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2020-04-01
When the coronavirus pandemic caused severe lock downs to be put in place in March and April of 2020 throughout Queensland, local councils and other entities were quick to put up signs of warning about the virus and what actions had been banned as a consequence of it. These photos were taken between the 1st and the 11th of April 2020, generally while participating in the allowed activity of exercising outdoors, once per day. In those early days, the prevailing advice that was shared, and reflected in these photographs, was that the virus could be easily spread through touching shared surfaces (as opposed to airborne transmission). Therefore there was a focus on warning people not to touch or use certain objects in public places, and many previously bustling public spaces such as dog off leash parks were closed to the public. Now, as of April 2021, the advice is quite different, and the "don't push the button: pedestrian crossing now automated" stickers have been removed from many crossings. I took these photos at the time because I felt it was important to document some of the things I saw during the pandemic (that were a direct consequence of the pandemic). This is because it is easy to forget things that occurred or to have flawed memories of events that decay further over time. At the time I found (and still find) the photos to be eerie and unsettling, the familiar world around me changed in a way that I had not experienced before.
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2021-03-09
My name is Erica Ruhland and I was a senior online during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I live with my two grandparents. Both are in their late 70’s, and because of them, I have been taking the pandemic extremely seriously. This year has been a constant battle of inner turmoil. My moral compass has been spinning for over a year now. The following has been some of the struggles and sacrifices I have made over the course of the year:
Quarantining from my grandparents for 12 days in my room, multiple times
Cutting my work hours to limit possible exposure
Quarantining from my boyfriend for 4 months.
I had several close calls where I had worked with someone who then tested positive for Covid-19. Each time it would send me into an emotional spiral of guilt. Guilt for working in a customer service job. But it was this job that was paying for my school and gave me health insurance. I couldn’t be without health insurance during a pandemic. But I felt a great deal of shame and guilt over my minimum wage job. I had already cut my hours down, but I was stuck between making a living and staying alive. The constant battles with customers, begging with them to put on a mask, or just simply having to nod when they denied Covid’s existence began to take its toll on my soul.
This pandemic has turned me bitter. I have seen too many cruel humans refuse to help their fellow neighbors. A simple mask has the potential to destroy or save my grandpa’s life.
HandsOn Greater Phoenix is a volunteer program that helps find volunteers for several campaigns across the state. They were in charge of organizing the volunteer program for the “Vaccinate State 48” initiative. This is how I got the vaccine. The rule was, you had to volunteer at the State Farm Arena vaccination site for 8 hours and then you could receive the vaccine shot afterwards.
After battling out for a volunteer spot online, I had secured a spot for me to help out on March 9th, 2021. From 6am to 2pm, I stood outside and directed traffic. I was one of the last volunteers people would see. After they received their shot, I would direct their cars out of the massive parking lot. I saw so many older citizens that day. Each time I couldn’t help but think of my own grandparents.
As I waited in line, sitting in my car after volunteering, I felt a huge wave of emotion. It was a mixture of exhaustion, relief, fear, and joy. I started talking to the nurse and I told her that I was nervous for the shot but also really happy. This is when I began to tear up and cry. After the shot, I felt a huge weight lifted from me. All the sacrifices I had made to keep myself and my family safe, they were worth it. I had done my part to help not just myself or my loved ones, but my community, strangers that I may never meet again.
My moral compass aligned North once more. I felt validated. I used the small power I have to effect a big change in my community. My bitterness began to fade. Even now, a month later, I still think about the other volunteers, they all believed we were helping effect great change and saving people. It was like a religion. I had been baptized with the vaccine. On that day I felt like I belonged to a church, preaching to the community. Our sermons were us showing the elders where to drive, and how to schedule their next dose. Our gospel was Phfizer and we sent missionaries out to spread the good news. My sign of piety was the sunburn on my neck where I had forgotten sunscreen and my vaccine papers. This sense of purpose and passion is I’m sure the driving force behind every religion.
This pandemic has shown me the worst of people. I will not forget it.
This pandemic has shown me the great lengths I and others will go to, to protect their community. I will never forget that. There is strength in a common goal. Vaccinate Sate 48.
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2021-03-27
The rise in Asian hate crimes has gone hand in hand with COVID. This certainly was not helped by the previous administration continually referring to COVID as “China Flu” or “Kung Flu.” One of the more horrifying things is how close to home these incidents are happening. Just this month, there were two attacks at a local park on Asian Americans. One was on a Japanese-American Olympian, who was in training. The other was on an elderly Korean-American couple. I live in Southern CA, which has the third highest proportion of the population identifying as Asian, yet even here, racism and racially motivated violent crimes are happening. If there is any positive that is coming out of this, it is the honest conversations we’re having with our children about race. In light of George Floyd and similar situations, the immigrant population at the border, and anti-Asian crimes, our kids are engaged in an active dialogue about equity, prejudice, racism and our response to it. My children are proud to be Asian-American and seeing that pride and them use their voices, even in a small way, makes me hopeful for positive change. Like their signs say, they are proud to be Asian AND American, and to love them like people love Asian food! Oh yeah, and in this pandemic year, a reminder that they are not a virus.
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2020-08-08
I submitted a story of my life during the pandemic and the positives that I have decided to focus on when looking back on this past year.
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2021-04-22
I foolishly thought that it would be easy to write this post. I didn’t anticipate struggling so much with finding the right words to explain the impact the last year of pandemic life has had on me, but I’ve deleted about a hundred paragraphs of rambling, existential stream of consciousness nonsense about cherishing the small moments and growing in the face of adversity because it is surprisingly hard to be concise about your feelings on an event you’re still living through. I’m starting to think that maybe doing so is impossible, so instead of falling into cliche and flowery prose, I want to just be blunt.
