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Pandemic Template
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2022-03-03
And just like that...COVID is over
This is an Instagram post by roryzacher. This is a meme showing what they think about the virus. This is a popular meme of a guy looking back at a girl in red, with his angry girlfriend in blue to the side of him. This meme became popular in the mid-2010s and has retained its popularity. In this context, it means now that there is a war, the COVID narrative is gone. This is commonly used by pandemic skeptics since they believe many of the COVID restrictions were more political rather than for health reasons. The war this is referencing is the Russian invasion on Ukraine. -
2022-01-29
Govern Me Harder Daddy
This is an Instagram post by jakewienhold. The picture posted by this user shows an NPC accepting all the COVID restrictions. The NPC is the grey character. The NPC itself is a meme that got popular in the late 2010s and has continued to have popularity into the 2020s. NPC stands for "Non Playable Character." The term has its origins in gaming where characters that have a pre-written script and can't go beyond that are an "NPC." This term has gone beyond gaming and has been used to refer to people of any political stripe as an NPC as an insult. It insinuates that people who would follow herd mentality for any cause have no thoughts of their own, like an NPC in a video game. The context of this picture shows an NPC having multiple vaccines injected in, while wearing a mask and a ball gag. The vaccines are referring to the COVID vaccines that some places have asked for people to go beyond two and get boosters. To critics of this, they see this as a ploy by big government and pharmacy to gain more money at the expense of the health of the people, as it is a common belief among the critics to claim that the vaccines are not safe. The mask has been a common trend during the pandemic, and is commonly used by critics to show that people following the rules imposed are being submissive towards the government. The ball gag is an extra thing that was added to show submissiveness and has some sexual connotations. The barcode on the forehead is a mark of being branded by the government and being tracked by said government. As with the things explained of this image, majority of the criticisms of the pandemic are based on the government response to it. For how much it limited some people's ability to make money or get things done that they needed to do, a lot of that anger is toward those governments limiting those freedoms. -
2022-03-02
I Support the Current Thing
This is an Instagram post by waking.the.dead. This is an NPC meme of people claiming they have a healthy distrust of authority, while supporting things imposed by authority. The NPC meme is a meme that gained popularity in the late 2010s and has had continued popularity in the 2020s. NPC stands for "Non Playable Character", which is a term used in gaming for pre-programed characters that have a set script for when the players interact with them. This has expanded to apply to people, with it being used as a slight towards any and all political sides, and portraying the side they don't agree with as having no original thoughts of their own. The context of the NPC meme with the "I have AIDS" thing at the bottom is a reference to the claim that some of the COVID vaccines actually weaken immune systems and sometimes give people AIDS. The mask with the Ukraine flag refers to the current war between Russia and Ukraine, and support of Ukraine in some circles has been seeing as "following the herd because the media/government said to." The top part of "I have healthy distrust of authority" is meant to be ironic, as the NPC has fallen for all the current narratives without question. -
2021-03-19
The Coronavirus Sounds Kinda Dangerous
This is an Instagram post by clarellou. The post is of a comic showing a man with unhealthy habits calling the coronavirus dangerous. This is supposed to be criticism of people not taking care of their own health, while being fearful of something less deadly than being obese or a drug abuser. -
0022-04-12
The Year the World Went Crazy
I was not directly affected by the Coronavirus, but I knew several who were, some got over it like a cold, others did not survive. There was a devastating number of deaths resulting from the virus, yet so many people adamantly believed it was fake, it was something created by the American government to control citizens. Talking to people from other countries, it was actually embarrassing because the events that transpired in 2020, well, not so much the events, but the reactions to these events, became quite a joke to other countries. 2020 was a year of total divide in many ways: mask wearers vs. mask refusers, pro-vaccination vs anti-vaccination, democrats vs. republicans, races and racism, hoarders vs. "just buy what you need" shoppers, partiers and clubbers vs. stay-at-homers, the list goes on. The thing that affected my life the most in 2020 was not COVID, but the society I live in being in a constant state of chaos and aggression and judgement. This was not the first time a virus spread to other countries from one origin country, it was not the first time that origin country was China, and it was not created by the American government to control the people....I guess 2020 was also a year of conspiracy theories. It's disgusting to think of all those who perished in the pandemic from the virus who are forgotten about or disregarded due to the conspiracy theories against the virus. It was just a horrible year all around, huge step back from mankind in its morals and ethics. -
2022-04-11
Mom, what is hypocrisy?
