Symbolic meanings - present and significant, or merely armchair speculations?

 

About 6 months after the presidential election the road sign lingers.

Social observers are trained in various academic traditions, from (public) art criticism to social psychology to social anthropology. Ethnographers who document individuals and groups of people within their cultural landscape draw on diverse theoretical approaches to interpret the things they seize upon. One scholarly field is  Symbolic Anthropology, in which artifacts like flags or architecture or lyrics are closely examined for layers of meanings carried, sometimes easily explained by local residents, but other times only dimly recognized or felt. So the question of which meanings govern the people's uses, intentions, and reactions can be hard to answer: must a person be consciously aware of a certain facet of the multiple meanings for that sense to make an impact? Or can dormant meanings in one generation turn out to be dominant meanings in another generation. Even within the same generation will different factions of people emphasize different significance according to their own purposes? Furthermore, leaving the firm ground of conscious discussion and perception, will meanings that are only dimly perceived also bear on a person's seeing and behavior. Going further still, can certain dimensions of a ritual, a habit, or a living space that are unseen, unable to be verbalized, and are claimed to be absent or are dismissed as mischaracterizations (lies) made by others also be real?

The case of this photo illustrates some of this wondering out loud. The USA election of the nation's chief executive takes place every 4 years, in this instance early November 2020, with the newly chosen president's term of office beginning with the swearing in at noon of January 20, 2021. That is when Joe R. Biden took the place of Donald J. Trump. In many cities there is a local ordinance that requires property owners to remove political campaign signage within 3 weeks of election day. But this large display is a few miles east of the city of Lowell, Michigan, outside the city limits. It consists of a blue TRUMP flag facing west and the white edition facing east, sandwiching heavy black plastic lining material to withstand rain, snow, and wind. For months the "Thank you, President Trump [thank you for working so hard to] Keep America Great" message greeted passing motorists on state highway M-21. But then sometime early in April or possibly March 2021 the sign was shredded with the sharp slashes made to it. Without talking to the person or persons who expressed one or more meanings in this act, it is hard to know what it signifies precisely, at least within the scope of awareness in the perpetrator's intentions. 

From a symbolic point of view, the assault on the fabric of the political campaign flags could be an uncomplicated action to tell the property owner (or the person who the property own gave permission for the display) that the election is finished, the new president is in office, and the old president's traces and trappings should disappear. A more complicated statement might take into account the audience of curious drivers - those who resonate outrage to the offense, those who agree with the defacing action, and those indifferent to political matters all together. In this wider interpretation, not only does the vandal send a message to the display owner, but also communicates to the wider world of spectators: "Ex-president Trump is a blight to be removed," for instance. "I am doing that public service for you all. Since he shredded civil social life, now let his fabric representation be torn, too." An even more tenuous interpretation might be to view the violence as not only physical, but also symbolic: slashing apart the Trump name is hoped to work like a Voodoo doll to harm the one being referenced in name or in the form of figurine.

Going back to the initial question posed in the title of this article, there are seemingly unlimited layers of meaning to distinguish singly or in various combinations. In the eyes of those conducting the symbolic work of creating the display, and those destroying the display; or in the eyes of those passers-by who live in the vicinity or who happen to take this road one day and notice the sign, can anybody trained in Symbolic Anthropology ever make a convincing conclusion about the truest and most comprehensive interpretation for the whole thing? Or will any declaration have to be bracketed as "conscious meaning," "semi-aware," and "present but unacknowledged" dimensions of the significance. That is an open question: just because one interviewee says it is true, or on the contrary, denies a given point of view, that does not serve as the final word on the way that meanings are expressed, impressed, reworked, and associated from the immediate to more figurative or abstract realms of significance. This confluence and contradiction in interpretation echoes the tensions sometimes seen between "insider" (emic) and "outsider" (etic) standpoints.

