At the beginning of the pandemic some disabled people felt hope.
We saw inclusion and accessibility improve overnight.
We saw accommodations put in place that we had spent years begging for.
We saw the world adapt.
That hope was ripped away during the rush back to normal.
It still hurts.
It’s Long Covid Awareness Day (which I think should be the Ides of March, for reasons that will become clear.)
Some of you have heard this before. But I wanted to share my Long Covid story, because I think you should hear it.
On my birthday in November 2022, I woke up with Covid.
Things we want people to know. 6 years after the start* of the COVID-19 pandemic. *The day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. This was not the date of the first case.
It’s not just a cold. We wish it were just a cold. We would not keep talking about it if so. Since 2020, doctors, scientists, and millions of people who have had COVID-19 have learned that it can cause permanent damage to multiple organ systems within your body, leave you disabled and unable to do the things you love, and significantly harm your quality of life. A cold cannot disable or kill you the way COVID-19 can.
We know a lot more about prevention than we did back then. We all remember when we thought maybe we’d be ok as long as we were 6 feet away from sick people; that masks worked one way but not the other; and more. But just like with all new viruses and scientific study, we learned more as there was more time to study and observe, and we now know that wearing masks and keeping cleaner air are key to protecting ourselves and others. Now that we know better, we can (and should) better protect ourselves and others.
We understand the frustration about vaccines, but they are still extremely important. We all remember when vaccines were first made available, and it would’ve been great if that was the end of the pandemic. It wasn’t. And a lot of people have gotten frustrated and have given up on vaccination. It’s true, the virus that causes COVID-19 changes (which is why, like the annual flu shot, we need to get updated COVID-19 vaccines each year), and the vaccines we have now will not eliminate COVID-19 on their own. But they are still very effective at preventing serious illness and death, so even though they are not the one quick solution to the pandemic we all wish they were, they are still extremely important, and we should all stay up to date.
This week marked the anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve summarized our thoughts a bit below, but tl;dr: Unfortunately, COVID-19 is still with us, & although we may be tired of hearing about it, it’s extremely important to continue to take steps to protect ourselves & others.
We are all very tired of it (or at least I am), but pretending it’s gone is not going to help anyone stay healthy. Lots of us are tired of hearing about it (and honestly, we’re tired of talking about it), but we keep talking about it because we know how devastating it can be, we’ve met people whose lives are forever changed for the worse because of getting COVID-19, and lots of people who are now living with Long COVID say they wish they had known how bad it could be. So we’ll probably keep talking about it, because we want you to be healthy and happy, and even if you are tired of it (that’s fair), we hope you take some steps to protect yourself and others so you can all live long, healthy lives.
In other words, we’re know you’re tired of hearing about COVID-19. We’re tired of hearing about it too. But ignoring it does not help it to go away, so please continue to take protect your health.
your vote is rarely the single decisive vote
but sometimes it is! and you never know when that might be
My eyes welled as I struggled to articulate the words of citizenship declaring my fealty to the monarch and her heirs.
Was it proud relief? Or was it the cloying grief of my immigrant ancestors choking me?
Another heartbreak in a long legacy of erasure.
Táim ag foghlaim Gaeilge.
#flashinthebluesky
Just in time for the weekend! 🎉
Here are some free things to do in London if you’re looking for something fun without spending a penny.
Don’t miss out!
A woman in a mask Headline: Why Do Some People Still Wear Masks In 2026 And On A Completely Unrelated Note Why Is Everyone In The Office Sick Right Now Apart From The Guy In The Mask? Story from Jerk Wingley and Terramin Defishunsee Photo from Adobe
Why Do Some People Still Wear Masks In 2026 And On A Completely Unrelated Note Why Is Everyone In The Office Sick Right Now Apart From The Guy In The Mask?
