As I write this, the snow is falling in front of my apartment. It is not the blizzard that we're expecting later in the week. Instead, it is that kind of snow fall that will require a relatively effortless task of shoveling out the car and getting it out of the way for when the plow comes. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of snow fall we're expecting at mid week. I am seriously considering driving 150-200 miles from here, staying overnight, so that I can avoid the headaches of the expected blizzard.
With weather like this, I usually take the easy way out and venture outdoors as Mario. If I had a more feminine body (especially, my face and my head), I'd be going outdoors as Marian. I want to present as authentic an image as possible when I venture outdoors.
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2020 will be known as the year of the Pandemic. In the USA, it will also be known as the year that the public (for now) was able to save a democratic republic from becoming a corrupt authoritarian kleptocracy. (Please, no comments from any stray Trump supporters who may read this blog.) Our soon to be former president's base continues to be a threat to the LGBTIQ community. So we're still in danger, if not from Trump, then from the people who make up his base.
The other day, I visited a person who was a "knee jerk" Republican. Just the mention of the word "Socialism" makes him worry. So, he fears people like AOC and Bernie Sanders. He'd vote for Trump, corrupt as he is, instead of for representatives who could keep the left most part of the Democratic Party coalition in check. But then, this man lives in a suburban bubble where he never sees minorities, except when they get into trouble. (Grand jury duty only served to intensify this man's biases against minorities.) Although the man is a decent person, his attitudes have been shaped by the social bubble and media bubble that he lives in.
Most of my readers live in different social and media bubbles from the above Republican. We are among the people who are often demonized in their bubbles. They call our news outlets the "lame stream media". Why? Because it doesn't reinforce their beliefs. Years ago, we could count on the main stream media to cover the news and report it objectively. Today, people get to choose highly biased news outlets, and never get the chance to learn objective truths. This is not healthy in a democratic republic, as we need to acknowledge a single set of objective facts, and only then form opinions about those facts.
This leads me back to the pandemic. America has been a victim of its own politics. Wearing/not wearing a face mask is usually a good sign of a person's political beliefs. In the past, we had presidents who cared about public health. Our current president does not care - and was (supposedly) struck by the coronavirus himself. Yet, he still models behaviors which are in opposition to those recommended by the CDC. As long as people consider the danger of this pandemic to be a hoax, then we will suffer from it much longer than necessary.
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A long time ago, I looked forward to snow. Now, it is one of many things that gets in the way of me living my life. Until it is cleared away, I intend to stay in my flannel nightgown and stay warm and cozy for the next few days.
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