In the end, symbolic interpretations have a valuable place in social analysis by widening the frame of meanings and motivations. But the most reliable assessment about one interpretation rising above others would seem to come from cross-checking the stated interpretation against observable responses: how people react, take action (or fail to act), and what they say that is consonant or that contradicts that claimed interpretation. The more that these parallel forms of meaning speak to each other, the more likely that the particular interpretation holds true. For this roadside statement near the intersection of Pinkney Road and M-21 just east of Lowell one thing is certain: the printed message associated with Trump now is rendered illegible. It shows the strike-through editing made of it.

Rethinking "back to normal" when Covid-19 dwindles

At all levels of governance, United Nations, USA President Biden, many governors among the 50 USA states and perhaps among the territories, as well as from the mouths of (big city) mayors there is recognition of value in and pledging to "build back better" with a minimum wage that lifts a worker with a family above the statutory annual income poverty line (definition). Examples are the policing habits and mandatory sentencing (social justice), higher education and health care as a basic right (regardless of ability to pay), unequal access to clean air and water (environmental justice), and obstacles to building generational wealth ---burdens touching all lives, but proportionally more costly for those starting with fewest financial, informational, and social resources to drawn upon. In other words, using pre-Covid standards as the benchmark for restoring a state of 'normal' is not sufficient, not desireable, and not right.

 

In the video clip the carillon that plays at noon and again at 6 p.m. on weekdays at this church evokes many things about the pre-pandemic routines of the week that formerly comprised normal, proper, and generally pleasing parts of the social landscape. For example, the church annual cycle of events was one set of calendar markers that structured many residents' year. Dining out, vacation or business travel, and the many functions of consumer society all filled people's imaginations, budgets, and schedules. Focusing on the front end of those processes --- choosing what to eat, where to go, what to buy for self or as a gift for others --- there used to be an element of hunter/gatherer thrill of the chase: spotting the thing to satisfy one's goal. To complete the circuit from idea to pursuit to purchase to consumption there used to be a set of conditions (pre-coronavirus) that were taken for granted and now (during the pandemic) have been either prohibited, ill-advised, or otherwise abandoned. There was the fuel burned in driving from retail place to place (in Covid times substituted to some extent by online browsing, wishlists, and deliveries). There was the recycle or landfill burden of transport packaging and retail boxing that is discarded. And psychologically there was the imaginary land of endless purchase, use, disposal; as if one's individual indiscretions and feelings of wanting, deserving, or feeling obligated to go out and get something was disconnected from carbon footprint, energy consumption, food waste, and all the other components adding up to the USA 5% of the world's humans using up 20 or 25% of the planet's energy.

So what might this "build back better" look like? The list of issues, above, touches on some examples that may be engaged with seriously to find local expressions for attaining the goals and addressing wrongs of present and future (maybe even compensating for past wrongs, too). But from the experiential level of individual "life chances" or dreams and realities of people in all points along the social and economic status spectrum there will be other changes to look for; things that translate from the slogan level to the lived-in level.

For the sake of this argument and skipping over all the conflicts, obstacles, excuses, and special interest lobbying, suppose that minimum wage does go up and working hours go down. That could lead to more consumer activity - in direct contradiction to the Green Economy recognition that the carbon footprint must be reversed for this generation and for the burgeoning human populations on all continents that are yet to come. Not reining in the consuming of fossil fuels only worsens the extreme weather, expands the destruction of habitat --including water and air for humans, too--, and accelerates the extinction of diverse plants and animals of air, land, and sea (and non-salty waters, too). So from the experiential, first-person point-of-view, better laws and enforcement, along with income levels improving, results in individuals having greater social, economic, and aspirational reserves to face good times and bad, normal life and the times of disaster from natural source or human cause.

Supposing, further, that big consumers of the G-20 societies where much of the global energy and resources are used up (not just to survive, but for discretionary uses) were now to cultivate a mindset of conserving water, air, species, and material wealth (make it last, right to repair, barter and down-cycling before recycling). Then the limited resources and the renewable resources will be consumed at their HABU (highest and best use), rather than to be squandered in unsystematic, careless ways. At the personal level as well as at the organizational scale this new mentality would translate into amplified mindfulness about disposition of resource and its final disposal, and before that, careful use of the things one is in charge of using. Much more of the economy's services and products, and leisure pursuits will leverage the savings of time, knowledge/expertise, and fuel by using Internet for communication and engagement in a subject virtually instead of in-person, face to face.

