A bit more on COVID

If you recall, I started this series as a way of detailing how things that could have always contributed to the need for emergency preparedness were getting worse. They were...

• more extreme weather due to climate change
• more attacks on government and infrastructure due to white supremacy
• more work force loss due to COVID deaths and disability
  

Working on your emergency preparedness is an obvious thing to do. There are things that have changed and I can write about that, but the main thing keeps feeling like our hearts. Maybe that is more obvious with COVID.

I can tell you to wear your masks; I believe I have. We can talk about things like improving ventilation and practicing social distancing. Doing things outside is going to get easier as we get into warmer weather, but do we even care?

You can argue that it's not about caring. Right now I know a family with multiple COVID cases because with people visiting Grandma, one of the visitors had been exposed. He knew, but he didn't say anything. Is that because he didn't care, or because he just didn't believe that COVID was real or that it was anything worse than a cold?

My first thought there -- besides hoping that everyone recovers -- is remembering an awful cold I had several years ago. Even a regular cold can be pretty miserable, but that one that lasted a month, and brought on a secondary pneumonia infection. Even when the antibiotics cleared up the pneumonia and I could lie down without suffocating again, I still had a miserable cold for the rest of the month. 

I would not wish that on anyone, and it could potentially kill an elderly person.

But of course, at the start of COVID there were people deciding that losing seniors was worth it.

I remember at the start I was frustrated how so many things were pulling us in the wrong direction. For example, locally we had just passed rules to limit use of plastic bags. Suddenly there was the concern of the reusable bags spreading the virus, so that went out the window. Also, there were really good reasons for avoiding each other, but it felt awful.

But then, we did things that were better. More people were working remotely and it allowed more people with disabilities to participate in the work force. More restaurants created take-out options. New flexibility was permitted. The government gave people money and children were doing better.

Now we're doing away with all that.

Yes, I still wear a KN95 mask. I do it to protect others and to set a good example and to stand for what I believe is important.

It feels alienating to see so many who don't. It feels more alienating because I know how closely that was tied in with Trump support.

It feels alienating at church.

Did we decide that, since masks are more effective at protecting others from us than protecting us from others, that it's not worth it?

I do not want to cause any harm.

I could have it much worse. I still can go out, and I feel reasonably safe, although the immunity issues that come with diabetes could make for complications if I do get infected.

There are many others, including cancer patients and people with autoimmune disorders and children too young for vaccines and elderly, who are at much worse risk. Their social and travel options are limited. Now the old job limitations are coming back, because on a societal level we are more interested in controlling than helping. 

The general message being sent is that we don't care.

Let them die now and decrease the surplus population! But what if they just get disabled?

In one of the other posts I had referenced it being right to do something even if it is too late.

We do not always know how much good we can accomplish. If we can help some other people, though, if we save one starfish, or even if we only keep our own heart soft and humble, that is worth doing.

Yes, wear your mask, but it is so much more than that.

This is probably going to be a very serious year, but I will post about something easy next week.

Things to watch out for: COVID

It has been three years and six million, eight hundred seventy-three thousand, four hundred seventy-seven deaths.

https://covid19.who.int/

I wrote that out because it is easy to just glance over the numbers, and perhaps ignore them.

That's not the whole story either, though. If all of that had happened back in 2020, and now it was over, that would be different. Also, any global data can feel vast enough to not quite register. 

If it helps, last week the United States lost 1706 people to Covid. Oregon lost 54. In Washington County, 4.1% of those in hospital beds are confirmed Covid cases.

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home

That is a lot better than it has been, but that is also a number that has fluctuated. Covid comes in different waves as different variants develop with different properties.

It is still real, it does still kill people, and as the declared emergency ends there will be fewer resources, even as we see that most precautions were rolled back some time ago. There are even some at work trying to stop voluntary precautionary measures, like New York City mayor Eric Adams asking that people remove masks in stores to prevent shoplifting. 

And yet, this is mostly stuff that I have written about before; why is it a new thing to watch out for?

The first one is a growing awareness of the long-term neurological effects.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brain/a-third-of-covid-survivors-suffer-neurological-or-mental-disorders-study-idUSKBN2BT2ZI

Yes, expect to see more people with anxiety and depression. Some of that could be the stress of the world in itself, but some of it could also be the toll having the disease takes. 

That by itself would be bad enough, but there is also an increased risk of death for 18 months since the time of infection:

https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/covid-19-patients-retain-elevated-risk-of-death-for-at-least-18-months-after-inf 

The tendency toward clotting can explain stroke deaths and that had been known. This article focuses on cardiovascular disease and all of the ways that can lead to sudden death. Apparently atrial fibrillation (and strokes) had an elevated risk for a shorter period of time. The risk of myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and deep vein thrombosis lasts longer.