This is an Instagram post by childishscum. This is a meme where someone has overlaid a fake conversation in order to show a point. What the poster is arguing is that the same people saying "Free Ukraine" are also the ones wanting more lockdowns in their own cities and towns. "Freedom" in this case is taken very broadly, where fighting against an invasion for freedom is being conflated with wanting lockdowns lifted. -
2022-04-11
A New Stanford Study
This is an Instagram post by newsrescue, which is a news site that claims to bust "fake news." The study that this news story is referring to is one on spike proteins, which found that the vaccinated and unvaccinated had roughly the same amount of spike proteins in their blood. This news story is designed to show that the vaccines may not be as effective as they are claimed to be. -
2022-03-19
Thought on Pfizer's Fourth Booster
This is an Instagram post by willingtowalkaway. The poster is using a tweet to make their point. In the tweet, someone by the username of SaraVic333 says that she does not want another shot. In the hashtags in the Instagram post, the user is in agreement, saying that they do not want it either. Another thing that is tagged is "natural immunity", which some believe is enough to counteract COVID without needing a vaccine. Other tags include things like "I will not comply" and "poison." Posts like these are important because they help show what skeptics think of the vaccines from their own perspective rather than one assumed by others. -
2022-03-13
Pfizer CEO says fourth COVID-19 shot 'necessary' due to waning immunity
This is an Instagram post by the New York Post. This is of a news story in circulation currently regarding vaccines. Below, there are commenters expressing doubts in the effectiveness in the vaccines. Of note, one commenter says that they have already been vaccinated and boosted, but do not want anymore shots. Another is asking for it to stop already. To me, this shows some of the overall fatigue some are having with the vaccines themselves. -
2020-07-18
Rabbit holes
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2021-04-11
#FactCheck Vaccines in Peru
🔴 #FactCheck | El #Minsa alerta a la población ante la divulgación de información falsa. Instagram post targeting misinformation about the vaccines - including that all COVID-19 vaccines should be free. The commentators on this post are a bit more skeptical. -
2022-04-04
Trust the Science
This is an Instagram post by memefrog9000. This is another meme where it depicts a soy wojak (the wojak on the left) and the Chad wojak (the wojak on the right with the blond hair). This meme is making fun of people like the soy wojak that "trust the science", only later to get the virus despite getting vaccinated. The Chad wojak then suggests the soy wojak use some "horse paste" to help. "Horse paste" refers to Ivermectin, which is used to treat horses. There has been controversy if Ivermectin does treat COVID, or other things in humans for that matter, but the FDA currently recommends against it. -
2022-04-04
The Hypocrisy of Communists
This is an Instagram post by memefrog9000. This shows a meme of a communist getting mad at Wall Street for stealing money, but is okay with Pfizer making profits off of the vaccine, with the communist in the comic saying "Got my fourth Fauci-ouchy!! So glad all those anti-vax chuds are going to die!!" This meme is in the standard wojak format, and the wojak from the late 2010s to the current 2020s has been a popular meme format for certain groups. The wojak of the communist is meant to be depicted negatively because he has double standards on which corporations are allowed to profit. -
2022-04-04
Brainwashed Sheep
This is an Instagram post from _travelsnapz_. This post shows a picture of a massive group of sheep being led to the slaughter, which is Pfizer. It is accusing people that get the vaccine that they are sheep and doing so because they cannot think for themselves. -
2022-04-05
I Had Mild Symptoms Because I'm Fully Vaccinated
This is an Instagram post by tsmr76. This post shows a meme making fun of people that have gotten fully vaccinated, only to later get COVID. It is meant to question the idea that the vaccines are effective. In one of the tags of this post, they mention "mass formation psychosis", which was a term coined by Dr. Robert Malone in an interview with Joe Rogan. The idea behind this term is that it refers to a mob mentality behind the vaccines, where people will essentially believe what they hear, repeat it, and get others to join in; which creates an environment where everyone seemingly agrees with each other. This creates a mob mentality towards those that think differently. -
2022-04-07
Corrupt Vaccines
This is an Instagram post by dswlaura1. This post shows a TikTok video, with hashtags as a description. The tags refer to things like the Ottawa Freedom Convoy, which has been a massive ongoing protest against vaccine mandates in Canada. Other tags include references to "The Great Reset", which is a conspiracy theory that the pandemic was created in order to make people more subservient to elites in power, while losing both their money and freedoms in the process. "Agenda 2030" is another conspiracy theory where it was established that 2030 will be the official "end" to the virus, along with other things. -