Finally, if it were so that health care and higher/further education were guaranteed rights obtained in one's citizenship and in one's active contribution to society (paid or unpaid work, building rather than breaking the social fabric), then people from all walks of life could imagine bigger and better futures for self and others. The possibility of pursuing one's dreams would be actually within reach, unhindered by matters of net worth or generational wealth/poverty and social capital in the names and interpersonal debts and credits among the constellation of one's own contacts.

Taken all together, "building back better" instead of "back to normal" is exciting to think about. Some parts may actually take initial or even final form, but other elements will remain talking points to aspire to in the next generation of people participating in "the art of the possible," as the political arena has been characterized over the years.

Notes from polling precinct 3 November 2020 USA General Election

 

scenes early morning and later afternoon in Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505

Pandemic and relatively recent voting law changes in this state to allow "no reason absentee voting" resulted in something like 3 million ballots around Michigan's 83 counties being voted by mail, drop off at the respective county clerk office or its designated dropbox(es), or in some cases "early voting" at the counter of the clerk's office. So even after the in-person, conventional voting period from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. ended and each of the 76 precincts in the city of Grand Rapids transmitted their results electronically (and by paper and duplicating SD card delivery to the tabulating headquarters), still the results could not be concluded while the many mail-in and absentee votes were being tabulated by an army of workers. While states like Florida allowed early votes to be processed in the days ahead of the precinct in-person voting, the Republican-controlled legislation in Michigan refused to allow any processing ahead of time with the exception of jurisdictions of 25,000 or more residents. In that case the outer envelope could be opened 24 hours before the voting day.

These photos show a few of the scenes at a 1928 neighborhood elementary school vacated by the pandemic so that children are relegated to online connection to teachers and peers. The day begins with crews delivering the voting equipment the day before and then the poll worker chairperson opening the door to fellow workers at 5:45 a.m. to begin setting up the gymnasium polling place starting at 6 a.m. and then declaring "The polling place is now open" at 7:00 a.m. In this case about 5 voters keen to be at the head of the line had arrived a hour before that official start time. But very soon the line ran from the first station (writing name, address, date of birth) for application to vote, all along the hallway and out the door, over the sidewalk leading the roadside and all along that streetside sidewalk for a total length of perhaps 80-90 yards.

There are 2594 voters in this precinct (maximum of 2999 per precinct by law): on this day at this precinct 763 voted in person, of which 1 man did not accept the mask offered him; another had a health condition precluding mask-wearing. All others waited in mask, mostly silently. Some people engaged with their smartphone in texting, reading, gaming, or with earbuds connected for music, recorded book, news, or podcast. The first 2 hours were long, long, long lines socially spaced, requiring about 90 minutes from lining up to leaving the polling place. By noon there was just a 10-minute wait thanks to a helpful "challenger" (party-appointed and registered observer) who called in 6 cardboard booths to supplement the 7 that had been assigned. From noon to 8 p.m. things faded away until just 200 or so arrived in dribs and drabs in those final 6-7 hours. Impressionistically, it seemed like many women under the age of 35 showed up in person and a certain proportion of retired people, too. One of the young women sported a Trump-branded face mask, which is disallowed on the polling premises. So she was politely asked to reverse it, which she did. The seven assigned poll workers never flagged during the 14 hours. When all was tidied up and signatures showing full-day work, certifying all steps fulfilled, and so on, then the chairperson and 1 of the others made the drive downtown to the headquarters to deliver the data and supplies. So their day was even longer than for the others.

In the 2016 vote when there was no pandemic and before Michigan's "no reason absentee" voting, the election DJ Trump brought 800+ voters to this same precinct in person. For the 2020 General Election maybe half the votes (still being counted at DeVos Hall downtown) were early or dropbox or mailed in. So the total number of ballots seems to be more than in 2016. For poll workers 14 hours makes for a long day. When greeted or directed to the entry door, several voters remarked "this is my first time to vote." In some ways the shiny hallway, silent lines, solemn context stirred by in the frenzy of mass media and online-targeted user campaign advertising contributed to the whole experience being quasi-religious or civic ritualistic.

