-19. This is a significant moment when Chinese showed compassion for the compatriots and carried the hope to move forward. -
2020-05-01
A story of compassion
Short text -
2020-05-05T07:49
A Story of my grandfather and his situation
A Story of my grandfather and his situation -
2020-04-06
PANDEMIC 2020
Perspective of how deaths can have a tremendous effect on people.