I haven’t seen my family in two years. My grandmother has dementia and in that time it has worsened exponentially. On a weekly basis, I have a call with my mom that starts with a debrief on whatever the newest updates in her condition are and ends with a plea to visit as soon as I feel comfortable traveling. Every day, I go into my retail job and tell them no, I don’t have symptoms or live with anyone with symptoms while waiting for the beep of a thermometer meant to ensure I don’t have a fever. I breathe through two layers of fabric, disinfect my work area between transactions, and field rants about restrictive mask mandates for six hours a day, then come home and begin the process of undressing, banishing my clothes to the washer, and trying to relax before I have to do it all again.
Everything in that paragraph is, to put it nicely, so bleak it hurts. It’s easy to get caught in the feelings of overwhelm that came along with this pandemic and it would be a farce to say that there aren’t days where everything feels like way too much for one person to handle. Surprisingly, though, the thing that has blissfully not survived the most turbulent year of my life is the apathetic, empty cynicism I used to feel. Instead, I feel weirdly hopeful that this is the beginning of massive change both in myself and on a global level. Maybe it’s naive to think that way and maybe it’s just a coping mechanism to help me through the pandemic, but there’s a part of me that thinks that may not even matter because the changes are coming regardless.
In the last year, I’ve moved out of Nevada and into a pink house in California with the love of my life. Despite a fraught, stressful prior experience in college, I’ve finally come back to higher education in a way that feels both healthy and exciting. The field of religious studies has reawakened my passion for learning and my ability to grow in academia. I’ve abandoned my skeptical, agnostic views and traded them out for a brand of religiosity that combines self-improvement, magic, and trust in something bigger than myself.
I know how that all sounds and if the last sentence has you rolling your eyes reading this, I get it. The last year has been weird, don’t get me wrong. If I told a 20-year-old version of myself that one day we’d be living through the plague of a lifetime, studying religion with hopes of examining cultism, and practicing a version of witchcraft grounded in our ex-Catholic roots, I doubt she would believe me. It admittedly sounds pretty wacky all laid out in plain English like that. Part of what I’ve learned throughout the pandemic, though, is that suspending cynicism, skepticism, and disbelief can sometimes lead you to unexpectedly lovely places.
Whether I saw it coming or not, Covid has changed my life in countless ways, just as I’m sure it’s changed the lives of everyone reading these entries. Some changes have been for the worse, certainly, but the things that have changed for the better are what I’m choosing to focus on. I’ve read articles about a reemergence of spirituality amongst young people that make me think others have been having similar ideas and something about that feels good. We’ve spent a lot of time isolated, lonely, and missing a sense of belonging we took for granted before, but there’s reassurance for me in knowing that my experiences aren’t all that different from anyone else’s. That type of community, however it manifests, is (and I hope you’ll forgive this admitted slip into flowery prose) something that the pandemic has taught us we must cherish above everything else because it’s what makes our little human lives worth living. More than anything, whenever this pandemic reaches the time where we split our lives into not just before, but after, I hope we don’t forget that.
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2021-04-22
This story just tells what the world looked like during the Covid pandemic through my eyes.
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2021-04-22
Throughout the pandemic I have found myself with a lot more time for introspection than usual. I had thought at the start of this pandemic I had felt rather self-assured. I thought I knew what I wanted as a career, for my future, and mostly what kind of person I wanted to become. However, the more time I spent alone the more I realized how much of myself had been a performance for others. For once, the pandemic encouraged me to slow down enough to evaluate what my own personal wants and needs are.
I also grew spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. I was especially surprised to find myself changing my opinions on religion. For years, I have subscribed to rather devout atheism, to the point it nears becoming a religion in my attempts to cut it out. However now I have found myself accepting the mystic much more, and allowing myself to stop explaining everything. Though all these added experiences I was able not to find something new in my queerness per say, but a new way to relate to my world. I was able to find peace with myself as a queer person in the world, not in spite of it. I think the time alone allowed me a lot of space to appreciate the community and its place. To finally start feeling like the bonds and friendships and joy of myself and other queer people is worth even more than just surviving.
I think one of the most important things that happened was coming to terms with myself as a nonbinary person. For years I was confident I was a binary trans man due to my physical transition goals and personal fears of being delegitimized in public. I finally realized and accepted that myself is no one else’s business. I have found a new peace with living authentically, even when other people react poorly.
Finally, I honestly love being queer.
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2021-04-22
Staying inside all day has given me the want to greatly improve my entertainment center. This includes getting a nicer TV that was on sale and dusting off old video game consoles from long ago.
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2020-06-29
The unpredictable horrors of pandemic
“Corona Virus” the most lethal being on the earth that swept a mass population since its spread in December 2019.
The Corona Virus had already started its attack and only a few cases had been reported in Wuhan, China until 2020, where it spread like a wildfire taking down millions of people. I belong to Nepal which is a neighboring country to China, so it surely was at higher risk which led to a countrywide lockdown in March 2020. It was then, people started to realize the seriousness of the situation. I would like to share my part of the pandemic experience in the first person “We” because I believe in this time I was with my family and we went through this experience- some bitter and some sweet but we were always together as a single unit.
When the lockdown was imposed in Nepal, people were not aware of why it was being done. Why a mere viral disease was threatening nations? People took it as an excuse to vacation from work and school. We were told to stay inside the house, wear a mask and avoid gatherings by the national authorities. We could only go out for buying essentials (food, medicine) in the evening between 6-7 PM. Other times we were enjoying with our family because it is very rare to have this much free time in this busy life. We would cook new dishes, we also started gardening, growing vegetables in our backyard, and sometimes there was even “Movie Time” with the family. So, for the first few weeks, this lockdown was a perfect family time.
