An Open Letter to Millennials – particularly those I’m related to.
Millennials: We’re all fucking fatigued. You’re exhausted from COVID and I’m exhausted from having to motivate you to take it seriously.
This was originally written as a text to the two of you I’m related to (The last sentence. Actually, no. The whole thing), but it occurred to me that others might need to hear this too…
I realize this is a very confusing time, what with the combination of a plague and lack of federal/universal guidelines about how to protect ourselves during it.
I get it.
And with each state responding differently to the danger we face, it is very tempting to hop over to states / wait-it-out in states that are more focused on their economy than they are on the health of their citizens.
I’m going to give you 3 rules to follow that will cut through the bullshit of mixed messages:
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Try not to leave the house / socialize.
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If you must leave the house / socialize:
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WEAR A MASK
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STAY 6 FEET AWAY FROM OTHERS
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Wash your hands every time you touch something from outside your home, and wash your hands every time you reenter your home.
Here’s the deal:
You have got to dig deep inside yourself to find motivation to be part of the SOLUTION.
Because if you don’t, you’re going to be part of the PROBLEM.
If you do not stay away from other people and other places, you are going to get me sick.
Or you are going to pout because I won’t go near you.
Either way, you’ll take up my energy, which despite what you may think, is not infinite.
If I get sick, I won’t have the ability to pay my rent or feed us because I’m an entrepreneur and I don’t get paid when I don’t work.
If I get sick, I won’t be able to see my clients who need my support now more than ever.
If I get sick, I won’t be able to support those of you who aren’t my clients but who I nonetheless provide emotional support and mentorship to, because it’s the right thing to do as a human being.
If I get sick, I will burden an already overburdened healthcare system.
If I get sick, I will expose first responders to COVID.
If I get sick, there’s a really good chance I’ll get Steph sick, because despite being a crazy germaphobe, she will 100% insist on taking care of me herself.
If Steph gets sick, we will have zero income.
If Steph gets sick, she won’t be able to see her clients who need her support now more than ever.
If Steph gets sick, she will become a burden to our already overburdened healthcare system.
And she will expose first responders to COVID.
And if either of us dies, THERE WILL BE NO FUNERAL BECAUSE WE’RE LIVING IN A PANDEMIC.
Can you please just stay the fuck away from people and places?
Please?
Final thought: You cannot rely on our government to tell us when things are so bad that you need to stay inside. We have a nut in the White House, as you already know. He will not suggest that states go into another lockdown because he doesn’t care about your health. He cares about businesses, and because he doesn’t have a functioning prefrontal cortex, he is unable to see the correlation between widespread death and its certain impact on the economy.
You have to THINK for yourself.
You have to THINK about the health of OTHERS.
You have to ACT in the best interest of the COLLECTIVE.
Which means that when NUMBERS ARE GOING UP, you need to STAY HOME, even if businesses are open.