Grocery patriotism a month after Independence Day

Sunday afternoon grocery shopping in the peanuts, dried fruit, snack section.

Although the waist-level grab shot makes the Star-spangled Banner look very large, in fact this is the normal retail size that homeowners display on poles attached to the front of their house. Since this instance is indoors and cannot flutter in the breeze, the supporting structure holds the full rectangular shape rigidly unfurled.

The range of possible intentions by the grocery-store corporate headquarters, or the local branch store manager could be one or more meanings. Without probing in conversation, though, here are a few ways to interpret this public display on private property indoors, listed in no particular order of significance.

1. Initiated around the time of the July 4th national holiday in celebration of the Declaration of Independence from the colonial powers in London, this show of The Colors is a traditional sight, albeit normally outdoors instead of in the food rows.
2. Ever since the pandemic arrived at the end of winter season, little by little the small and large impositions on people of all ages and social circumstances has led to tension and irritability, tribal outbursts and blaming one another. So perhaps this national unity statement is a reminder that all citizens (and tacitly, too, the undocumented non-citizens) are members of the same team.
3. At the risk of overthinking the possible primary or secondary meaning, maybe what began as traditional July 4 exhibition has slowly taken on a new meaning as the federal government, starting with the POTUS, has failed to lead a response to Covid-19, including the Black Lives Matter movement, and will soon face the November election, preceded by the August Primary Election. Thus this flag might be a visual reminder to shoppers that times are bad for life expectancy, for social interaction, and for economic livelihoods and therefore it is time to elect fellow citizens who actually do have leadership credentials, plans, and results demonstrated in their careers.
4. Lastly, and not particularly compelling as a purpose for displaying the national flag, it could well be that this one location in all of the vast store, at shoulder height or higher to most shoppers, is meant as nothing more than a cheerful, comforting, decorative and status-quo declaration: "we were here before, we are here now, and we will be open for business tomorrow, too."

Seasonal foods for sale - neighborhood grocery store

In most parts of the USA it is the large national chains of food-plus-general merchandise "super" markets that attract most buyers as a one-stop solution to products for sale. Particularly in urban centers there are "food deserts" where there is no place to buy edibles not processed or ready-to-eat. Things designed for human consumption can be bought at convenience stores and gas stations. Fast food restaurants proliferate since profits can be had in urban centers with commuters and other temporary consumers on the ground during the day. But for residents, it is common to find no full service grocery store.

By contrast, this photo shows a store operating for generations in the city of Grand Rapids where shoppers can buy a wide range of fresh foods, knowing that the store's buying team constantly seeks local businesses to source the foods. The price is higher than the mass scale, low-margin business model for the national and regional huge floor plans of supermarkets. But enough people nearby this store are willing to pay for the flavor from freshly harvested produce and locally raised meat animals that this business is sustained.

locally sourced fruit, vegetables, and meat is part of the business model here

The weekly sign changes first thing every Sunday to advertise what is promoted with special pricing for the coming seven days. At the end of July the list includes Michigan cherries, blueberries, tomatoes, leaf lettuce varieties, in addition to chicken (breast). A smaller sign in the corner of the parking lot in the distance can be seen between the uprights of the big sign. It lists sweet corn for sale at 2 ears for $1.

The brick building in the background is one of the fire stations in the city of Grand Rapids. Sometimes the navy blue uniformed fire-fighters can be seen in the checkout line after they walk across the parking lot to buy a sandwich or other things to eat or drink. During the 2020 pandemic most customers readily began wearing masks early on, when trips indoors were recommended to include face-masks. Now there is a statewide order for all retail customers and workers to wear face coverings of some kind, so compliance is 100% by casual survey, looking around the premises.

Outdoor movie night hosted at church parking lot

Summer get-together during Covid-19 pandemic, masks at hand, as needed

Here and there the cars park to face the inflatable movie screen and sound system. The closest space is cordoned off for people to arrange their chairs without any worry about cars being in the way. Before the sky darkened enough for the digital projector to fill the screen, a rock and roll trio of church members played a few sets of pop songs as church members, friends, and members of the general public began to arrive and socialize, either with masks (especially those with their own health problems, or anxious about any risk caused by bringing Covid-19 back home to others or infecting co-workers) or by keeping approximately 6 feet between each other.