2022-04-07
Fact Checkers Have Proven This False
This is an Instagram post by labrini_angelidou. This is a parody of the Adam and Eve story in the Bible, but it uses the fruit in place of the vaccine. The snake is representative of those encouraging you to take the vaccine, because the fact checkers have proven death from vaccines to be false. In the tags, many vaccines are listed, such as: Johnson and Johnson; Astrazeneca; Pfizer; and Moderna. -
2022-04-05
Truth Serum
This is an Instagram post by namastou, and is partly in French. The comic posted in addition to the caption is by Ben Garrison, a political comic artist based in the United States. The comic shows how "truth" is being injected into "medical tyranny", and with that, the truth is that the masks are akin to making you slaves to the government, the vaccines cause gene alteration, and that PCR tests can come out as a false positive. -
2022-04-05
Medical Tyranny
This is an Instagram post by namastou. This post is partly in French. The picture depicted are people part of the European Union signing a deal with Pfizer, one of the vaccine producers. The 2030 Agenda that is referenced is about the year 2030 being the year all the problems COVID has caused will be solved. An article is linked to this post in order to give more context to the 2030 Agenda and what it means for this comic. The conspiracy theories surrounding the 2030 Agenda also have to do with the New World Order, which has been a long-standing conspiracy theory even before the pandemic happened. -
2022-04-06
The Pass Wars
This is an Instagram post by namastou. This post is partly in French, and it is a satire on Star Wars. The post references President Emanuel Macron, the current French president in the tags. It also uses the tag #plandemie, which is a French way of saying "plandemic", which is the belief that this pandemic was planned out by the rich in order to get richer and control their populace. They also say #liberté, or "liberty", possibly referring to their side being the side of freedom. #thegreatreset is another tag that is about the pandemic triggering a "great reset" where the rich have almost near control of the population through things like vaccine passports, which would limit freedom of movement if some refused to get the vaccine, thus creating discrimination between the vaccinated and unvaccinated. -
2022-04-06
Pfizer Loyalty Card
This is an Instagram post by 4kron2. This user posted few tags, but the picture does give a lot of information. There has been a controversy on if booster shots are even needed, with some believing that this is a ploy by Big Pharma to get more money from the pandemic. This picture is a parody of loyalty cards some places have where if you buy a certain product or service enough times, you will get a reward. -
2022-04-07
The Elephant in the Room
This is an Instagram post by resistance_awakening_5d. This user posted a picture in reference to the "elephant in the room" regarding vaccines. This being that the unvaccinated are not dying. The user added tags like #pureblood, which means someone that has not gotten the vaccine, and is therefore "pure." Other tags include #depopulationagenda, which references the idea that the vaccines are meant to depopulate the world. #clotshot refers to the user believing the vaccines cause blood clots. These are just a few meanings of the tags used by the author of this post. -
2022-04-07
Brainwashing
This is an Instagram post by we_stand_together_uk. The post shows a comic of a man and his brain full of different narratives, with the man looking fearful. Quite a few of the narratives depicted are COVID related, such as: "masks work", "trust the science", and "get boosted now." The poster themselves in the tags says #saynotothevaccine and #wewillnotcomply, making me believe that they think that everyone that has taken the vaccine has been brainwashed in some way to accept it, when they believe it is dangerous. -
2022-04-02
The Globalist Vaccine Agenda
This is an Instagram post by epochtimes. The Epoch Times is a news organization. According to this post, it says that the vaccine passports are ways to limit freedom from government leaders. From my own experience with these arguments, a lot of it is not based on the vaccines themselves, but the fear of less rights to movement and more government spying. The vaccine passports would just be a way for the government to exert more control over the populace, using vaccines and public health as a facade to that. When I was searching for items to add, I used the #vaccine to find this. Noticeably, I had to click past a few things to even look under this hashtag, and it didn't allow me to see past a few posts, as Instagram has blocked from view many of the search results that come from this hashtag in particular. This was one of the few posts Instagram allowed me to see. -
2022-03-07
Decline the Vaccine
This is an Instagram post from brotherkamil. This user is posting their skepticism surrounding the vaccine, believing that it will cause ill health effects. By abstaining from the vaccine, the user says that they are 100% safe from averse reactions. -
2022-03-08
Florida Will Urge Parents Not To Vaccinate ‘Healthy’ Kids, Going Against CDC Advice
