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tension
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2021-10-15
Tense and Tempestuous Tones
In the year 2020, I was a medical assistant working for a cancer surgery clinic. The pandemic posed huge challenges for people working in healthcare and created new staggering standards for cleanliness and infection control. With limited personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies, it made everyday clinic operations very challenging. With cancer patients, most of whom were undergoing treatments that lowered their immune system, and many of whom had just had surgery which can increase risk of infection, medical staff took COVID safety precautions very seriously. Dealing with people battling illness can be challenging under normal circumstances because they are often feeling emotional and scared, but during COVID, tensions were running even higher. I will never forget patients using condescending, edgy, and outright angry tones with me when I would call for a COVID symptom screening prior to their appointment, inform them that they had to wear a mask at all times while in the clinic, or that they were unable to bring a family member to the exam room during a follow-up appointment with a doctor. Over the phone and in person, many patients used tense and tempestuous tones to take out their anger over a situation none of us had any control over. Often, there were political connotations to any discussion of clinic COVID policy, which was unusual in a conversation about infection control. Many patients would protest getting their temperature taken or question the accuracy of their oximetry reading (a started part of vitals even before the pandemic). It was always a relief to have a patient who took a dignified breath and calmly understood that the rules were in place for everyone's safety and were an inconvenience to all involved. There were several days where I would go off to an empty exam room during my lunch break and cry. Tension during the first year of the COVID pandemic was audible. -
2020-04-16
Covid Consolation Puppy
A week after the first shutdown began in March of 2020, schools were shut down and I was no longer able to complete my student teaching. I was furloughed from my job and locked inside for what we originally thought would be two weeks. With no end to the lockdown in sight and nothing to do, it became stressful and quite boring. Living with my parents at the time, the entire family was locked inside and tensions were high. One day, my mom got a call from a former coworker whose dog had just had puppies a month prior. She offered us a puppy and my mom, knowing how sad I was at not having a job or an internship, accepted and I was able to pick any puppy I wanted. Freyja, my dog, was my Covid-consolation-puppy. She was very young and I was up all night and all day with her, potty training and playing with her. My time was entirely consumed by this puppy and I was never bored or alone again. We joke that she was a consolation puppy because I never got to complete the typical training any teacher before received. A few months after the first shut down ASU canceled graduation and went virtual, it was another blow, and knowing I would not be able to walk the stage to get my degree was tough to handle. However, Freyja made things easier and took my mind off things. She grew with me and she became my best friend and protector. When I moved out, she kept me safe. When I separated from a long-term partner, she was what I found joy in. I love my dog very much because she came into my life when I needed her most. -
2021-09-20
Covid-19 Archive Project
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2021-09-18
Claire and AJ Oral History, 2021/09/18
Explains our experiences within the COVID-19 high school years, our two years of upperclassmen experience. It's important to us because it happened to us during the most formative years of our lives, and we're reflecting back on it. -
2021-05-21
COVID-19 Journal from 2021
It's just about how I experienced COVID and how I made it through -
2021-02
Vaccine Fears in the Black Community
This tweet is about the very real and valid fear that many black people have regarding the vaccine. The United States has a dark history of using black bodies for medical experimentation so it makes sense that this community would be wary of receiving vaccines for fear of them just being another medical experiment. This creates tension when paired with a mass push to vaccinate the whole nation and black peoples with very reasonable concerns against getting vaccinated. The goal now for black leaders is working to convince black people to still get vaccinated and trust this collective medical push. -
2020-08-05
Stuck on the Highway
This picture is significant to my COVID-19 experience in 2020 because it caused me to stay on the highway for approximately 3hrs. Due to new Covid laws usually when a high-tension wire hits the ground, they can find ways to get everyone away from the wire. However, since we have to stay 6 feet apart the cops and fire department couldn’t speak directly to everyone. We had to remain in our vehicles and just assume everything was going to be alright. This was my first time experiencing something like this. A lot of people couldn’t handle just sitting in their vehicles not having answers and so they turned around on the highway and tried to drive backwards to get off the road. -
05/22/2020
Anthony Jodlowski Oral History, 2020/05/22
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Public History Seminar Covid-19 Project -
2020-07-03
Tensions are High in the Grocery Store Produce Section
This cartoon show the new frustrations with wearing masks. -
2020-05-28
Lack of taste
This meme resembles how COVID-19 can really be a very communicable disease. The fact that even being near someone who we love dearly can cause spread is already scary, and that we must try as much as possible to minimize the cause. To me, I want to stay home as much as possible to lower the spread of the virus, but at the same time I miss my loved ones and my friends. This meme may not seem important, but in reality it does show the tensions in society about how COVID-19 is affecting all of our lives. -
2020-05-09
"Outbreak Among Gay Clubs Stokes Homophobic Resentment in South Korea"
"A man unknowingly spread COVID-19 at gay clubs in Seoul. Now, media coverage is repeating antigay tropes." -
2020-05-03
Current COVID Situation
College student's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic -
2020-04-13
Are COVID-19 Restrictions Inflaming Religious Tensions?
This article discusses how some countries in the Middle East view the religious restrictions such as the closure of Shia shrines in Iraq and Iran and the cancelation of the hajj to Mecca in Saudi Arabia as a form of violation of religious practices and repression of religious minorities. It is said that these restrictions will negatively impact how people view their government leaders. -
04/19/2020
Broken Mask
This is my sister's mask that I accidentally broke. Things are really tense between the two of us, most likely due to the fact that we're the only people our age that we can actually talk to face to face, and being kept in the same house for so long is making her hate me. -
04/03/2020
It Was Already Dangerous to Be Muslim in India. Then Came the Coronavirus