Hopes and dreams indeed...
Dear readers and listeners, I am feeling myself beginning to get angry. Believe me, I am as mentally exhausted from this pandemic as much as anyone else. I am tired of the constant anxiety, living with the dread of uncertainty, feeling afraid of becoming ill, remaining so exclusively to my pods and bubbles to the extent that I have still not seen relatives in almost two years, and being surrounded by people who seem to think if they wish hard enough, COVID-19 will vanish into this air...and we all know only too well that it won't.
But, then a sliver of hope began to reveal itself once the vaccines began rolling out. I became fully vaccinated in March while friends and relatives followed suit over the subsequent two months. By June, life was just starting to look a little different. While I did feel that the world was perhaps opening back up too quickly, the pandemic numbers were looking considerably better...better enough where I actually began entertaining the thought of when I would possibly try to go to a movie theater again--which I finally did on the last day of July--and equally, when might I try to see live music again.
My friends in the Madison based band Squarewave were scheduled to play their first show in nearly two years on August 6th. Back in early June, with life looking hopeful, or at least more hopeful than it had been since the end of 2019, I made internal plans to not just return to a movie theater but to potentially see my friends again performing live--which would be fitting since the last live show I attended was in December 2019 starring my friends in both Disq, and that evening's headliners, Slow Pulp.
But as of this time of writing, August 6th has passed and I ended up not seeing Squarewave...and that was due to the rise in COVID-19 cases via the Delta variant and entirely due to the sector of society that not only refuses to wear a mask but further refuses to get themselves vaccinated, for a whole host of reasons, none of which have anything to do with the safety of the public at large and all for a sense of self.
Synesthesia is not designed to be a political platform and I really do not intend for it to be. Yet, for all of this talk of "freedom," I wish to make one thing clear: one person's sense of personal freedom does not supersede my personal freedom to not be infected by a deadly virus by you, or completely hinder and upend the personal freedoms of everyone else in our completely symbiotic society to live their lives as fully and as richly as possible. People want to go to live music events and feel as if they are not rolling the dice with their lives by doing so. Musicians need to play and earn their livings as do all of the individuals who make the shows happen--from promoters, roadies, venues and theaters and festivals and so on.
We ALL want our lives back and yet, it is a sector of society that has effectively handcuffed that collective hope to themselves, jeopardizing the health, safety and survival of ALL and I am pissed about it!!! I am not one that possesses a laundry list of needs. Look...I just want to see a concert and not get sick and die because I did so. I do not want lockdown again but will accept it if it has to happen to ensure safety and survival. I say that because what we are facing is not about me as an individual but again...for ALL of us.
Also, as of this time of writing, COVID cases in Wisconsin have now returned to the levels at which they were in January of this year. Yes, it has happened that fast and it never had to. What will it take to just get our shit together? Do you want to see the other side of this pandemic or not?
Wear a mask. Get vaccinated. I want to see a live show again with peace of mind. Now...I need to listen to some music. Maybe you do too.
PLAY LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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