This is a news story from Scary Mommy, written by Lauren Levy. This story deals with Florida's position on vaccinating children and going against CDC guidelines. The author, Levy, is very against this and thinks it is irresponsible to be contrary to what the CDC suggests, claiming that it will make things more dangerous for kids if they don't take the vaccine. Some have been raising concerns that people are taking politicians words over those of doctors. Opponents have reminded parents that this is just a suggestion from Florida politicians, and not a mandate, meaning that they can discern for themselves if the vaccine is right for their kids. Ultimately, Levy believes parents should ignore what Florida politicians say and listen to doctors instead on what to do. -
2022-01-27
Populist nations fared much worse during Covid outbreak, new research says
This is a news story from CNBC, written by Chloe Taylor. This is a story about a study that came out about how well populist nations fared under COVID-19 compared to other nations around the world. More than 40 countries were included in this study, with the US, UK, and India being considered populist nations at the time that this was conducted. In 2020, the study claims that excess deaths were more than twice as high for populist ran governments. For comparison, the countries that were not considered populist in this study include Canada, Sweden, and Japan. For every 100 COVID related deaths, non-populist countries had an additional 8 deaths. In populist led countries, it was an additional 18 deaths for every 100 deaths. The study attributes this to higher citizen mobility that was allowed in populist nations, leading to more spread of the virus. It also claims that populist governments downplayed the severity of the virus itself, giving people the impression that things were safer than they actually were. -
2022-04-03
Man in Germany gets 90 COVID-19 shots to sell forged passes
This is a story by The Hill about a German man from Magdeburg getting the COVID vaccines a copious amount of times in order to make forged vaccine cards. The man in question is 60 years old and was caught in Eilenburg in Saxony. The article states that we do not know what effects will happen after getting the vaccine 90 times. The German government has been trying to crack down on forgeries of vaccine cards. This probably speaks of a bigger nationwide issue, where people will want forgeries if forced to get the vaccines that they see as against their will. With that, brings people like this man who will get the vaccine many times in order to make money off of selling forged vaccine cards. -
2021-04-08
Did COVID doubters' perspective get lumped in with deniers?
I believe we all know someone during the worst days of the pandemic who doubted that it was as serious as it really was. Perhaps they willingly discussed their perspective, reluctantly talked about it if pressed, or just did not even want to talk about it. I am not talking about the people seen in the attached article that were out protesting masks or vaccines, pushing conspiracy theories on 5G and Bill Gates' love of vaccines. I am thinking of the people we work with, are friends with, or very likely are in our families that just really just wanted life back to normal and did not think the global reaction was justified. A casual search of the internet for the perspectives of COVID doubters, or those who thought that the reaction to the pandemic was over-the-top, immediately sends you to articles and stories about the horrors and idiocy of the COVID deniers who pushed crazy theories about world dominance. Wouldn't it be nice to understand how the middle ground of the pandemic felt, lived, and reacted to the reality of the pandemic, if at all? We owe it to future generations to not only highlight the worst in the deniers, as seen in the attached article, but to also illustrate the everyday people who just were not sure who to believe, fake news or science. One thing is for sure, it is not fair to lump everyone in the middle into the far right. I would like to hear the stories of people who doubtfully lived in the pandemic, their trials, frustrations, and tribulations and if they had any change of heart or ideals. Their perspective will give a further understanding of the sociological impact of the pandemic. -
2020-04-14
Live free or die
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2020-07-03
Bad science, bad business practices
The attached article is about a plant nursery in Snohomish, Washington that banned its employees from wearing face masks on June 3, 2020. This business did not take safety precautions for its employees seriously, and actively encouraged and promoted unsafe practices. This is something that is worth being documented in the JOPTY due to the fact that the stereotype of Western Washington state is that it is very liberal, very progressive. But there are still many pockets of areas that still are not. It’s important to remember that this stereotype isn’t true. I think this is also something that is another example of the general public not taking the lives and significance that service industry/customer service workers seriously. -
2022-03-28T08:40
Covid the Great Destabilizer
My personal experience -
2020-04-14
Reflections of a Grocery Worker