Then the economy slowly started to tremble. People were left jobless, savings started to dry out. We were getting conscious and calculative on the grocery shopping. We own a garment factory (textiles and embroidery) so with no shops open during the time, we were also struggling with the money.
My sister was currently stuck in Bangladesh because she had gone there for her educational studies and was stuck since both the countries were on lockdown. She finally arrived back home in June 2020 in an evacuation flight. She was then on self-isolation for 14 days. In these days of self-isolation, she showed no signs of COVID. Finally, on her last day of isolation, she went for a test and the horrors began. The reports came POSITIVE. This came as a shock to all of us because she had followed all the health protocols both in Bangladesh, during the flight, and after arriving in Nepal.
We all were in disbelief and were taken aback. Unfortunately, the same day when the reports came out, there a news report regarding the lab where the reports were tested had cross-contamination, leading to inaccurate results in the hospital that day (the same day as my sister was tested). All of the samples were tested positive. Health authorities had to investigate that matter. But since she had no symptoms whatsoever, we wanted to re-check. Before we could even go to the other hospital, the members from the localities hurdled outside our house. They had been informed that an infected person was there in the area. My mom and dad went out to calm the crowd, trying to convince us that the results were doubtful and we were going for a re-check. The crowd was more like an angry mob and was dismissing all our claims, maybe also because this was the first case in our locality. They didn’t want to hear what we had to say. They forcefully started sealing the gates and the areas of our house, ordering all our neighbors to stay away from the area. They were told not to cross the gate and come in contact with us.
Since the coronavirus is truly a big deal, though we had some doubts, we accepted that all our family members should go into isolation. But this was easier said than done. For those 14 days, we had no one around us to help. We couldn’t go out to get groceries or even other essentials. Our neighbors were threatened by the local authorities to not help us. They couldn’t send us the groceries or anything else. We were cast away from the whole society around that time.
Luckily, we had an aunt living nearby. She used to leave us grocery items in our backdoors before the sunrise…. before anyone could even see. And we would run outside abiding by proper protocols, get those items and be back inside, panting, hoping no one saw us. At that time we had no money, limited food supply, and many mouths to feed. It was like we were living in an apocalyptic world. Baseless rumors had started to spread around the society stating we were seen partying and having gatherings a few days back. People would ring us up just to blame us as if we were the rotten ones. The most heartbreaking incident was when we were called by the local authority asking us to not come out on the balcony because according to them, somehow, we were exposing the virus in our area. Those 2 weeks became hell for our family.
Finally, on the 14th day, all the members of our family members took a PCR test, and luckily, we were all tested negative. So in simple terms, we had recovered BUT society still didn’t accept us. Whenever we used to go to the shop, we were stared at and could hear whispers behind our back. People used to stay away from us and we were regarded (sort of) untouchables even after we had medical reports to prove them otherwise.
Then a month later, even my maternal grandmother was infected with the virus. We could not go visit her as the hospital didn’t permit and she was under strict surveillance. She soon developed pneumonia as a complication of the COVID attack. Almost half of her lungs had been severely damaged and on 29th November 2020 she passed away.
This pandemic left a great impact on us. We suffered great loss both emotionally and financially. From sneaking in groceries like smugglers to bidding goodbye to someone who loved us the most, it will always be an inerasable memory for us. Even as I write my experience, my words are not enough to emphasize the pain this pandemic has caused. But all I can say is we fought this as a FAMILY.
One for All and All for One.
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2020-06-11
It tells of a time of a senior in college who is unable to live his final year of college because of the restrictions associated with COVID-19. Life experiences associated with being a senior at ASU have been lost in this lost year of COVID-19.
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2020-08-30
I want to share a beautiful story about hope, healing and creativity during the pandemic that originated here in Charleston, South Carolina. It is about how 20 artists from 8 different states got together from afar while physically separated to spread joy and happiness through a large art collaboration. There was no other goal than simply wanting to heal our world.
The Together While Apart Art Project grew from a desire to combat the sadness and isolation that was prevalent during the pandemic. Twenty artists from over 8 states got together from afar to use their creative gifts to collaborate on one large work of art. What is significant about this group project is that each artist channeled the emotions they were experiencing during the height of the global pandemic in hopes of healing themselves as well as providing comfort to a broader audience.
The 20 artists were from many diverse backgrounds and from 8 different states. I was able to locate them through an open call on social media, as well as using contacts generated by a wide range of friends and family.
At the onset of this project, the only art supplies I had to send each participant were an abundant supply of recycled shipping boxes. Because much of my art is built from repurposed items, keeping this theme of repurposing for the Together While Apart Art Project was very fitting.
I sent each artist several 6” x 6” square pieces of cut cardboard from these recycled boxes with one simple instruction: think outside of the box! My goal was that through the creative process, each artist would find an outlet for his or her feelings and eventually these emotions would transform into joy. Ultimately, our collective joys would be multiplied and shared with many others through our artwork.
I knew the world needed this dynamic group’s creative gifts. I also knew these amazing participants needed to share their gifts in order to process the current situation the world was in. I can say with certainty, that I am amazed at the outcome. This collaborative piece tells an inspirational story of resiliency, connections and hope during a pandemic that none of us could have imagined a few years ago.
And now, it is time to find this amazing piece a home. If you have a suggestion for an appropriate place that we might donate and/or exhibit this piece, please let me know. I would consider doing a rotation cycle so that several organizations may each enjoy this amazing artwork.
Wherever this piece is displayed, I hope it inspires love, warmth, optimism, strength and happiness-the emotions we all felt while creating our individual squares. When people view this beautiful collaboration, they will be reassured that our collective strength grows when we come together by showing love and support for one another. When we connect with one another, we can use our strengths to work towards a greater good. Together, even while apart, we can do great things. And despite the utter chaos and sadness in the world, there are always kind hearted people working to find ways to bring hope and healing to others.
