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| changed priorities ahead - originally 1509.27 |
A Sense of Doubt blog post #1851 - Friday the 13th - The Day it All STOPPED
I have always been a proponent of UNCERTAINTY. In teaching feminism and media criticism, I coined the motto EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY to characterize my feelings about gender identity, which I felt was a slippery and complex idea about which I had little certainty, lots of questions, and an open mind to learning, evolving, and changing.
EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY provided the underlying theme of this blog expressed in the name, taken from a sense from David Bowie, "Sense of Doubt," an ambient track on the Heroes album. I have written about uncertainty many times, though, oddly, neither "uncertainty" nor "embrace uncertainty" have their own label-defined categories in my somewhat chaotic organization of blog posts.
Most notably I wrote about my motto in this post, re-published here from my T-shirt blog:
Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #260 - Embrace Uncertainty; Question Everything
I didn't write about all the permutations of how "Embrace Uncertainty" could be applied, which may prompt another blog post some day, but I communicate the basic idea in the post.
And so, I like what I feature upcoming here (below) on how uncertainty in the face of the pandemic is not predicting the future but being prepared for what comes next.
Today, ironically Friday the Thirteenth, many things came to an end. Sports had already closed its gates and suspended games after two NBA players from the Utah Jazz -- Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell -- tested positive for Covid-19 (now as I write this post on Sunday one of the Detroit Pistons -- Christian Wood -- has also tested positive).
Yesterday, Concordia University decided to move its classes online until possibly the last week of class and finals week. The university had announced its closing for good, going out of business, at the end of this current semester anyway.
Then, today, Lower Columbia College [LCC] also urged faculty to transition final exams online if possible. In some cases, students will be required to take exams in rooms in which they can maintain a high degree of social distance (over six feet) and that have been thoroughly sanitized.
It appears that at least the first few weeks of spring quarter will be taught entirely online at LCC.
State of emergency has been declared nationally and state-by-state. Schools are closed, Broadway has closed, Disney has closed, flights from Europe have been canceled, and people are stocking up on essentials and non-perishables. There's no toilet paper available for purchase anywhere in the country, which ranks highly among the more ridiculous hoarding activities by the selfish and unscrupulous.
And so, uncertainty means prepare for what's next and BITCH media reminds us of what to know and what to understand and what precautions to take in the following shared text.
One of my favorite bits is the article (interestingly published in Teen Vogue) about how Coronavirus and COVID-19 are not exactly the same. Coronaviruses are a a set of viruses that include SARS whereas COVID-19 is the disease caused by this particular novel Coronoavirus, much in the way AIDS is caused by HIV. The virus is novel as it has not been found heretofore in humans and so we do not know very much about it.
This:
1. Though the terms “coronavirus” and “COVID-19” are often used interchangeably, they’re not exactly the same. [Teen Vogue]
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I am not freaking out, but I am wary and concerned. I think this situation is bringing people together min many ways (except for the hoarding) and people with whom I have interacted generally have positive outlooks and are in good spirits, which is refreshing.
From No.117 — New beginning ⊗ Earth’s layer of life ⊗ Uncertainty
ABOUT → Sentiers is a weekly newsletter curated by me, Patrick Tanguay.
How Futurists Cope With Uncertainty
Useful presentation of a foresight tool by Amy Webb, well known quantitative futurist who works on “tech trends, foresight and scenarios at the Future Today Institute.” It’s called Axes of Uncertainty and Webb explains how to set up such an exercise, which can have value for companies and your personal life/career. Summarized: come up with a bunch of internal and external uncertainties expressed as the two ends of an axis; categorize them under “economic,” “social,” “technological, and regulatory, politics, activism”; set them up on quadrants.
I’m writing to tell you a simple truth: you cannot make accurate predictions describing exactly what your industry will look like in 3, 6, or 12 months. I know you’re under pressure to do that right now. Your organizations want new financial projections and accurate timetables. Your senior executives and boards want concrete answers. Your goal right now isn’t predictions. It’s preparation for what comes next. We must shift our mindset from making predictions to being prepared. […]The more plausible outcomes you can discover, and the more flexible you can be in your thinking and planning, the more assured you will feel about your futures. That’s how you break the vicious cycle of corporate anxiety. And there’s an added benefit: if you identify existential risk early, you have time to take action. […]A completed Axis results in a 2 x 2 matrix and four headlines describing plausible futures, given what we can observe from the past and present. The headlines will reveal risk and opportunity, help you prioritize your work and show you were to take incremental actions. […]It can be simple and easy: if you’ve revealed a potential opportunity, do some more research and explore the idea in more depth. If you’ve revealed a possible threat, talk to your colleagues and continue to build out your scenario, allowing yourselves to take it to extremes.
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| https://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2018/11/hey-mom-talking-to-my-mother-1364-me.html |
 
Coronavirus Is Here
Our Take
Outside of scientists, researchers, and those who report on and closely follow these industries, many of us were unprepared for COVID-19, a World Health Organization–classified pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and has since spread throughout the world. There are confirmed cases everywhere from South Africa and Kenya to Argentina and Cuba to Iceland and Norway to Afghanistan and Morocco to Bangladesh and the Maldives and to the United States, Australia, and many other countries. Though we’ve faced other pandemics in the past, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and the Ebola virus in 2014, there are few viruses whose impact has been proportionate to the scale of COVID-19.