There is some frightening anecdotal evidence of multiple Covid infections leading to early-onset dementia.

But actually, when I was starting working on this, I was mainly thinking about long Covid symptoms including Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

https://www.improvediagnosis.org/publications/improvedx-january-2022/understanding-me-cfs-and-long-covid-as-post-viral-conditions/

Because while the percentage lost from the work force through death is significant, the percentage lost through disability will be higher.

That does affect many individuals and families on a personal level, but on a broader level that is going to affect the workforce, and that is going to affect supply chains.

We have seen that before, early in the pandemic, but the direction we are heading in can only see that get worse.

These are the sort of problems that compound.

Early in the pandemic when hospital beds were full, it worsened health for others as it caused delays in treatment, and increased risk of picking up another infection while being treated.

Last year, as monkey pox started making headlines, there was a feeling of "What else now?"

How about leprosy?

https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/sri-lanka-was-winning-its-battle-leprosy-until-covid-19

Part of treating leprosy early is that it can prevent contagion as well as later disability. The time lost in Sri Lanka is going to have rippling effects.

It won't be leprosy here, but can we believe that a cavalier disregard for the health and welfare of others, fueled by capitalistic greed and deeply ignorant and hateful political bias...

Is there any reason to believe that would not cause significant harm?

Again, in my early conception of this series, it was going to be more of a reminder of getting in your food storage and looking ahead to buy other items and fill prescriptions early, so that supply chain issues cannot hurt you so much.

That is personal and family preparedness, and I believe in it, but as more comes into view we really need to all be helping each other.

A bit more on white supremacist violence

If paramilitary groups working toward a white nationalist state take out power stations, a lot of the things that you need to do will be similar to the post two weeks ago:

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2023/02/a-bit-more-on-weather.html

You may not have to worry as much about cold or impassable roads, but a lot of the elements are the same.

There are still some things worth noting.

First of all, will they always identify as white supremacists?

No. They may be focusing on misogyny, like the Proud Boys, or building their own Christian-fascist state, like Dominionists. Accelerationists just want to hasten the end of everything.

I focus on the white supremacy not only because I really hate racism, but because even when the racism is not their stated focus, it always seems to be lurking in the background. That is not a coincidence.

I read somewhere that once you start getting into conspiracy theories they all lead to anti-Semitism. That is largely because so many of the prevailing theories go back to blood libel and the Rothschilds and the other lies that have been told for decades. I think, though, that once you start going down that path, turning your back on truth and caring, it starts going downhill fast.  

In terms of protecting yourself from this type of violence, yes, being more informed could help. I could write posts about how to do that, or how to evaluate news coverage and pay attention to the prevailing currents around you. 

A more useful post might be how to avoid getting drawn into conspiracy theories and isolationist sectarianism and white supremacy. I could end up writing about all of those things.

What is more important to me now -- and it is heading in the direction of protecting you from giving into the conspiracy-driven hate -- is building community.

Last week I referenced Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America by Kathleen Belew, and currently I am reading Sisters In Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism by Seyward Darby. I am reading it largely because of things I read in Belew's book about the role that women played in building community.

Granted, that's a racist community, where there are tips about Nazi appropriate home school materials and creating disguises for the men to commit crimes, but it is also organizing potlucks and helping to fix up white men and white women so they can create more white babies and prevent the replacement of the white race.  

Yes, potlucks can be used for evil.

If you have seen Higher Learning (1995), you may recall the character of Remy, an awkward freshman in college. Without the other students being really cruel to him, the first people that made him feel really accepted and valuable were the Skinheads. That started him down the path to his own death, as well as Deja's.

Of course, that is just a movie, but it is not uncommon to hear from people leaving these hate groups that they were disconnected and lonely and found acceptance there. Part of that acceptance becomes saying terrible things, because that will get you approval. Then it leads to doing terrible things.

We should do what we can to stop climate change, whether it's hopeless or not.

We should also be doing what we can to combat hate. We should be looking out for those who may have difficult family situations, and be patient with those who are socially awkward.

And we should not be repeating things that are racist or sexist, or smiling awkwardly when other people say them, or laughing at bigoted humor. 

Will there be people who turn out to be horrible and you can't have much influence? Doubtless, but I believe that if we will keep our eyes and hearts out for those whom we can help, we will find them. The Spirit can help with that.

An excellent starting point may be working with others trying to do good. Who is looking out for the unhoused, or the elderly, or the students who are struggling in school.

We meet people outside of our regular circles, and we unite in a good cause.