Here is a very short video celebrating this project.
https://youtu.be/9eGsOCIqESY
Fondly,
Deane Bowers
Charleston, SC
804-874-2929
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2021-05-22
The JOTPY archives rapidly developed while the Covid-19 pandemic was still new for all of us. I was one of the original interns who joined HST580 as the class, and the archives were being developed. Although, I am not interested in pursuing public history as a career, I was hoping to learn a little bit about public history so I could share what I learned with my own students. Through the internship I gained experience in curating, data collection, addressing silences, community outreach, ethics, and producing oral histories.
One of my passions during the internship has been documenting social justice issues in the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic locked us all away inside and pulled the day-to-day agenda away. It became unavoidable during the pandemic but to pay attention to the realities in the States, even those realities some of us were able to comfortably ignore before. For many, social justice issues in America surpassed the urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic. I personally felt an urgency to record the pluralities of the pandemic and the fight for equality in the United States within the archive. The Social Justice collection within the archive grew with submissions from all backgrounds and walks of life. They shed light on both the pandemic and social justice, and how it affected them. I also worked with a team to create the Social Justice Voices in North America exhibition. The collection was designed to amplify the voices of those who fought for social justice during the pandemic.
This experience has taught me many skills that I am able to bring my students as an educator. I now understand the large-scale collaborative effort that a rapid response archive requires. I can explain to my students the ethics of information collection, what silences are, and how public historians of today work hard to bridge the gaps in archival accessibility, and this was not always so.
This experience has been more fulfilling than I originally expected. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to make close connections with other interns. I have learned so much from them. I hope to stay in contact with them.
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2021-03-29
Racism is a virus, a sickness we need to fight and eradicate together! ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻 I will never understand, but I stand with you.
This portrait is based on a powerful photo by @futurehackney taken during the Black Lives Matter protests in London. This mural will definitely stay for a while – a reminder that inequalities and injustices happen every day, tearing countless lives and families apart, and that the fight against racism and discriminations can never stop.
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2021-03
As I’m writing this, it is March 2021 and it’s been a year since I’ve updated this blog. Although I don’t only write about travel here, it’s been depressing to look back on my past trips and have to wonder when I could be in the world again. But I’ve been far from silent during this time. You can read many of my reflections on the pandemic and other topics over at The Mighty, where I have been an editor for the past five years.
One year ago, when the pandemic was just beginning in the United States, one of my good friends posted a social media message about supporting each other during what most people thought would be a strange, scary, but ultimately short period of our lives. Part of it went something like this:
My mask protects you. Your mask protects me.
It’s a nice sentiment. Wearing a few layers of cloth over your face may not help you much, but it helps to prevent other people from getting sick. It’s a kind, visible act we can all do to show we care during a difficult time, to protect others who are at risk even if we may think we would not become seriously ill. It seems so simple, right? How could people not do this? But we all know what happened.
“My mask protects you. Your mask protects me,” only works if the other person values your life enough to consider it worth protecting.
I’ve been horrified by the number of government officials and online commenters who have viewed the deaths of elderly and disabled people as “acceptable losses” in exchange for keeping non-essential gathering spaces open. My life, and the lives of people with high-risk conditions, are more important than your trip to Disneyland. Don’t you think we want to go to Disneyland too?
I’ve also noticed that able-bodied people often assume disabled people will be provided for in emergencies, and in general. They believe there are a lot of government programs and charities to help us, and that such programs are run well and meet our needs. This widespread — but utterly false — belief in a functioning safety net for “the vulnerable” gives people an excuse to behave selfishly while convincing themselves they’re not doing anything wrong. “Of course, there will be a plan to protect nursing home residents, and immune-suppressed people can stay home, so we can throw parties and go without masks if we don’t like them.”
In reality, the needs of people with disabilities are often disregarded, misunderstood, ignored, and even actively opposed. We have to fight for access to everything, and sometimes end up on multi-year waiting lists for housing assistance, in-home care, and other essential programs and services. We must battle with government and private insurance to get the mobility equipment we need. We are GPS tracked like criminals if we need personal care assistants, with “fraud prevention” used as an excuse. We often depend on programs with ridiculously complicated requirements, and one missed deadline, one paperwork error, one month where we made “too much money” can cost us everything.
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2021
Posted in a Banksy fan page on Facebook. Not a Banksy but artist unknown at this point. The OP titled their post "Reality".