As the pandemic overtook this county seat in middle February, the church's liturgical calendar was complicated by the need to close the building. Fairly soon their leadership arrived at a solution involving drive-in worship: people isolate themselves in their car or truck, then tune into the low-power FM signal on their phone or car radio to listen to whoever is at the microphone, sometimes broadcasting from indoors and sometimes from outdoors. Initially things were restricted to outdoor, in-car, gatherings. Then the Michigan governor made incremental changes to the emergency orders and gatherings out of doors up to 100 persons (in masks) developed. At one point limited indoor worship also was permitted with distancing, masking, and limiting the exposure time. These days there are some worshipers who scatter themselves widely among the pews inside and others in their cars at the worship hour on Sunday mornings. The worship leader makes an effort to broadcast from both indoors and outdoors over the course of the service so that everyone has a chance to see him in person, rather than hearing only a disembodied voice.

The logistics of serving the sacrament of communion was a challenge to overcome. Eventually, they created individual serving size packets for each person taking the communion. The commercial ones use grape juice instead of wine (grape juice that has been fermented). So in the interest of conforming to pre-pandemic customs of using wine, the church crew prepares their own individual serving size packets.

This photo is taken soon after the movie began. The wide-angle lens exaggerates the small dimension of the projector screen. In fact it is the size of a very small house side. All together there were  perhaps 50-70 people attending of all ages, mostly adults, many of them retired or nearing retirement age. By way of concessions for sale, a brightly painted and lit up ice-cream truck was open for business to the left of this frame, near the church entrance. A table on the porch of the church had pop-corn and soft-drinks on offer, too. The evening music group with amplified speakers was playing near the corner nearest the church and movie screen.

Everybody seemed especially grateful for the chance to mingle informally in the warm summer evening, either unmasked and keeping their distance from each other, or standing at the pre-pandemic accustomed "personal space" of 3-4 feet apart.

Covid-19 dramatics for (backyard) cabaret

part of "backyard cabaret" hosted by Grand Rapids residents for friends or neighbors

A dozen or two cars lined the quiet residential street to enjoy outdoor, socially distanced snacks and b.y.o.b. drinks ahead of the evening's contracted performance with some of the city's local theater production company actors. Before the pandemic the Grand Rapids Civic Theater performed downtown regularly throughout the year to season subscribers and to one-time ticket buyers. As well, the city had at least one stand-up comedy location. But with public indoor gatherings of more than a handful of people no longer allowed because of the risk of transmitting the virus between asymptomatic spreaders in particular, some of the thespians launched "backyard cabaret" with brief sketches, song, and commentary for private performance at the host's house. Apart from the novelty of professionals appearing at one's home and repurposing the deck as a stage, there is the great satisfaction that comes from supporting the arts locally and engaging peers invited for the evening, too. Perhaps from the performer's point of view, as well, there is some degree of satisfaction in performing on the "small stage," after all. It would be interesting to know how widely this (business) model is happening around the country and indeed around the world.

We Are One - so says the sign, but one what?

About 7 weeks on display: since pandemic week 4 in Michigan [17 June 2020]

Both sides of the sandwich board give the same bold assertion. Such a short, direct statement is powerful and unambiguous. And yet there may well be several interpretations carried by the message at the same time, depending on the state of mind when a person notices the streetside note. The location is about 2 miles north of Grand Rapids city center in west Michigan on a major traffic route for local travel. So even when most people obeyed the Governor's directive to "stay home, stay safe" there were still cars traveling up and down this route. And people on foot or bike who complied with the guidance on social distancing also pass this way from time to time.

The ALL CAPS is a typographic emphasis similar to shouting or speaking in a loud enough voice for people far away to be able to hear the message. The choice of this shade of blue may signify something, too: neither is this color a somber dark navy or official looking tone, nor is it cheerfully light-hearted sky blue. Instead the color is somewhat light (not taking itself too seriously or self-righteously) while still displaying a slightly muted aspect (in respect for those harmed by the Covid-19 disease directly, or by harm to their livelihoods and social/psychological vitality).