This photograph is a selfie photo from my time working at my local grocery store in Wakefield, Rhode Island, USA. I don't have many photos from this period that reflect the pandemic and my memories of it, but this photo represents the early days as the USA first began to adopt masking after the CDC realized that non-symptomatic spread was happening. Experiencing the pandemic through the lens of a grocery store was very interesting. It was a unique perspective for understanding different people's anxieties and doubts around the pandemic. It was also a strenuous place to be during the pandemic, having to constantly adapt to supply chain issues, worker shortages, and the mental strain of working in a likely unsafe environment. About a month into the pandemic I was asked to move from my home department of prepared foods, and help the grocery-stocking staff catch up with the unpredictable shipments coming in. Shortly after that, I was moved over to the front of the store to help keep count of the people in the store and encourage customers to use masks/hand sanitizer. I remember being met with a wide variety of gratitude, skepticism, resistance, and more--even including a lecture on covid as a conspiracy! At times, this role brought me anxiety as I saw news stories of door-people and security guards being killed or harmed for asking visiting customers to wear a mask. In a weird way, when I left my job to attend grad school at UMass Boston, I felt a bit of suvivor's guilt. Whenever I come home to Rhode Island, I hear that the folks at my old store continue to struggle even over a year deeper into the pandemic. -
2022-02-16
Destruction of COVID signage/safety equipment
This email chain documents a series of incidents in my workplace where an anonymous individual has engaged in acts of vandalism against COVID safety signage. -
2021-10
The Division of Covid-19
Since the pandemic started life has definitely changed in plenty of ways, not just for me but for everyone. From the way we learn in school and work jobs to the way we interact in public and meet people. One thing covid brought that I saw prevalent in a few different aspects of my life was a new reason for division amongst people. This new reason for division is almost a political thing, where there are people that are nervous and scared that covid is harmful and then the people who do not care and believe covid is blown out of proportion. I see this division in things like media, politics, family, and friends. It makes a lot of things confusing for me because I never know which side to listen to. The crazy thing to see for me is how a pandemic can come around and cause so much separation. At a point it started to seem like it was the only thing I heard people talking about and it would drive me crazy. If I put on the news, it was always someone saying everyone needs masks, then I flip the channel and the next station is saying mask are bad and should not be on all day. Then it came to my family, my dad would tell me I needed all the vaccines and booster but my mom on the other hand told me to do whatever I wanted and did not care. Seeing all of this back a fourth throughout this time would frustrate me because it made making my mind up so difficult. This eventually even got to my friends, and I saw friends that would argue about whether people should get the booster or not, and I thought it was so ridiculous. The reason I bring up this point of division is because I believe it is interesting how everyone has reacted to covid. I also feel like it has made people feel the need to push their opinions and ideas onto other people, it is something I have seen first-hand in my life. Similar to the way Hitler or Stalin pushed their ideas on everyone, but on a very different level. Maybe one day people will just let each other choose for themselves. -
2022-01-29
Save our Children Tour?
The anti-vaxxers are out in full force. Disguising themselves as Patriots dedicated to personal freedoms and, for some reason, the saviors of children? This Save Our Children tour harkens back to Anita Bryant’s homophobic “Save Our Children” movement in the 1970s but it’s unclear if they’re the same thing? No about page on their website. I find this disturbing that not only are people hesitant to get vaccinated, some groups are mobilizing to spread misinformation and disinformation about the vaccines as well. This comes in the tail of Neil Young’s ultimatum he delivered to Spotify about their hosting of Joe Rogan’s podcast. Neil Young and now Joni Mitchell have demanded that Spotify drop their music if they keep hosting Joe Rogan. Spotify’s stocks are way down since they chose Joe Rogan over Neil Young. -
2021-11-13
Anti-Vaxxers in the Family