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2021-04-19
After 400 days to the day, my daughter walked back into her gym. A competitive gymnast who has been training with the same gym since the week before she turned 3, this has been a long year. We are privileged in the sense that the hardest decision we had to make during the pandemic was not related to jobs security, hunger, or even health (beyond keeping ourselves from COVID). Our hardest choice was not allowing our daughter to return to her gym to train when they reopened in June. My husband and I knew COVID was just beginning. We knew the spike would come and the health of our family wasn’t something we were willing to risk, especially because our jobs allowed us the luxury to work from home and distance. At first, we made case rates dropping our marker of when she’d go back. Then, with the announcement of the vaccine, we decided to wait until our household was vaccinated. By the end of March, the adults of our household were vaccinated and our local case count had dropped considerably, to an infection rate percentage of 1.4%. Still, we wondered “should we just wait until she’s vaccinated?” But she’s 10, there is no vaccine being publicized for her age. How long can we keep her from her life? It’s not just the training. It’s about mental health. We’ve kept her physically safe, but she’s 10 years old and hasn’t seen a single friend in person for almost 14 months. She hasn’t shown any signs of a mental health crisis, but even if she isn’t showing anything, this has to have taken a toll on her. It was a difficult and scary choice, but my husband and I decided her mental health and emotional health are worth the risk. She is so happy. She’s had two one on one sessions with her coach and we are all shocked (and relieved) that her daily solo workouts EVERY SINGLE DAY for 400+ days now paid off. She not only kept all her skills but learned enough her skills to advance to the next level. I know her coach is shocked. I don’t think she really believed that a kid would work hard enough on her own to keep in shape. I know my daughter is very proud and very relieved to know she can compete again. And the timing is perfect - the new season starts in May, so she’ll begin in a new level with other girls she knows who also leveled up. She never acted unhappy during quarantine, but since going back, she’s seemed lighter and happier. Still, the two times she went were one on one. The beginning of May will see her going back full time, three practices a week for ten hours a week of practice. I’m happy they’re letting her keep her mask on and that the coaches are wearing masks but I’m still nervous. It’s so hard to send your kid into a situation that may lead them to contract a deadly illness. But it’s also so hard to keep your kid in a bubble. I never in a million years imagined I’d have kept my child home for 400 days. I’m a public school teacher, I’m the first person to tell you the importance of socialization. But in a pandemic, I guess my mothering deep instinct to my child overpowered anything else. I hope and pray with everything in me that we don’t regret allowing her to go back. I hope we are turning a corner in CA and that a vaccine for kids arrives soon so I can feel slightly more relaxed.
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2021-04-21T18
As of yesterday, my two weeks was up and I am now "fully vaccinated" per the CDC guidelines. My wife got there Friday, and my mother has been fully vaccinated since February. Per the CDC, since we are all fully vaccinated, we can visit each other and not have to wear masks.
We had Mom over for dinner for the first time since before the pandemic. After dinner we played a few rounds of hearts. I had to reacquaint myself with something that used to be "normal" before COVID-19. I was a bit rusty at playing cards, but I soon got back into it. It does not seem like that big a deal, but it was good for Mom to get out of her house for a while. It was good for all of us, and I am looking forward to more such evenings.
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2021-04-04
The time to defend trans kids is NOW.
If we don't, HB 1570 will set a dangerous precedent nationwide.
Tell Arkansas Governor Hutchinson to veto this bill: 501-682-2345
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2021-04-21
I have an incredibly imaginative six year old son. Since he was three, he has told us each day which identity he is choosing for the day: duck, bird, duckbird, squirrel, bunny, or chipmunk. (This list has grown over time). He doesn’t actually act like that type of animal, or really alter his behavior or personality at all, but will refer to himself as “Duckbird” or “Baby Bird” and expects you to refer to him as such. And every once in a while will respond with a “quack,” or whatever noise is appropriate for that animal identity. For Squirrel (who is now our “house president” - apparently he won an election none of us were privy to), there is an ongoing theme of a Squirrel Parade that shows up and disrupts everything going on. This is not something that came out of COVID, the Squirrel Parade predates it (we live next to Disneyland and in a pre-COVID life went to the park at least once a week - the kid has seen a lot of parades). However, the Squirrel Parade has definitely evolved with the pandemic. It is remarkable how COVID has seamlessly become part of a kid’s imagination. The Squirrel Parade, which always included King Squirrel, the Throwing Nuts Squirrels, and the Trumpet Squirrels among others now includes the “COVID Safety Squirrels.” When we asked my son who they are, he said they’re the squirrels that hand out masks and hand sanitizer and make sure everyone social distances. It wasn’t strange to him, just another part of the parade. I guess for little kids this isn’t strange to them. I mean, it is. But it’s also not. Just another thing to learn along with multiplication tables. Put on a mask and keep your distance, and the parade marches on.
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2021-04-21
--Reflections on the Pandemic Archive--
Looking back over my experience with the “Journal of the Plague Year” COVID-19 archive, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. This opportunity granted me experience that few historians earn, and the remote, asynchronous work schedule allowed me to collaborate with my colleagues in ways that maximized our respective contributions. The breadth and depth of our individual experiences and perspectives tremendously improved our collective process and products.
I spent enough time in the Arizona State Archives last year to recognize such collections as historical treasure chests, but I have now participated in processing an archive’s content and navigating the ethical dilemmas those submissions sometimes create. Archivists and curators are the history profession’s truly unsung heroes, and their work facilitates society’s perception of itself.
My background in police work and public safety drew me to the archive’s existing Law Enforcement collection. In taking on that subset, I succeeded in reshaping the collection’s parameters to now include stories about police and law enforcement. I wanted to diversify the collection to encompass perspective of both the police and the public with whom they interact and serve. While some overlap exists between the Law Enforcement and Social Justice collections, each remains distinct. Through my contacts and writing, I promoted a Call for Submissions to an international audience of law enforcement professionals to reduce their relative silence within the archive.
Within the archive’s content, I recognized that one’s location might shape their pandemic experience, and I created and designed an Arizona-based exhibit to explore that. Further research and discussion with my mentors and colleagues ensured the exhibit illustrated these differences without excluding visitors whose diverse experiences could further enrich the archived and exhibited content. I am proud of my “Arizona’s COVID-19 Pandemics” exhibit, particularly because of its compressed, one-month incubation period. Beyond displaying images, data, and stories representative of the diverse pandemic experiences within the state, the ACP exhibit offers visitors numerous levels of interaction and engagement to became active participants and create their own exhibit experience. Visitors can complete opinion surveys, add a story to the archive, explore additional content related to the displayed pieces, view ever-changing results from pre-defined archival content searches, conduct their own archival search, view collective visitor survey results, and apply to join the staff. The exhibit’s searches will include the archive’s future submissions, which reshapes both the exhibit and the experience visitors may have with it.