As for the text itself, "one" implies shared destiny and shared present conditions and shared past experiences. It does not insist that everyone is alike or should be uniform in their lives; only that unity in relation to the threat posed by the pandemic is a unifier. "We" is inclusive, like "one," as well. Unlike "me and you and they over there," the subject "we" encompasses one and all together, no matter the deep or the surface differences. "Are" is a state of being; the present moment; the state of existing in time and place. Taken all together the intent seems to be encouraging one another with a message of the present and a promise of the future. By extension the message suggests, therefore, that each person should express responsiveness and bear responsibility for one's fellows in need of small or big help now (and extending indefinitely into the future). "Be your brother's keeper," is the message, to reference a Bible passage.

People with friendly, optimistic, or trusting disposition may accept the message at face value: yes, OK, we all will manage to sustain our economy and social and spiritual life during and after the pandemic. On the other hand, people who have not been sustained or rewarded or respected by The System of social services, attitudes, abuses, and injustices may take a different interpretation of "WE are ONE" (but excluding selected categories of people who do not fit our preferences, ideals, or mental image of belonging together). In other words, whereas many readers see the message as hopeful and encouraging; a proclamation or permission to go out of one's habits and way of doing things in order to care for others, in the eyes of other readers the message repeats a set of exclusions so that only certain people who meet particular conditions can be included in the declaration. Such is the flexibility of meaning, rationalization, and us/them distinctions reproduced one relationship at a time. Even if the sign-painter authored a statement intended to be inclusive, some readers may take exception and define "we" in their own image alone. Other readers, accustomed to being excluded or cut-off from some relationships, social capital, and other opportunities in the community may well see the message as yet another assertion of moral superiority or otherwise exclusionary movement. In the end, each instance of noticing another person's distress and responding (or ignoring) will make the full meaning of the signboard apparent.

Drive-by birthday recognition to thwart Covid-19 transmission

friends and relatives make this little girl's 4th birthday memorable at a distance

Wearing a tutu and tiara, and accompanied by a pink chariot bearing "princess" on it, this little girl and her family waved and shouted as each of the cars in queue rolled up to the house, rolled down their windows (some wearing face/nose masks), and voiced their appreciation of this special day to focus on the star attraction, the Birthday Girl.

This was at 1 p.m. on a Saturday when the chirping birds and distant hum of lawnmower sound was shattered by a few mega-decibel police patrol cars with flashing lights leading the procession. The participating parade cars staged themselves a block away in the parking lot of an empty elementary school, closed since middle March by order of the Governor, along with the rest of the state of Michigan. Then one by one each car approached, one with a disco-beat version of the Happy Birthday theme or melody, and some held out cards or packages for the parents to collect (maybe to sanitize or quarantine for 72 hours to keep the coronavirus from transmitting). One or two cars parked after making their pass so that the riders could get a little closer to the family, while maintaining the 6 foot cordon from each other.

This photo shows one car with a helium balloon in the shape of a Happy Face sticking out from the rear passenger window. Other cars displayed hand-made posters and other signage to wave out the window or attach to the glass. A display table holds some of the gifts and what looks to be an older sibling enjoys the day, as well, knowing that each member of the family gets special attention in their turn.

Some commentators and interviewees on the radio programs have pointed out the possible bad effect from keeping school children cooped up, at a distance from peers. A touchless, socially distant "normal" non-verbal communication, and the heightened germ awareness of all surfaces will play out in the developmental cycle of young lives in many unexpected ways, no doubt. And the huge disparity between rich, middle, and poor countries; as well as within a single society, will also present a range of Covid-19 habits and expectations, too.

All this mayhem from a micro-organism! But then yeast is a small creature that affects life vastly, too. And then there was the vast swatch of death and economic collapse from the waves of Black Death pestilence, blood-borne or the aerosol, pneumonial type from 1348 onward.