I have a minimum of 2 resolute anti-vaxxers in my extended family. We try to avoid conflict but sometimes their ignorance is just too much for me to bear and I feel like I have to set the record straight. Here's a summary of what's going on in these screenshots from a FB post. 1. Great aunt posts a meme using the experience of the Polio vaccine to promote the COVID vaccine. (meme included) 2. Anti-vax aunt (orange) posts snarkily that in the case of the polio vaccine, it was only rolled out after 60 years of research. 3. I step in (as a historian of public health) and comment that she's mistaken, the polio vaccine went from lab to roll out in 25 years. While mRNA (on which the COVID vax is based) was first discovered in a lab 35 years ago so it stands to reason that the amount of time between lab and roll out is similar. 4. Meanwhile... anti-vax second cousin (purple- daughter of great aunt who made the original post and also resolutely anti-vax) tags anti-vax aunt (orange) and says "amen." as in... she lends her support 5. Anti-vax aunt (orange) responds to my initial rebuff in #3 and says "wrong. it took 35 years to discover it was a virus" (as if that, added to the 25 years of development constitutes 60 years of "research" 6. I step back in and repeat... polio vaccine research began in 1930, and it rolled out in the US in 1954. Surely she doesn't want to go back to the "good old days" when it took 30 years to discover whether something was a virus, really...?? 7. I was wrong. Anti-vax aunt (orangs) DOES want that. She says, "Yes, really" 8. pro-vax cousin (light blue-an oncology NP) comments "Wow. That's sad to think about" 9. Anti-vax aunt (orange): ? 10. pro-vax cousin (light blue): is we were not able to identify viruses like we can today. It's sad to think about all of the people that would die unnecessarily. This exchange went on but I just don't have it in me to continue with screenshots. Great aunt (original poster) chimes in and says she doesn't care what people's beliefs are but both of her daughters (one of them the anti-vaxxer in purple) families have COVID right now and she's in her 70s and was exposed to both and never caught it. She firmly believes it's because the vaccine works. Anti-vax aunt claimed she "didn't post a belief, she posted a fact" I said "no. you posted an incorrect fact that was skewed to make it look like the polio vaccine underwent 35 more years of research than it actually did and I corrected you." It's amazing to me that technology that has been in development for 35 years (mRNA) is seen with such suspicion because the virus it's being used with COVID-19 is new. So the assumption is that the vaccine is "untested" even though the technology behind it has a robust research history. I'm even more amazed by people who are anti-covid vaccine even though they had their full slew of childhood vaccines on schedule. I have two very close family members who refused to get vaccinated (different family members than the two distant family featured above) and they had all of their childhood vaccines. One of them even told me she fully expected that everyone who was vaccinated with the COVID vaccine will die in a few years or even "sprout dicks" for all she knows.... yes... It's imperative that we, as a society, figure out how to address misinformation and disinformation. Certainly, facts/statistics/"Research" are open to interpretation to a degree but much anti-vax info out there is politically motivated. It's not coming from scientists who spend their whole lives studying this stuff.... it's coming from PACs and anti-establishment groups who have beef with the US government and/or "Big Pharma" or Western medicine. -
2020-08-10
HIST30060: 5G Conspiracy
(HIST30060) This photo is of a drawing by one of my housemates of part of a postcard that we received during the first lockdown in 2020. Conspiracy theories surrounding the virus and 5G had just begun to spread during Melbourne's first lockdown, yet my housemates and I felt quite removed from this phenomenon as our social circle mainly consisted of other young, progressive students who were very against these sorts of theories. Receiving this postcard in the mail however, was quite a shock, knowing that people close to us in our area of Melbourne shared these beliefs. Whilst we initially found the image of a man with a hole cut out of his mask humorous, hence the drawing, we were also astounded at the intensity of the covid-scam propaganda. This also marked my first taste of the bitter divide that was to come between pro and anti vaxxers in 2021. -
2021-09-10
The debate on the nature of coronavirus
This is a sticker I saw on the street that says 'imagine having a virus so deadly you have to be tested to even know if you have it.' It appears as though someone has attempted to peel it off. I think this image reflects rather well the differing opinions and theories about the origins and seriousness of the virus. That someone has attempted to remove it signals the rather heated and emotional nature of the debate, as those who question what we have been told about the virus are regularly labeled 'conspiracy theorists.' In my view, that there is differing opinions on the virus, no matter how controversial, is part of the free speech that makes this country so great, and that we can debate these issues somewhat freely should not be taken for granted. -
2021-10-01
HIST30060: White Rose
I found this sticker while I was walking to pick up a click-and-collect order. I was struck by it because of its reference to 'The White Rose', an anti-Nazi movement begun by Sophie Scholl in 1942 Germany. The insensitivity and total misunderstanding of what constitutes oppression is a touchstone to the anti-lockdown and anti-vaxxer movements. It made me wonder how they could appropriate histories of discrimination - do they simply not understand the Holocaust, or do they genuinely believe that their situation is similar to it? -
2021-08-24
The proof is(n't) obvious.