Doesn't that sound like something we should be doing?

Things to watch out for: White supremacist violence

Allow me to re-emphasize that part of why I am focusing on these three areas: they are easy to ignore. 

There have been years of people disputing the science of climate change, even though that often involved outright lies. It has been similar to what happened with the tobacco industry burying their studies that showed smoking was hazardous to health. They had a vested interest in hiding that information, because it would have affected profits.

Profit is not the only motivation. When there is something else causing damage, it is often racism.

The news media being less responsible does not help, so that is something we are going to have to remember as well.

Now, you might have seen the title and imagined things like a someone shooting up an Asian-American owned massage parlor or someone yelling at women wearing hijab on public transportation, but also being ready to kill. 

Those are real things, with real fatalities, but it could still be easy to hear about it and feel terrible but still feel that it is unlikely to affect you.

Regardless, I am referring to something different.

For example, did you know that on Christmas Day 2020 there was an explosion in downtown Nashville that damaged several blocks of businesses?

Did you know that Christmas Day 2022 there was an attack on the Washington State power grid?

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2020/12/25/downtown-nashville-explosion-christmas/4044635001/

https://www.kptv.com/2023/01/04/feds-reveal-motive-behind-washington-power-grid-attacks-christmas-day/

And, did you know that the Washington attack was one of at least nine attacks on electrical substations over a three month period?

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/04/us/electrical-substation-attacks-nc-wa.html

The Nashville explosion was not an attack at an electrical substation. However, it was a bomb planted near an AT&T location that seemed designed to take out infrastructure.

The reporting has been downplayed; a motor home explosion with no fatalities. It is easy to imagine someone was cooking meth and something went wrong, even if you did hear of it, and your power stayed on, and your phones kept working. 

It was a motor home, set to explode with recorded warnings (and some possible human traces found later).

It goes back to it getting worse. Nine or more attacks in three months is a lot.

So far there has been no mention of white supremacy. In fact, the KPTV article says that the motivation was robbery. Well, that could be true; when the white separatist movement really started taking off post-Vietnam, they did a lot of robberies, but they were doing them to fund the movement.

The other thing they started doing really well is that while they were connected to each other and helping and teaching each other, technically when they did something it was generally "acting alone", at least to outward appearances.

Timothy McVeigh claimed to be acting alone, or to have only coerced some help, but there are other elements there that indicate that was a lie.

That pattern, as well as attacks on infrastructure, have a guidebook out there in a 1978 novel called The Turner Diaries. I am not recommending that you read it, but I am recommending knowing that there are people who do want to burn it all down. It's nice that they often look incompetent, like on January 6th, but they can still manage to do quite a bit of damage, and it is getting worse.

I can recommend reading Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America by Katherine Belew. While it focuses on the 80s and 90s, there will be patterns that you notice as you start seeing other things.

And you should start paying attention to those other things.

A bit more on weather

When writing about weather issues last week, I didn't spend a lot of time on preparedness.

My focus was stressing that things were getting worse and that they were likely to have an impact on more areas because of that. It seemed more important to note that climate change can affect harvests and available food, because we all know what to do in case of a power outage or heavy snow or wind, right?

That doesn't always mean doing it. The extra snowfall was a reminder of it, with stranded motorists and canceled activities.

Meanwhile, the East Coast is unusually warm. This might seem like a nice break for them, but if you change the patterns of plants and animals that rely on temperature cues, you can't always predict all of the results. 

People can say they don't believe in global climate change, or that it may be real but they don't believe man has an impact on it, or that they think it is overblown, but that will not protect them from the effects.

Therefore, as with setting health goals, perhaps it is reasonable to walk through a head-to-toe assessment of where we stand and what we need.

Once again, the individual is important. Our needs vary, but also our resources.

In my household of three, two of us work mostly remotely, making transportation disruption less of an issue. The third does not. They were closed for one day, and open for part of the second day, but she did not go in, with her boss not being too happy about it.

Some situations are more economically precarious, with worse bosses and more need to get in. Are you able to get in? Would you be able to get home?

How often does your tank get close to empty?

We heard of many people stuck on the road for hours as traffic slowed to a crawl. I saw someone remind people of the importance of chains, but if you have chains, can you put them on? If no one else has them, will that matter? Then maybe you need to think about if there is somewhere else you can stay. What if there are pets you don't get home to? Maybe you can prearrange with a neighbor to check on them, but that neighbor needs to have a key and know where the food is.

If you have children at school or daycare, what about getting them?

We know someone who has a job she needs to get to and there is a big hill on the way, but she has a vehicle that can navigate that well. Not everyone can afford that; you have to look for solutions that will work for you.

