Wednesday, February 24th, 2021
Editor’s Note — We Should Never Forget What Happened, and Why it Happened.
Author: Stephan A. Schwartz
Source: Schwartzreport
Publication Date: 24 February 2021
Link: Editor’s Note — We Should Never Forget What Happened, and Why it Happened.
Source: Schwartzreport
Publication Date: 24 February 2021
Link: Editor’s Note — We Should Never Forget What Happened, and Why it Happened.
Stephan: Today I had to go to the doctor's and as I sat there double-masked, at the other end of the waiting room an attractive blonde-haired middle-aged woman also sat. After a few moments I noticed that although she made not a sound, there were tears streaming down her face. I was torn between giving her privacy in her obvious sadness, and saying something, and finally I asked her, "Are you okay?" She looked up at me, seeing me I think for the first time, and answered, "My mother... she died last night in Seattle of Covid." I responded by saying the sort of things you say, as the doctor came out to usher me into his treatment room. When I came out the woman was gone. All day I have been thinking about what has happened to America, and why. How hundreds to thousands of us have died, leaving millions of us bereft as that woman, lives forever changed, and much of that death utterly unnecessary. So in recognition of those deaths, and the truth of why so many of them happened I am devoting today's edition of SR to that single issue.
Was the description “blonde, attractive” necessary for this article? Would you have added such a description for a man?
Yes, Joan, I think the description was important, that’s why I wrote it the way I did. I wanted people to visualize her as she was, not as some disheveled or disordered person; someone who did not have her act together, but as she was. Clearly, a functioning well-turned-out middle class woman. Not the sort of person one would expect or normally see sitting quietly bereft and crying in front of a stranger in a doctor’s office. Sorry to offend your PC, but such nuances matter. — Stephan
You’ve captured what’s been on my mind. Without offering recognition, we’re denying the existence, the stories, the connectedness of who was walking with us.. whether near or far. Who they were is part of who we are today. Thank you.