Memes denoting the deep irony of our current moment in time seem to have become very popular since the start of the pandemic. Early on, someone used this meme to draw a comparison between the developing movement of people who claimed that COVID-19 was/is a hoax, and that refuted data by mere denial. -
2021-09-07
Thoughts on Covid-19 Vaccine and Blood Clots: Social Media Screenshots
As someone who has studied the history of disease and epidemics, I know that disease causes widespread fear and panic. The uncertainties and unknowns of disease cause people to question themselves, others, and even medical professionals. Sometimes, questioning and being skeptical is what saves lives. For example, questioning Dr. Rush's treatment methods in the yellow fever epidemic of Philadelphia or questioning miasma theory during the outbreaks of cholera in London. Recently, there have been cases of blood clots as a result of the Covid-19 vaccine. This is a screenshot of what WHO has to say about the blood clots and a comment from myself. While I would love to get the vaccine, and I was originally hopeful about getting it, I'm too scared and unsure what to do. Although WHO says cases of blood clots are rare, there are still many people like myself who are skeptical and only want to make the right decision for their own health and life. With talk of possible mandated vaccines, I am uncertain about what the future will look like for me and others like me. -
2021-09-07
Thoughts on Covid-19 Vaccine and Blood Clots: Social Media Screenshot
As someone who has studied the history of disease and epidemics, I know that disease causes widespread fear and panic. The uncertainties and unknowns of disease cause people to question themselves, others, and even medical professionals. Sometimes, questioning and being skeptical is what saved lives. For example, questioning Dr. Rush's treatment methods in the yellow fever epidemic of Philadelphia or questioning miasma theory during the outbreaks of cholera in London. Recently, there have been cases of blood clots as a result of the Covid-19 vaccine. This is a screenshot of what WHO has to say about the blood clots and a comment from myself. While I would love to get the vaccine, and I was originally hopeful about getting it, I'm not too scared and unsure what to do. Although WHO says cases of blood clots are rare, there are still many people like myself who are skeptical and only want to make the right decision for their own health and life. With talk of possible mandated vaccines, I am uncertain about what the future will look like for me and others like me. -
2020-03-30
Covid Parking
I had a friend that kept telling me that the pandemic was fake. I told her that we needed to take it serious. When I took my daughter to the local urgent care for a doctors appointment, this was the parking lot scene. I just remember being blown away at the seriousness of the situation. The urgent care separated even those that came in for covid testing from the other patients, just to keep things extra safe. -
2021-05-16
Vaccine Hesitancy in the Black Community
This tweet reflects an ongoing controversy of the Covid-19 vaccine. The media has reported a hesitancy of the mRNA vaccine amongst the black community, but with little to no context on why there is such hesitancy. Based on the history of the U.S. public health institution, there have been reported inequalities that include a racial hierarchy within the medical system. This tweet specifies the instances of medical malpractice committed towards people of color and insists on an understanding of racial inequality through the lens of people of color that led to skeptical feelings about the vaccine. -
2021-10-06
COVID-19 and the Family Divide
My submission details the drastic shift in the lives of the family unit after the emergence of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. It is important for me to discuss the pandemic's effects within the household as they pertain to internal religio-political affairs. -
2021-09-20
Vaccine Doubters
I have a screenshot of several anti-vax debates from my town's FB group. The poster was against vaccinating kids. -
2021-10-04
Plague and Faith
I began the Plague Year in the heartland of the United States: Rogers, Arkansas. I was towards the end of my two year term of service for my church, which was my full time job from 2018-2020. After spending nearly two years focusing wholeheartedly on Christian and spiritual concepts such as redemption, outreach, transcendence, faith, repentance, covenants, and endurance, my mindset going into the pandemic was admittedly a spiritual one. More specifically, I saw the pandemic as a growing opportunity for the whole world. The key, I thought, was that the coronavirus doesn't discriminate: It can infect you regardless of your race, socioeconomic status, social class, sexual preferences, or gender identity. It is a threat to everyone. Although we later learned that the disease, in fact, does affect people disproportionately, this one tenet of my philosophy- that it poses a threat to everyone- still stands. With this in mind, coupled with my heavily Christian, and moreover religious perspective, I viewed the advent of the coronavirus as a lesson that humanity had the opportunity to learn from. Whether they would take that opportunity, I couldn't say at the beginning, as I had recently seen examples that bolstered my faith in humanity, and also ones that degraded it. This was particularly interesting to consider immediately after exiting the 2010s, a period that many Americans and people of the world view as a tumultuous one. What I can say, however, is that I was optimistic. Even if a divisive political climate, humanitarian crises across the world, the longest war in American history, and a widespread mental health crisis couldn't jumpstart people's empathy for one another, hopefully a worldwide pandemic could. Looking back after 18 months of plague, I would say that I have observed mixed results. In very visible ways, the world, and particularly the United States, has become considerably more divisive. I look