According to research compiled by John Hopkins University, there have been more than 137,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 throughout the world, and more than 5,000 deaths resulting from the virus. The World Health Organization has declared Europe the “epicenter” of the pandemic, leading Donald Trump to suspend travel between the United States and Europe for 30 days. (Though he has, conveniently, omitted from the suspension countries in which he owns resort property.) Schools across the nation are closing and college students are being asked to leave campus and complete their school work remotely for the remainder of the semester. Walt Disney World has closed its locations in the United States. And all signs point to this being only the beginning of the pandemic.
Fear is both warranted and understandable right now. We are facing an insidious virus that will likely wreak havoc on our lives for months—and possibly a year—to come. We are also behind the curve on both preparedness and testing because of the inaction of a president who has uttered lie after lie in an effort to protect both the stock market and his own reelection campaign. But we are not helpless. Educating ourselves is the first step: Once we know what we’re facing, we can act.
 Media Roundup
1. Though the terms “coronavirus” and “COVID-19” are often used interchangeably, they’re not exactly the same. [Teen Vogue]
2. COVID-19, which has been categorized as a “cousin of the SARS virus,” saw its first outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December, and has since spread throughout the world, including South Korea, Italy, and now, the United States. [CNN]
3. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 160 million and 214 million people in the United States may be infected by COVID-19 over the course of a few months and possibly a year. Between 200,000 and 1.7 million people in the United States could die. [New York Times]
4. Symptoms range from coughing, fever, and breathing issues to pneumonia and organ failure; unfortunately, many people who have contracted the virus do not show any symptoms. COVID-19 can’t be treated with antibiotics because it’s a viral, rather than a bacterial, infection; and recovery is heavily dependent on each person’s immune system. [New York Times, Guardian]
5. The CDC notes that older adults, people with chronic medical conditions and who are immunosuppressed, and pregnant people are at high risk for both contracting COVID-19 and experiencing more severe symptoms. [STAT, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
6. Self-quarantining is highly recommended for those who are showing symptoms. That includes “social distancing”—in other words, avoiding crowds, not gathering in close quarters with others, and keeping several feet of distance between yourself and others. Working from home, if possible, is recommended, as is canceling all nonessential travel and rescheduling routine medical appointments. Frequent handwashing and sanitizing surfaces are both emphasized. [Los Angeles Times, Atlantic]
7. Social distancing, while necessary, will likely result in a loneliness epidemic impacting those who are at most at risk of contracting COVID-19. While this something we should all be concerned with, it’s still important to encourage people to self-quarantine and avoid crowded places, if at all possible. [Vox, BuzzFeed]
8. A number of sports leagues, including the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, have either postponed or canceled the remainder of their games. [ESPN]
9. Cities around the United States are closing schools to try to ease the spread of COVID-19. This is creating a paradox for parents who want to keep their children safe, college students who don’t want to contract COVID-19, and grandparents who may be regular childcare providers but may be unable to house and feed their children or themselves. [Washington Post, Boston Globe]
10. Prisons face a uniquely dangerous challenge: Confinement, overcrowding, and poorly ventilated buildings are likely to be a danger to inmates and staff. Visits have been suspended, as have inmate transfers. [NPR]
11. The United States government is seemingly unprepared for an epidemic of this magnitude, especially given that the president disbanded the White House’s office on pandemic preparedness and has repeatedly proposed cutting funding to the CDC. [MSNBC, Intelligencer]
12. While Donald Trump has officially announced a national state of emergency, testing protocols are still unclear and there’s still a lack of paid family leave, which makes it impossible for some people to call off from work. [NBC News, Atlantic, ABC News]
13. There may be hope on the horizon, though: The House of Representatives and the White House have come to an agreement on a coronavirus relief bill that may expand paid sick leave. [Vox]
What you can do right now
Stock up on essential supplies, including toilet paper, paper towel, handsoap, trash bags, and water. Don’t hoard supplies, though. Save some for those who need it. [USA Today]
School closures also mean food insecurity for low-income students who depend on meal programs. Donations to local food banks will help make up the shortfall for families as schools and jobs close. [Intelligencer]
Stay home if you can. If you have trips planned, cancel them. If you had plans with friends, set up a virtual video call instead. Reschedule your book clubs, bachelorette parties, and movie dates. Limiting contact with others is crucial to preventing COVID-19 from spreading more quickly. [Vox]
Know where to get tested for COVID-19. There are not enough tests for every single person, so the CDC is only encouraging people with symptoms to seek tests. [NPR]
Above all else, take care of your neighbor as you’d want them to take care of you. None of us will know if the precautions we’ve taken will actually help, but it’s still worth a shot. [BuzzFeed]
We plan to continue covering the impact of coronavirus, so please consider donating to Bitch Media today or joining The Rage, a community of folks reclaiming their anger and supporting independent feminist media. [Bitch Media]
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Bitch Media is an award-winning, nonprofit, feminist media outlet. We're community funded because we believe that there's no for-profit way to make truly independent, intersectional feminist media. If our work has to compete with a self-interested advertiser or a major investor, it's never going to be the kind of world-changing, movement-making, uncompromising work that needs to be done. It'll just be another contract negotiated in a patriarchal world. You like our attitude? Us too.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2003.13 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1714 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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