Can we talk about USPS for a moment? Bc it’s very unsettling to me that cutting off logistics is a common tactic used in combat & the lack of urgency from the federal government is an attack on rural communities & communities disproportionately impacted by poverty, as in BIPOC.

USPS handles vital items like by-mail prescriptions, medical supplies, protective equipment, a ton of essential shit that Amazon & UPS don’t deliver. This isn’t just a basic penpal postcard service. USPS is keeping a lot of vulnerable populations afloat in many ways.

USPS is a lifeline for many people out there who, for a plethora of valid reasons, depend on it to stay alive. I’ve known of people who’ve kept a PO Box while trying to secure permanent house just so they can get a paycheck somewhere.

When I worked alongside doctors & pharmacists, they told me that prescriptions delivered by mail was less than 4 or 5% in 2000. But now? It’s 20% of the US population and growing according to @Commpharmacy. Do you realize how many people that is?? It’s over 65 million people.

And while it may be tempting for some people out there to talk about the impact of a postal service that doesn’t work in November, let’s talk about the impact of a postal service that doesn’t work in the nearer future. A nearer future that overlaps with our current pandemic...

Hospitals are already at or maxed on capacity. Healthcare workers don’t have proper PPE. Pharmacies are already feeling a logistical strain for critical supplies to manage chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes. People who are immunocompromised cant find what they need in stores.

That is our current reality in the midst of everyone working in these systems who are trying our absolute best. This is where the US stands today. Without USPS having serious & strategic support, I don’t want to imagine where we will be a few months from now bc it’s too painful.

So what? Action is the “what.” I may be a pin in one of the many social institutions we all operate in, but a pin in a specific place can still bring things to a halt & shine light on what needs urgent attention. Let your representatives know the USPS is an essential service.

I love the US Postal Service. I love snail mail, even if it’s just a coupon mailer that tells me what the deals of the week at Costco are or that I can get a free small fry w/ the purchase of a whopper. My local postman has known me & @sha_merirei since birth (or at least me ).

Even @Hallmark has been sending out free cards to urge people to stay connected by mail in these wild and uncertain times. Hopefully we can all agree now that USPS & its workers deserve better, so make sure your local policy makers know it, too.