at the rise of conspiracy groups, the charged conversations I've observed related to masks or vaccines, the storming of the capitol, or the events that led to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, and I think that the pandemic has only served to stress people beyond their breaking point. I am disappointed. Now that I am much more involved at a secular institution, in a state university, and much less involved in my church, I often fall into skeptical and even cynical thoughts lamenting humanity's inability to learn a lesson. I revile at the unchecked pride that rules the lives of so many. I look around and see many who would rather be "right" than be objectively correct. These people are my friends, family members, former mentors, and authority figures. Like the Coronavirus, these shortcomings of character have the ability to affect anybody. I would like to say that I have seen the same results on the other side, that I have seen enough examples of individual acts of courtesy and kindness to offset the vitriol, but I don't know that I can. I also don't know if I can't in good conscience make that observation, the proverbial jury is still out on that one. That will take more time to see. True change is something that stands the test of time, which we haven't had the luxury of observing yet. While the hate, cynicism and conflict that I have previously mentioned are very visible, and immediately announce themselves, change in the perspectives and hearts of people is more of a slow and gradual process, especially considering that the pandemic is not over. I hope to observe in later years that this pandemic defined our generation in a positive way, the same way that our progenitors gained appreciation and humility and grit from the great depression. I know that I, for one, have made efforts to do the same. I suppose that this all comes back to faith- faith that I have that this will one day be worth it. Although my life is a lot more secular these days, I retain the same faithful perspective that I gained volunteering with my religious organization for 2 years, the one that I had at the beginning of the Plague. It has not broken me, and deep down, I don’t truly believe that it’s broken the collective “us”, either. -
2021-10-01
I don't have any answers.
One of the more grueling things to come out of the pandemic, for me at least, has been to watch my family fall prey to misinformation and fear-mongering. When the vaccines started coming out, my family refused to get them. I felt like I couldn't get them without causing an upset in my family. I figured that, since I am an online student and I rarely leave the house, it was okay if I didn't get vaccinated, but really the only reason I didn't was because I was afraid of my family's anger. I felt like I had no choice, to be honest. It's a horrible feeling. In addition, my mother convinced my grandparents that getting the COVID vaccine booster shot is pointless, because people who are vaccinated are still getting COVID. Even though from what I understand, this only happens in very rare cases. She also tried to scare me out of getting the vaccine by claiming that women who get it experience irregular menstruation, a sign of infertility, or sharing news stories of people who had allergic reactions, got sick from the shot, etc. I cannot adequately describe my sheer frustration with this attitude of thinking they know better than doctors. A month ago, my mother noticed a strange purchase listed on one of our bills. She called my father and learned that he had purchased Ivermectin, a drug normally given to horses, because he had read something on the Internet about how it could be used to treat COVID. People have been overdosing on this stuff and it makes them extremely sick or could even kill them. We were able to convince my father to return his purchase, but my mother heard from her chiropractor (a very strange and eccentric man, in my opinion) that his wife, a licensed doctor or nurse, had been giving her elderly father small dosages of Ivermectin to treat COVID, and that it had supposedly worked. She asked me if I thought she should tell my father this. I said no, because I don't think he understands the difference between a licensed medical professional doing something and a person with no medical training attempting to do the same. Having said all this, I also must admit that I do not know who or what to believe. Do I put by absolute faith and trust in anyone who is labeled an "expert"? Well, no. Experts are human, and they are not immune to mistakes. So part of me does understand people wanting to take matters into their own hands, because they feel like the only person they can completely trust is themselves. I just wish more common sense was used and more people were able to grasp nuances, I guess. Is that the experts' fault for not being clear enough, or is it the people's fault for not understanding? I don't have any answers. I don't think anyone does. -
2021-07-12
Working during the Covid-19 Pandemic
I took a summer job in this pandemic working at a summer camp with young children. At first, I was skeptical because of the times we’re living in, and because kids just have poor habits that can cause the COVID-19 virus or any bacteria to spread. But then I just did it because it beats staying at home all day. There were many safety precautions and guidelines that took place to keep everyone safe and healthy. Any sick kids or staff were sent home and couldn’t come back until they were better. In addition, we had to check our temperatures every day, the staff had to fill out daily health surveys before arrival, we always had to have our masks on, disinfect each classroom after we use it, and wash our hands frequently. We went by a schedule, so there wouldn't be any confusion or unnecessary crowds. In terms of safety, the summer camp did a good job keeping everyone protected from the COVID-19 virus or any other sickness. Overall, the experience was different than the regular summer camp because we couldn’t do as much. But we made the best of it for both the staff and children.