The Pandemic of Apathy
Today I was speaking to someone in the financial sector who was sharing their anxiety with me over the ups and downs of the market over the past couple weeks. “My AUM (assets under management) have dropped by $250 million in the last week,” they said.
Ahem. I guess the 1%ers won’t get to buy their dream yacht this year.
But while investors are panicking, the economy is in a precarious situation, and a state of emergency has been called, for most of the world, it feels like the apocalypse is upon us, and in a way, it is. Basic needs access has always been a problem in the so-called richest country in the world, and it’s only going to get worse. Yes, we all want to crawl into bed, draw the shades, and wait until this magically goes away.
But magic isn’t real.
You know what is real? Money. And that’s why, despite our deepest need to halt our day-to-day activities, we have to continue doing the work we do. We have to continue supporting the organizations that support the community. Because if this pandemic has shown us one thing, it’s that we’re all connected--whether that be through the spread of contagion or the empathy we can provide one another.
Some communities are taking action to alleviate some of the financial pressures that many are already feeling. According to Curbed New York, “The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and 29 building owners and managers committed to a 90-day moratorium on the housing removals in response to the five boroughs’ outbreak of COVID-19,” which means no evictions in New York City for three months. Meanwhile, Sacramento is voting on an emergency declaration that would “create a $1 million economic relief package for local businesses such as restaurants, stores, and day cares.”
But it isn’t enough. We’ve long known we can’t rely on our local, state, or federal governments to help those who need it the most. That’s why nonprofits like ours and so many others exist. It’s up to us to work harder than ever to support direct service organizations who are on the ground, helping people who have been marginalized and forgotten by our so-called civic leaders.
This past Friday, Governor Pritzker closed down all schools in Illinois until March 30. Through this closure we are reminded of the deep inequities within our current system. We are reminded of the more than 350,000 low-income students who rely on free breakfast and lunch at school for their daily meals. In the third largest city in the wealthiest country in the world, hundreds of thousands of children are on the brink of hunger. Although CPS has released a plan to ensure these students continue to receive food, how the hell did we even get here? How is it that I can sit on my couch with a belly full of pasta while a 6-year old doesn’t have a single meal in a day? How is it that we have people who are hoarding toilet paper or worrying about their multi-million dollar investment portfolios while hundreds of thousands remain food insecure? This is not the world I want to live in.
I canceled my wedding last week. I won’t lie, I cried about it--a lot. Today, I’m wiping those tears with my tax deductible donation receipts. Not because I’m some fucking saint. But because I have a home, and food, and the things I need to make it through this shitstorm alive.
But not everyone does.
So, friends, this is what we need to do. We need to work our asses off, donate, and convince our friends and family to do the same. We need to move beyond just tweeting and posting on Instagram, and we definitely need to move beyond obsessively reading the news. WE NEED TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING.
During times of crisis, we see the worst in people and we see the best in people. Let’s not be the hoarders, the misers, the ones who ignore the realities of the situation we’re all in. Let’s be the ones who band together and not only feel empathy for one another, but transform that empathy into action by donating to the organizations that are sacrificing their time, resources, and safety to help the people who are truly going to bear the brunt of this pandemic.
We may be quarantined and closed off from our friends and families right now, but that doesn’t mean we need to turn our backs to society. If you’re reading this right now, you’re likely safe, healthy, and financially secure. You’re in a better position than many others in your community.
Take stock of what you have, think about what others don’t, and act accordingly.
Below is a list of organizations that are doing the work to support our most vulnerable populations. Make a donation. Give some money. Contribute what you can. None of us knows how things will turn out, but we do know this: fear is the enemy of action and action is what our community needs of us right now.
—Tara Ebrahimi
Director of Communications
Artwork by Jaime Jacob
