What Fear... and Compassion Look Like During Covid-19

This is what fear looks like/BBC/Getty

I'm from Michigan.

For those of you who may not know, there was an initial protest against the stay-at-home order, about three weeks ago, at the State Capitol in Lansing. It was called Operation Gridlock. The idea was to bring vehicular traffic to a halt. Including ambulances. 

And for some inexplicable reason, many of the protestors used the occasion to show off their automatic weapons.

Before you read any further, it may help you to know that Michigan is currently number three in the U.S in terms of Covid-19 deaths, at 3,789. It is number seven, in terms of confirmed Covid-19 cases overall, with 41,379 as of April 30. Pandemic experts have estimated that one person infected with Covid-19 could, in turn, infect up to another forty people. For a moment, let's very conservatively say those 41,379 individuals with Covid-19 in Michigan could, in turn, result in 413,790 more Covid-19 cases in the State. To say nothing about a potential second wave at a later date if we're not diligent to stop this one.

This is why, on April 30th, Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended the stay-at-home order to May 28.

That same day another group of protesters came to Lansing and demanded to gain access to the Capitol building. Once again they brought their automatic weapons.

This time the group unfurled a large "FREEDOM" banner across the main entrance to the Capitol building. There were a few speakers. One of them, referring to the safety restriction requesting people to stay at least six feet apart in public, asked: "Where did they get the six-foot rule? They must have pulled that out of their a**."  

[Actually, that six-feet rule is grounded in science and how far particles from a person's mouth can travel to another's, causing infection.] 

As for what the rest of Michigan thinks, a Detroit Regional Chamber poll taken earlier in April showed that fifty-seven percent of those surveyed approved of the stay-at-home order. Compared with thirty-seven percent who did not.

This is what courage looks like/NYTimes

Yes, people may be fearful and frustrated by life under Covid-19. But my initial response isn't to get my gun (I don't own one) and head to the State Capitol. 

Meanwhile millions of individuals across the world have made sacrifices.

We are dealing with a situation with significance akin to World World Two. 

The whole earth is reeling from this pandemic. There are currently 3.3 million confirmed Covid-19 cases across the globe. 

And yet there are many individuals whose first response is compassion and concern for others.

When New York City put out the call for nurses and other medical personnel to come to the City and help, thousands of nurses across the US chose to come. Despite the horrific conditions they were facing. They came anyway.  The woman pictured above is a 25-year-old senior staff nurse in a New York hospital with a two-year-old son who is currently staying with her mother, while she serves Covid-19 patients.

When colleges across Michigan closed and moved to on-line instruction, students responded by asking to tutor K-12 students on-line who were in the same situation. One of those who chose to help was Hope College student, Annie Kopp. When asked about her motivation, Annie said, "When this pandemic hit, one of the first things in my mind was who's going to need more help than I need?"

The after-school program run by Peace House, a grassroots, Catholic-Worker type group where I volunteer has been closed for almost two months now. During that time the two families who run Peace House have been busy distributing food and other items to neighborhood families. That's another sign of courage, compassion, and hope. 

If you're motivated to express your compassion. It's really easy to do so. If you aren't familiar with an organization that's helping out during this Covid-19 time, do some research on-line, and then please give! Or volunteer if you are able. A quick example: As you might expect millions of folks being out of work is leading to a booming number of households in need of food. The food banks currently serving these folks could use your support!

The International Rescue Committee, which has boots on the ground, estimates there are now 70 million refugees worldwide. They certainly are in danger of Covid-19 infection. Another very worthwhile organization is Preemptive Love. They have boots on the ground in Iraq and countries near-by.

Whenever adversity strikes, we have at least three choices: to complain, to do nothing, or to choose compassion and go where the hurting people are. 

As Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement, once said, "We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community."