This is How NOT to Flatten the Curve

I was bingeing on one of my favorite shows the other night, on one of the free streaming services. It was late night and I was surprised to see my local assemblyman staring back at me from my TV. My first thought was, “So, not in jail yet…” But then, after the second showing of the ad, I listened to what he was saying. Apparently on the 51^st District there have been at least 100 deaths due to COVID-19.

I’m still not overly concerned because we are not a hotspot, but I am cautious because these deaths mean that there is a possibility of infected members of our community. It certainly gave me pause because I knew I’d have to make a trip to Mom’s bank (we won’t be able to do online banking for her until she goes to a branch and as it got complicated, I’ll handle stuff for her until this nightmare is over).

I was going yesterday but I overslept. So I set the alarm for this morning and set off deep into Sunset Park. I was a little iffy about getting on the bus, and the bus driver made it really easy when they wouldn’t lean—and unless I did a three foot vertical jump, there was no way I was getting on this thing. Plus, I figured, I’d probably break my neck trying to jump off the bus when I got off at my stop. So I walked to the bank.

It’s only about half a mile and I really haven’t been exercising, so it’d be good for me. Today was in the 60s, so it was great walking weather.

The plan was that as long as I was going to the bank, I’d stop at the green grocer and the pharmacy for some supplies.

The walk down was slightly annoying. Across the street from the Basilica, I saw a woman come out of the supermarket with two bags, pull her phone out of her pocket and put it to her face (while still wearing gloves, but she wore no mask). Then I saw several people with children. Toddlers and a couple of infants… I saw at least three couples with little ones in strollers. The adults wore masks, but the kids were fully exposed, and the adults (who were shopping and handling things) were touching the children’s faces and the food they were giving the kids (from bottles to snacks).

On the way back, what I noticed most were people wearing their masks incorrectly. It shouldn’t be so hard, but apparently it is.

Some of the men wore their masks hanging from their chin. Some people held the masks in their hands, waiting to put in on when entering an establishment—and all are now requiring face coverings—but then they’d pull it off and carry it in their dirty hands until their next stop. I saw one of the local mailmen wearing the mask below his mustache. And then there were the ones wearing their masks barely covering their mouths. They gave me the vibe they thought they were being both rebels and that they looked cool—much like the dudes who walk around with their pants hanging below their crack. Only much stupider!

And my people do not seem to quite understand the whole idea of social distancing. My take is that most of these people seem to think six feet is just about arm’s length. And that could only be true if you are six feet tall, and then you’d have to measure arm span, not just length of one arm. So, maybe my peeps can’t do math. I don’t want to generalize, but today they all pissed me off. I can be fairly general about that: Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Colombians… whatever! They all pissed me off. What the hell is wrong with you people?!

I got home and sanitized like a woman possessed, and as I was washing my mask it dawned on me that considering that the virus is hitting the Latino community disproportionately, the danger of contagion is so much greater for their ineptitude or imbecility as we as the horrifying realization that the majority of food handlers in the city are Latinos (from kitchen workers to food delivery people to supermarket workers, etc.).  

Y’all be careful out there, please. If not for your own sakes, try being considerate to the rest of us that would prefer not to get sick because you’re being idiots!