There are so many issues that this pandemic & even just its most immediate ripple-effects are compounding. And we're struggling just to keep up with the most obvious and basic ones. I'm worried about supply shortages, like everyone else. But there are other things... (THREAD)

...that concern me, which no-one is giving any thought (largely because most people don't actually care, so long as it doesn't directly affect them). For example: like any other at-risk population, addicts are likely to be hit especially hard, right now.

This goes doubly for users of harder drugs, in particular intravenous users. I was lucky to have never caught any disease from shooting heroin. I was lucky that I had a roof over my head, and bleach was cheap and inexpensive. For those who don't know:

IV drug users (when they can) use bleach to sterilize their syringes, between uses (especially when sharing with others). But bleach is nowhere to be found, by and large, right now. The few areas that had safe-injection sites and/or needle-exchange programs have suspended them.

I believe this was unnecessary. The programs could've continued safely, though logistically altered, for the time being. But that's not the larger issue. The larger issue is that our society has so damn many at-risk populations. And at-risk populations are at-risk people.

You may think you know and understand the circumstances that bring people to such dark places in life. But if such things have never directly touched your life, and if you can't empathize with those struggling, you are not a moral or loving person. Period.

I don't give a damn how much charity work you do, how often you do or don't go to religious services, or who the hell your family is. If you can't empathize, it's because you can't sympathize. If you can't sympathize, you're an uncaring and selfish person.

If you had seen me 8-14 years ago, some of you would've written me off as a lost cause. And I was lost. I'm positive the only reason I was never arrested, in all those years, is because I'm a white dude, who was lucky enough to have a car. Some street smarts, but mostly that.

I've heard the arguments, and they're trash.

"But a lot of them just don't want help!"

THAT'S HOW ADDICTION GOES. You *never* want help...until someday you might. That's how it was for me. I never wanted help, until I did.

I didn't get clean on my first try. I didn't stay clean on my second or third. I finally got clean on my fourth, but was kicked out of my methadone clinic, after failing just one too many drug tests. It was on my fifth that I found success. I just hit 8 years (aside from pot).

This got much more personal (and much longer) than I ever intended it to be. If you've made it this far, I appreciate you reading my rant. I'll end the thread by just asking you to try to think about the things we all might be overlooking/undervaluing, right now. Much love.