A more detailed explanation of my ACP exhibit may be reviewed here: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/43037
Because of Dr. Kathleen Kole de Peralta and Dr. Mark Tebeau, I stand prepared to join research, curation, and exhibition teams and immediately contribute to their work products.
Despite my gratitude for this experience and the opportunities it presented, I look forward to the day COVID-19 is no longer part of humanity’s daily vernacular.
James Rayroux
22 April 2021
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2021-04-05
(NEXSTAR) – In a grim reminder of the death toll from COVID-19, a new study published by the American Medical Association found that nearly 40,000 U.S. children have lost one of their parents to the virus.
It’s a heartbreaking new angle to the number of U.S. deaths since the pandemic began – 555,273 as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.
“This may come as a surprise, since 81% of lives lost in the US have been adults 65+,” study author Rachel Margolis, an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario, tweeted. “However, we are also seeing high mortality among younger adults, many of whom have children under 18.”
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2021-04-15
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan and the nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci got into a heated exchange over the country’s Covid-19 mitigation measures, which ended with Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters telling Jordan to “shut your mouth"
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2021-04-17
Protests continued Friday night in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright last week.
While protesters were dispersed, Minnesota State Troopers corralled media members and photographed their faces and identification.
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2021-04-22
I am here to clarify the situation with Covid-19 and mask. I received many comments sharing their concerns about not wearing mask in the coronavirus pandemic.
I kindly want to let you know all videos I released have been filmed before coronavirus. Those videos are new, yet I didn't get a chance to edit or release any video a while back. Why? I took a long break from Seek the World.
The last time I filmed was more than a year. Thus, Sabrina and I didn't film or travel anywhere. From now on, you all will see new videos that were filmed before coronavirus.
I applaud you all for showing care and making sure that I follow the safety etc. I fully agree with you all everyone needs to wear mask!
Thanks!
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2021-04-21
HANDS OF LOVE: Nurses fill latex gloves with warm water in a technique called "little hands of love" to help COVID-19 patients in intensive care beat isolation and stimulate blood flow.
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2021-04-22
The Submission that I uploaded is a reflection on how the pandemic affected my life. What I shared in this story is personal, and might seem choppy because I do not do well when expressing personal stories and feelings to others. I hope this helps someone to know that they are not alone.
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2021
Our policing institutions were designed to exert control over Black people.
We need to limit the role, responsibilities, power, and funding of police so interactions that lead to the death of Black people don't happen in the first place.
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2021
Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., discusses an exchange at Tuesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing on a hate crimes bill with Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
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2021-04-20
Hugs, tears and screams -- watch the moment George Floyd's family got justice for their loved one. Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts and could be sent to prison for decades.
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2021-04-20
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris speak after a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of all charges in the murder of George Floyd.
"A Measure of Justice is not the same as Equal Justice"
President Biden and Madam Vice President Harris talk about social justice, racism, history, and plans moving forward.
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2021-04-20
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus gathered to watch the reading of the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial.
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2021-04-21
I started graduate school in August 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. Since that point, I have only met one of my classmates in person, when I purchased some girl scout cookies from her daughter. I do all of my coursework from my computer, something I am not personally bothered by but it certainly changes the dynamics of school. My opportunities for socialization and networking have been limited, which may define my future job prospects. These are all things I never really thought about until I had a discussion with my mother recently, after I exclaimed to her that very little about my life has changed because of Covid. In fact, while my daily schedule may be broadly similar to pre-pandemic and I enjoy the isolation, the ways in which it will affect my future career seem manifold as I think about them.
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2021-04-21
On the twenty first of April, a new free DLC for the video game Vermintide 2 released called Chaos Wastes. Like a previous video game I posted about in these archive which has occupied my time during the pandemic, Vermintide is set in the Warhammer Fantasy Universe. WHF is essentially Tolkien high fantasy turned up to eleven, more over the top in every way. Vermintide takes place during the End Times, a narrative event from the tabletop game from around 2014. The venerable franchise with 30+ years of writing and stories by that point was destroyed in real life by its replacement Warhammer Age of Sigmar, and in the story the world was finally consumed by the powers of Chaos.
In Vermintide, teams of four players team up to fight the horrors that assail the Empire of Mankind right at the beginning of the End Times. This new DLC, focusing on an expedition straight into the heart of the Chaos Wastes, takes the game in a new narrative direction and ties it in more broadly with the End Times narrative itself.
The Ubersreik 5, as the protagonist group is referred to after their exploits from the first game, is primarily opposed to two elements of disease and decay: the Skaven, human-sized rats that live in a massive Under-Empire that seek to spread plague and take over the surface, and the Norscans, basically fantasy power-metal viking marauders who worship the chaos god Nurgle, lord of decay and disease. Our protagonists travel to a fortress deep in the reality-warped wasteland near the North Pole in order to contact their respective gods to seek aid to combat the End Times.
While they are not fighting fantasy characters straight out of the 1980s, modern scientists and healthcare professionals have been fighting a virus which has threatened us all in a global pandemic. I go to get my second shot of Moderna tomorrow, and while I have been enjoying this new DLC and embarking on heroic quests with my friends online, others have worked to allow people like me to finally protect ourselves from Covid with a vaccine.
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2021
I have a lot of photos taken in this spot. Our animals and children are cute and tend to hang out on the sofa. I was scrolling back through my online albums and noticed something the background of my photos from the last year all have in common. The tote bag hanging off the closet door is for used masks as we come in. The little table across the stairs is our home PPE station. It wasn’t there a year ago. The baskets are filled with cloth masks of various sizes and styles (it took a lot of trial and error to find masks that fit both kids) and the drawer has a touchless thermometer, among other things. The top has wipes, hand sanitizer, and a UV phone sanitizer that was on back order for months before it arrived. We will always be able to identify the year these photos were taken thanks to a collection of stuff I couldn’t imagine having eighteen months ago. I wonder how long it will stay?