(If you find you need a new job, this may not be the worst time to look.)

Many of these issues are things that have been written about before, but is there actually a plan in place? Does it need updating?

Once everyone is safely at home, then you need to look at power and heat.

Be careful about complacency. I live in an area where it has been very rare for us to lose power, and that is due to the infrastructure. Things can get worse.

Two of us worked for home, but if the power had gone out we would not have been able to.

Yes, we have flashlights and batteries to be able to see. Yes, we have gas heat, though there are some electrical systems involved in running it.

I would love to get solar panels, but it is not currently possible. If you have them, make sure you have whatever connections or backups you need to keep functioning when the grid goes down.

If we lose power here, I have medication that requires refrigeration that will not have it. We have family members who use breathing machines; sleep will be less restful for them. 

Is that a reason to get a generator? Maybe it should be, but I feel resistance to doing so. Are there other things we can do for our specific needs?

We do have food that doesn't require cooking, but that would get old after a while. Here it is very important to remember that you cannot, say, bring a hibachi indoors and cook on that, as it is a good way of suffocating everyone. Having a carbon monoxide detector that will alert you is not a good reason to risk carbon monoxide poisoning. 

(Also, our detector plugs in, though it has a battery backup.)

Does that mean we want to get a Sterno setup? 

If it was going to be two weeks without power, how would you get through that? Would there be enough food to get through, even if you were sick of everything by the end?

Also, since you would be losing things in the refrigerator and freezer after two weeks without power, do you have the means for cooking the things in there first?

Do you own equipment that you are not really used to using?

Those are the types of questions you want to ask.

Do you have a battery-operated AM radio? Are the batteries still good?

Because your phones will lose their charge. Will there be a way to charge them?

And often, it will not be that bad, but I want to add one other thing.

If maybe it will just be one night, food is easy to resolve by ordering in, but are you risking someone else's life by doing so? Because, sure, if those restaurants are cooking and those drivers are delivering, they probably do need the money, but are you exploiting that need?

A people that will refrain from going some places on Sunday because we don't want even people who don't believe there is anything special about the Sabbath having to work should be able to see that there are times when you can do something but should not.

So many of the problems that we are dealing with now have to do with not caring enough about other people -- not even thinking about their needs and welfare-- that perhaps that is the first thing to address.

Previous posts:

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2009/04/february-2009-preparing-for-winter.html

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2010/10/october-2010-preparing-for-hard-winter.html

Things to watch out for: Weather

I know I said I had three things to write about, but the recent train derailment makes me want to add infrastructure. As infrastructure can interact with all of the other three, that is probably just going to be a fourth week.

I said these were things that can cause problems, but also that they are issues that are easy to overlook. When I say that, it is often because there are conservative trains of thought that tend to deny the importance or even the very existence. That also tends to influence reporting.

If you read this blog, you are probably at least open to stepping out of the traditional conservative mindset, so let's go for it!

Weather is becoming more severe due to climate change. 

To some extent we know that because we see bigger storms more frequently and in expanded seasons. If you don't live on the coast of the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico, or in Tornado Alley, that may not feel like a pressing problem.

While those are the events that make headlines, due to the intense damage they leave, that is not the only potential issue.

I am not the best gardener, but my plans were completely thwarted last year. Unusually heavy rains prevented soil preparation past the time of planting, creating a late start. The year before, much of my vegetation was wiped out by the heat dome.

It is amazing to me to remember how predictable weather used to be. We would alternate yearly between mild and colder winters, with a really cold winter every five years. When snow came, it almost always came in February.

Sometimes there were hotter than usual days in summer, but generally only a few, and fans could get you by. I would hate to be without air conditioning now. 

Remember that local housing is built based on prevailing weather conditions. Here in the Willamette Valley, that meant mainly wooden structures, and they don't tend to have basements because we never used to get tornadoes. The needs are changing, and that does not change the already existing houses.

That may seem to be mainly a matter of personal comfort, but extreme cold and heat can both be fatal.

It makes caring for the un-housed population harder.

More severe windstorms and freezes can also wipe out electricity, which affects the ability to stay warm, and access to food, and communication.

But I'm really writing this about food.

Unreliable weather creates the potential for failed crops. 

That can be true of commercial agriculture, but it can also be true for your home vegetable garden that you use to save money and increase health.

And if your home production involves animals, weather can affect them too.

These are just things to think about. 

If you lose power for two weeks, will you have refrigerated medications that go bad? Is anyone relying on electrical devices? Do you have a landline, or will you be able to charge cell phones?

Will you have heat?

If it becomes so cold that the chickens will freeze, can you bring them in the house and keep the house livable?

