Already expecting the backlash of this post, but I don’t really give a f***. This issue is WAY too important to let a few strong opinions stand in my way. Last night, my lovely mother sent me an article that an Italian doctor wrote:
YOUNG AND UNAFRAID OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC? GOOD FOR YOU. NOW STOP KILLING PEOPLE
OMG this blog post is EVERYTHING that I have been thinking over the past couple of weeks. I’ve watched my friends hop on their scheduled vacation flight and go visit people in the hospital and have colds and still hop on that subway. On a normal March day, yea—maybe?! But NOW? With everything that we know about the #COVID19? Millennials are literally risking the lives of other people by not taking this virus and its suggested quarantines seriously. And you have to understand how rare it is for me to even type those words. I am a millennial and I have fought for millennials since day one of this blog, calling out companies and articles that stereotype us. But, MY GOSH, our generation not caring about the welfare of others enough to stay in their damn homes speaks louder than we could ever imagine. It says >> I’m going to survive, so I don’t really care if I infect you and die. Which is basically>> Your life doesn’t matter to me. Go ahead and die.
I’m sure some of you are reading this, and the article I shared above, and thinking that I am a bit of a drama queen and this is the perfect moment for me to turn on my generation and get some blog views. WRONG. I would love to say that I am very in-tune with the vulnerable elderly and those with compromised immune systems and I care deeply about others, which is all true, but probably the main reason this stoic reaction from millennials makes me cringe is because it hits just a little too close to home.
I almost died last year. For real. No drama, no exaggerating. After six months of chemo, I thought I was never going to see the outside of a hospital room again. And that’s super scary and eyeopening in itself, AND it places me in the lovely category of >> If I get these virus, I will die. I currently have no immune system left to speak of and am severely anemic.
And knowing those facts, my husband and I sat down together and started a plan for how to keep our apartment a **safe space** from this pandemic. Even tho he has an iron-tough immune system, he is acting like he doesn’t because he knows any misstep could bring this bug home to me. We have been in super tight communication re: our hygiene habits and more since there was the first (and only, so far) case in Madison, adding to our plan step-by-step.
And here I am, watching my social media community that is heavily millennial not speak-up nor care nor have empathy about this pandemic. In fact, some are even going as far as creating memes to make fun of it. HELLO.
YOUNGER GENERATIONS DO NOT GET HOW DISEASE SPREADS >> you can fight me on this as much as you want, but it’s true. Even I have been caught thinking, “Well, as long as I don’t get sick,” from time-to-time. Guess what?
IT MATTERS. IT MATTERS if you are a carrier, or have the disease with limited symptoms, and just carry-on with your normal life. IT MATTERS if your refusal to understand quarantines and the severity of viruses spreading, infects people with compromised immune systems and elderly people who cannot fight it off. IT MATTERS if those people die.
We all are literally in the most powerful position ever right now >> we have the power to make smart decisions that will literally save lives. This is my plea, as someone who hits a mere 400K audience, PLEASE CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE, please care about me, and take precautions and say bye-bye to your glam social life for awhile. It is even more likely to be there when this is over, if you take responsibility for yourself and protect this world. Please do that. <3
In the meantime, my work partner and I are going to transform Sherman Social into a hub for #MYC19Story >> personal stories from individuals around the world that describe how the coronavirus is impacting daily life. Have a story you want featured? Have access to #COVID19 resources that we haven’t published yet? Send an email directly to me at Marji@ShermanSocial.com.
– Marji J. Sherman