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2021-04
Los Angeles-based artist Lauren YS, aka squid.licker, is well known world-wide for their mural street art. During the pandemic, they put up a mural at 1700 Naud Street in Los Angeles that reads, "Stop Asian Hate Crimes" and "Protect Our Elders." Also shown are "Stop Asian Hate" posters, with proceeds going to @stopasianhate and @squidtropica.
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2020-04-05
Last year when things got closed in California I got pulled over because i was past a curfew that they set. It was really dumb since I was on my way home anyway. Closing off the roads for a virus is not the way to do it. He let me go with a warning but the whole situation was not needed. I was not speeding or driving bad either. A huge waste of time but other then that nothing abnormal happened to me during covid. Its been super boring but we all have to do our part and keep people safe. After I went home I told my parents about it and they just told me to not drive so lae. In conclusion I learned to not break covid rules since those are the ones the government actually cares about
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2021-04-15
Dr. Anthony Fauci, pressed by a Republican lawmaker Thursday over when Americans will "get their liberties back," gave his clearest explanation yet as to when COVID-19 restrictions could be safely lifted, saying the U.S. must get its infection rate under 10,000 new cases a day.
When asked by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, at a congressional hearing to give an answer about when Americans can return to their pre-pandemic lives, Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, explained that the nation has a lot of work to do before it reaches that point.
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2021-04-18
MAXINE Waters has urged an anti-police Black Lives Matter mob in Minnesota to “stay on the street” if Chauvin is acquitted in the George Floyd case.
The California Democratic congresswoman also told the protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, “we’ve got to get more confrontational”.
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2021-04-21
The jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of all three charges in the murder of George Floyd.
Crowds outside the Minneapolis courtroom and at the location where Floyd was killed chanted "justice" and "Black lives matter" after hearing the verdict.
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2021-04
I created this image to visually represent my experience with covid-19. The goal is sharing my personal experience in hopes this reaches people who have felt the same. The coronavirus pandemic has affected people globally. Everything from anger to hopefulness, confusion to contentment can be used to describe experiences and feelings in regards to the pandemic as a whole. This foreign virus is historical, and will be in records as one of few other pandemics of this magnitude. This contribution to the archive is one of many attempting to provide an understanding for the future.
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2021-04-14
I am lying on my belly while giving my two cents,
and I just rolled my eyes at that one guy who likes Mike Pence.
No one can hear me burp or see me eating;
this is way better than an in-person meeting.
My responses are thoughtful and I am on a roll;
they asked me to share and I am baring my soul.
I stare at black squares and blank expressions when all of a sudden,
someone interrupts with, “Hey, you hit the mute button.”
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2021-04-21
Throughout this past year, COVID-19 has affected each and every person, whether emotionally or physically, but I believe that it also has taught us so much about ourselves and allowed us to empathize with those around us who may be struggling in similar ways. The object I submitted is a photograph of my best friend and myself at a Black Lives Matter protest in Downtown Phoenix on June 3rd, 2020. As the pandemic has forced us to remain at home, it has given me the time to not only focus on personal growth, but also learn more about groups of people that are being oppressed around the world. I have become a more active member in society this past year listening to Black voices by furthering my knowledge on the discriminations they continue to face, and how their experiences of COVID-19 are different from white Americans. This has really opened my eyes to see how many different races are being oppressed, either by being blamed for the occurrence of the pandemic, or by how decisions are made surrounding who deserves priority treatment over another patient on the bias of race, ethnicity, or wealth status. I am grateful to have learned so much about these topics and for being able to attend numerous Black Lives Matter protests, and wish to continue to stand up for what I believe in as an active member in my community. Throughout the pandemic, I believe that relationships within religious communities have strengthened because individuals are looking for even more hope that their loved ones will survive and that everything will be over soon. Religion has played an important role in helping many throughout this difficult time by letting people know they are not alone and have an entire community to support them. Upon working hard to become the best version of myself and really see the world in a more positive manner, I have learned so much about the need for spreading positive energy and support especially to those whose voices were particularly oppressed during this time, or to those who were directly affected by COVID-19. In the midst of this, we must look past our differences and help each other out, because violence and disagreement will not further our progress.
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2021-04-20
Disposable mask along the riverwalk on the north bank of Rio Salado near the volleyball courts.
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2021-04-20
Black disposable face mask floating in the Rio Salado River near Tempe Beach Park.
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2021-04-20
Art professors at Saint Joseph's University talk about changes they've made to their courses due to COVID-19.
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2020-06-19
These are screenshots of the Instagram account that represents collaborative artwork by muralists Menace and Resa. The "UNITY" mural is in South Central Los Angeles, California and was done "in response to pandemic fueled anti-Asian hate crimes." The "More Justice, More Peace" mural is in Brooklyn, New York and memorializes Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. in celebration of Juneteenth.
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2021-04-20
While working as a curatorial intern on ASU's 'A Journal of the Plague Year' COVID-19 archive, I created this exhibit on the pandemic experience within the state.
In addition to obvious, overarching realities such as socioeconomic status and immediate access to healthcare systems, I initially believed one of the greatest deciding factors that determined one's experience in Arizona was an individual's residence in either predominantly urban or rural environments. The proposed exhibit had been originally titled "A Tale of Two Arizonas" to pay respect to Charles Dickens and the differing realities experienced here.
To test my proposed hypothesis, I went about finding data, stories, and submissions that substantiated or disputed my premise. Within a short time, I had identified four distinct environmental drivers of personal pandemic experiences; to me, that indicated the existence of many more I hadn't yet found or had overlooked along the way. My evidence suggested a minimum of four pandemic locales: Urban, Rural, Border, and Tribal within the State of Arizona and its fifteen counties. The recorded health data and personal experiences demonstrated the naivete of my initial hypothesis, and I retitled the exhibit: "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics."