Sometimes in looking ahead, you will discover small adjustments that can make big improvements. 

Sometimes you will notice large weaknesses that require deeper thought.

I still maintain that the most valuable gift is inspiration through the Holy Ghost, but having that still requires listening, and being open.

Heart Health

After I had several posts that were pretty positive and faith affirming, I was going to spend three posts going over three somewhat related topics.

They are all factors where there is an increased danger of situations where very traditional preparedness skills and supplies can be helpful, but also where it would be easy for church members to miss the increased threat.

Then there was a horrific domestic violence mass killing in Utah, and I saw a bunch of people resolving to lose 50 pounds for the New Year/New Me, and I felt compelled to respond.

There was one more issue related to past few posts that creates a natural transition to the increased threats, and it is really important, so that's where I hope I can say something useful today.

It is not about literal cardiovascular fitness, because that is a temporary thing. For many of those diseases there are medications or therapies or surgeries, but even if those fail, death and the resurrection will eliminate those issues.

Instead, this is about that symbolic function of the heart, where it loves. If your heart is not full of love -- not just the love of those who are intimately connected with you, or similar to you, or seem attractive -- if you do not have the pure love of Christ and feel that for others, then you cannot be saved in the Kingdom of God.

There is a lot of scriptural evidence for that. The classics are 1 Corinthians 13 and Moroni 10, but it is not limited to them. 

In these last days, when men's hearts shall fail them, what do you think that failure is?

Sure, it is easy to hear that as referring to fear; things are scary and people don't feel like they can handle it. 

It this pandemic that leaves a lot of blood clots in its wake, and sudden organ failure, plus loneliness and isolation -- because even if you are trying it can be hard to balance the physical need of safety with the emotional need of companionship -- that can be another way that hearts can fail.

Scriptural passages can have multiple meanings that are relevant for a number of readers, as well as individual meanings influenced by the Spirit.

(I really like this article, especially the section on Isaiah 52:15, for that: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1990/01/the-bible-only-4263-languages-to-go)

I think it is reasonable to consider the kind of failure it would involve for people who profess to follow Christ to not have charity, and how that would make everything else worse.

A class on Roman history taught of a sickness that was going around at the same time as the missionary efforts of the early Christian church. It was a disease that responded well to human care, and it is thought that those Christians receiving ministry from their fellows and recovering may have helped the new faith increase in popularity.

(This was referred to as the Antonine Plague, and generally thought to have been smallpox, though there are some votes for measles.)

Are we helping to heal each other?

Are we feeding the hungry, or withholding because they will just spend money on drugs? Or maybe they wouldn't but they would get lazy if they get too much help, and besides they must have made bad choices to need help now.

Last week we were running errands, and my sisters noticed a man glaring at our masks. He did not recognize us, but we used to be in the same ward.

Even if we were foolish for wearing the masks, should that create such hostility?

Whom do you love? How do you show that love? Is your heart soft enough for a still, small voice to pierce it?

The reason I think this is a good bridge between what we have been covering and what we will cover is that the fat-shaming that leads people to obsess about weight loss also makes it very easy to judge other fat people, and believe they are not worthy of love or acceptance or health care or comfortable seats or to be seated next to someone who is thin. They find it completely justified because it is for health, only it doesn't work that way.

There are lots of fat people, but their efforts to not be fat can prevent building solidarity. There are not nearly as many transgender people, but they are also heavily targeted.

Transphobes will make all kinds of arguments about basic biology (often missing key points) or how it devalues "real" women. That's a small enough group that it may not affect you or anyone you care about, but there is a problem beyond the abuse for either group.

(JK Rowling hates both.)

Hate spreads. 

You might think that you can love most people, but not these two or that other one, or just this group over here. That might sound logical, but it will spread. No matter how unpopular the group is, or self-loathing, your hate will grow and spread. That is why focusing on a some of the less obvious groups works well, to just get in that foothold. You might be surprised at how quickly it starts to include believing in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories or resenting not being able to say the N-word.

Your better qualities will be diminished as you get angrier and more aggrieved. Your heart hardens.

And that makes everything worse. It makes the world more dangerous for everyone, not just that groups you cling to hating. 

Love can spread too.

Love will refine and elevate. 

It seems totally obvious that a churchgoing person, Latter-Day Saint or otherwise, would know right off that carrying around that judgmental anger is wrong, and the target "deserving" it is not really an excuse, but there it goes, again and again.

The scriptures remain quite clear. 

There is also a promise there, an exhortation to "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love." (Moroni 7:48) 

Perhaps charity does not come naturally to you, but it can be obtained.

Consider it essential.