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#MemorialDayWeekend is going to be an interesting test. 1/
First three day weekend since we started #ShelterInPlace, the traditional kickoff to summer 2/
Weather is delightful in much of the country. 3/
The occupant of the White House is out golfing, no masks. 4/
In the absence of coherent and consistent federal guidance, states and municipalities are starting to relax #ShelterInPlace restrictions 5/
Around here (Alameda County, CA, not much has technically changed, but it's starting to feel very different, more relaxed. 6/
This is a deep blue area. We generally believe in science. Most of us are trying to do right by our neighbors. 7/
And yet. We're also itching to a return to normalcy. The curve is flattened. 8/
Maybe it's starting to feel like #COVID19 is something that happens to "other people." 9/
Maybe we're trying to justify relaxing our vigilance just a little bit. Or maybe a lot. 10/
At any rate, this #MemorialDayWeekend feels like a particularly dangerous turning point. 11/
It feels like the start of normalizing #COVID19. Like an extra 30,000 deaths / month will just become background noise. 12/
Just like we've normalized so many other truly toxic things in this country, I think we're gonna normalize #CovidDeaths. 13/
And I don't think we can stop it. I feel like by the end of summer, we're gonna look on people who wear masks in public like they're worrywarts. 14/
Maybe the infection rates really will slow down with warmer weather. If we get a spike later in the year, will there be any political / social will to shut down again? Or will we just have normalized it as another risk of living in a deeply broken country? 15/
Will those of us who are both privileged enough to isolate and inclined to do so eventually say "fuck it what's the point if no one else is?" 16/
Yeah, I'm pretty sure we will. Maybe I'll come back to this prediction on #LaborDayWeekend and be pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. I doubt it though. 17/end