The Exhibit Background section illustrates the vast dichotomies within Arizona in terms of population density and access to healthcare facilities. Given the virus's respiratory nature, these factors seemed especially relevant to driving diverse local experiences. I chose to include a flyer from the Coconino County Health and Human Services' "Face It! Masks Save Lives" campaign. The flyer included a specific line to "Stay Home When Sick" that seemed to illustrate a different public health paradigm than the broader "stay home" orders from Maricopa and Pima county. This section also features an image of Sedona's red rocks and a portion of The Wave to remind visitors of the wide-open rural areas accessible to all, as well as those with cultural significance to the Native American tribes and limited access to the general public.
The next section asks a short, five-question survey in which visitors may participate.
The Silver Linings piece features a short audio clip of a father and husband discussing some unexpected benefits of the pandemic. Visitors may explore additional Silver Linings stories and submit their own experience.
The Tséhootsooí Medical Center piece seeks to illustrate the different pandemic experience on the state's tribal lands. I hoped to inspire some relevant emotional turmoil for the visitors through the piece's visual presentation. I wanted to create a series of waves with quotes from the medical center's healthcare workers. I hoped visitors' attention would be drawn to the large, bolded key words, and that they would first experience the segments out of sequence because of that. After potentially feeling a sense of chaos, they might settle themselves into a deliberate reading of the texts and find their own order within the experiences provided here. This piece allows further exploration of Native submissions and topics, a review of an additional related news article, and a submission prompt that invites visitors to offer guidance to hospital managers.
The next piece illustrates the differences between mask mandates in communities across Arizona. In addition to hearing an audio clip of interviews with mayors and a public health official, visitors can explore additional submissions related to mask mandates and submit their thoughts on statewide mandates.
The Arizona Department of Health Services provides zip-code specific infection data on its website, and the wide array of known case infections therein further illustrates potential dichotomies across the state. In working to include and represent this data in a consumable way, I encountered inconsistencies with tribal data. The nation's Indian tribes are overseen by Indian Health Services, a federal public health agency, and it does not collect or report data in the same manner as the State of Arizona or its counties. At first glance, the data would seem to suggest that tribal areas had less severe pandemic experiences than the rural and urban areas, which was not objectively true. I wanted to offer the unedited data to visitors, allow them to drawn their own conclusions, and invite them to offer their thoughts on what potential misunderstandings might emanate from these reporting differences. Visitors may also choose to review the foundational data from this piece, as well.
I used the following two sections to offer submission prompts about the visitor's overall pandemic experience as a function of their location, as well as what they might have done if placed in charge of their city, county, or state during this pandemic.
A diverse Search section allows visitors to explore additional topics of interest to them. 23 hyperlinks offer pre-defined search parameters. An Advanced Search link allows self-defined research, and a Join The Staff link connects visitors with opportunities to work within the JOTPY archive.
A final section asks visitors to provide feedback on the exhibit, its content, and the pandemic in general.
Both surveys within the exhibit will display overall results to visitors who participate in them.
Through this process, I found incredible amounts and diversity of data outside the archive that spoke to these generally localized experiences, but not that much yet within the archive explained what Arizonans had experienced outside the state's urban environments. I created a call for submissions and delivered it to fifty rural entities that might help support the effort to collect and preserve more rural Arizona stories. Between all the local libraries, historical societies, museums, small-town mayors, and county health officials to whom I asked for help, I am optimistic the archive will better represent all Arizonans in the coming months and years. Despite the exhibit having been created, I ensured its internal search features would include future submissions and allow the exhibit to remain relevant long after its release.
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2021-04-20
The object of my writing was to inform others my life was fairly regular throughout this lovely pandemic. It is important to me because I must stay focused on the importance of even though there are crazy things in life that happen, the silver lining, is always to focus on the positive.
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2021-04-20
During March and April 2021, I created an online exhibit from content within Arizona State University's "A Journal of the Plague Year" COVID-19 archive. Entitled "Arizona's COVID-19 Pandemics," the digital exhibit contained images previously submitted to the archive, along with several copyright-free images I found on pexels.com. I have attached all these images. Listed by their order of appearance within the exhibit, their sources are as follows:
1- "Face It" Campaign flyer: Coconino County Health & Human Services ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42998 )
2- Red Rocks, Sedona: Courtesy of Gregory Whitcoe via Pexels.com
3- Online Learning: Courtesy of August de Richelieu via Pexels.com
4- Tséhootsooí Medical Center staff: Courtesy of FDIHB Marketing Department and Navajo Times newspaper ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/41189 )
5- Arizona's Mask Mandate Map: created by Sarandon Raboin ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/26267 )
6- Arizona COVID-19 Infection Zip Code Map: Courtesy of Arizona Department of Health Services ( https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42035 )
7- Woman Shopping: Courtesy of Anna Shvets via Pexels.com
8- Woman on Rural Arizona Road: Courtesy of Taryn Elliot via Pexels.com
9- Masked Woman in Crowd: Courtesy of Redrecords via Pexels.com
10- The Wave: Courtesy of Flickr via Pexels.com (this image is found only in the PDF submission of the exhibit, not in the public-facing exhibit itself due to document formatting technicalities - the PDF version can be found at https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/42998 )
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2021-04-20
The Coconino County Health & Human Services department created its "Face It" campaign in 2020 to promote the use of masks and face coverings in their communities. The following webpage is for the campaign's digital "toolbox" to give the public access to official signage for display to customers, the public, and employees to address mask use issues.