‘Which Way Is Iran?’ Asks Pantsless, Sword-Wielding Trump Wandering On Side Of Freeway
‘Which Way Is Iran?’ Asks Pantsless, Sword-Wielding Trump Wandering On Side Of Freeway https://theonion.com/which-way-is-iran-asks-pantsless-sword-wielding-trump-wandering-on-side-of-freeway/
Cool Dad Raising Daughter On Media That Will Put Her Entirely Out Of Touch With Her Generation
Cool Dad Raising Daughter On Media That Will Put Her Entirely Out Of Touch With Her Generation https://theonion.com/cool-dad-raising-daughter-on-media-that-will-put-her-en-1819572981/
That this war with Iran is unpopular in a way never before recorded in American history has seen remarkably little attention from the press
I had several weird conversations today, but this one is definitely in the top ten.
“Do you realise you are getting rarer and rarer?”
(Don’t call the grammar police, I didn’t make it up.)
“Yes, why?”
“Why do you still wear a mask? Do you really want to be the last one left alive?”
I willed the phone to ring.
Chipper music and a laugh track were insufficient to drown out the news when it came.
I couldn’t know how desperately I would wish that it hadn’t rung at all - that I could have held on to not knowing forever.
#flashinthebluesky
I value empathy & I’m finding it challenging currently…with all the research we now have access to, thinking ahead 15 or 20yrs, what are science-literate people planning to tell their kids…sorry about your lifetime of illness, but people made fun so we went maskless?! Sorry for the snark.
Though it is day, the sun cannot be seen in Tehran today because of all the smoke following the US and Israel bombing Tehran's oil refineries. People on the ground describe it as armageddon. History will not forgive Reza Pahlavi, Masih Alinejad, Nazanin Boniadi, and all other "leaders" who tricked Iranians into thinking this war would set them free.
Oh my god: this is *daytime* in Tehran.
Any Covid infection carries risks lasting years, even asymptomatic.
A white cat with very pink ears curled into a tight ball, with one paw covering her face. She is submerged in a white fleece bed.
Mise-en-scène:
Do delicate mystical creatures suffer from sleep apnea?
Gentle snores emanate from a fuzzy radiator bed, slung low with a beast too big to fit properly.
I suppose I can forgive the perpetual perfume of piss.
#flashinthebluesky
I want to write more, so I’m going to use the character count to write some #flashinthebluesky
I’m aiming to do it every day, but my brain is unreliable so we’ll see how it goes! 🤗
I want to write more, so I’m going to use the character count to write some #flashinthebluesky
I’m aiming to do it every day, but my brain is unreliable so we’ll see how it goes! 🤗
The trees are still asleep.
Some day, soon, I’ll wake up congested, my eyes will water, my lungs will heave;
And out the window, I’ll be awed by the sight of blossoms and wonder when they arrived.
#flashinthebluesky
A few days ago we announced 200,000 members.
The Green Party has 215,000! 🚀
Join us making hope normal again:
Join.greenparty.org.uk
A lot of people say AI isn't very good for the world and its outputs are routinely unreliable, but these haters fail to see how it's revolutionizing how we incinerate schoolchildren.
A woman with Long Covid won almost one million dollars in a lawsuit against her employer who refused to allow her work from home accommodations.
May this set a precedent.
Remote work should be accessible to all who need it.
It’s a game changer for people with disabilities.
Skully and skully gog sit down together on the ground under moonlight
Lend Me a Paw
#Art by Junaid Mortimer
Maybe it’s because I’m a colonial historian but so many of these white nation states seem to behave exactly like they did in the 19th century: ‘your leaders aren’t right for you,’ ‘we’re only killing you/colonizing you/installing puppet leaders for your own good’
“if you won’t let us use your product to spy on Americans and kill without supervision we will single-handedly destroy your business by fiat” is the single most authoritarian anti-business action I can ever remember any administration taking
vindictive, vicious cruelty designed to humiliate and criminalize every trans person in kansas
horrifying fascist shit reminiscent of the runup to the literal holocaust
Cutting off Medicaid to Minnesota is social murder.
People will die without healthcare.
People will become disabled without healthcare.
This is a policy choice meant to inflict maximum suffering.
Healthcare is a human right.
Democracy is dying in America.
ICE is a murderous secret police force. We’re about to bomb Iran for Israel. Your kids are shot at in school daily, and pedophiles run our government. There’s no healthcare, and your food is poisonous.
We need real leaders - not career politicians.