Funerial social distance, May 13 west Michigan

Late afternoon Wednesday more than a dozen people gathered at the burial ground next to the hole in the ground that had been prepared for interment. Most were wearing masks to keep from transmitting the water droplets of their breath or talking or praying or singing or crying. A line of personal automobiles lined the access lane to the left of this picture taken at the streetside western boundary to the cemetery. The graveyard appears to be city owned, since the municipal symbol appears at the entrance road and the bright yellow vehicles in this photo belong to the city: backhoe to excavate the sandy ground, and the hydraulic liftbed truck to hold the sand to be returned to the grave after the body of the deceased is laid to rest.

click image for larger display: black hearse bearing the casket at left (5/2020)

At the end of the ceremony the bereaved family and friends stepped to the side to allow the liftbed truck to line up and the workers to guide the stream of backfill into the grave, burying the casket for all time. Then the mourners arranged some hanging baskets (on the ground for now and later to be retrieved as memory of the occasion to be cared for and displayed at home), as well as wreath stand. Each of the attendees left a single cut spring flower to dress the grave.

With the precautions to minimize transmission of the coronavirus during this pandemic, in addition to most people wearing masks, for the most part everybody kept their distance from each other (social distancing) - about six feet. At least one group photo was taken, though, in which some of the people pushed together to fit into the composition frame. According to radio reporting, funeral parlors have allowed visitors to pay their last respects at set intervals to keep physical distance and time gaps between each person. And in churches, too, funeral attendees have been limited to remote viewing (online streaming or recorded view) and/or physical spacing in the worship hall by blocking some of the pews to create buffers between those seated.

The full-size photo is online at https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/49897923666 and the grave photo is at https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/49898233317

Masked times, Covid 19 grocery shopping

surgical mask (left) and home-made cloth mask (right), ready for next grocery trip

Early March 2020 is when the people in the state of Michigan were instructed to “stay home, stay safe” and venture out only for essential workers (food, medical, car care, dog walking). But around the middle of April all grocery visits were no longer advised but now were required to be made with some form of mask (scarf, bandana, surgical, home-made cloth). This photo dates from the time of obligatory masks.

People remember the pre-Covid-19 social life, carefree about social distancing 6 feet apart (more for athletes breathing heavily). And at the moment people seem to be nonplussed by the normality of seeing everybody in some form of mouth/nose cover. Probably a time will come when only the high-risk people will carry a mask. Perhaps a vaccine will protect them and then most of the pre-virus habits will return. Memory is a fickle thing and all too soon lessons learned and habits formed will be lost to the mists of time. A look back at scenes from the midst of the pandemic will be regarded as alien or outlandish. And yet right now that is the standard practice, the “new normal” for May 2020.

Covid-19 pandemic, new waste streams

latex glove near city street in Grand Rapids, April 13, 2020

Five months after the Wuhan outbreak of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and four weeks after the State of Michigan lockdown of all private enterprise, except food and medicine and car fueling, there are a few signs of the pandemic here in west Michigan's biggest city. Confirmed cases of Covid-19 now in Michigan top 24,000, but many more are contagious and showing few or no symptoms. That same number happens to be the nation-wide death count so far. Half of the known cases in Michigan are Detroit and surrounding counties. So far 1400 people in the state have died from c-19 complications.

Here are some signs of the pandemic. Schools are closed, along with all non-essential business operations. People sometimes park at stores by leaving an interval from the next nearest car. Maybe 1/3 or 1/2 of customers don masks of some kind (commercially produced or homemade or jerry-rigged scarfs, etc) to trap their own breath (inhaling others' water droplets is reduced, too; but one's own expelled droplets are trapped most of all). Recommendations for social distancing at 6 feet apart are expanded for runners and bikers, who create a slipstream of water droplets when they exhale. The above photo shows the wide-spread use of vinyl or latex disposable gloves to use when selecting purchases at retail store, or when grabbing the handle to fill one's gas tank. With so many people unemployed or working from home, few cars fill the streets and highways; wildlife has been observed venturing out more widely than before, too. Those who walk their dogs or exercise do seem to follow the social distancing guidance, having to leave the sidewalk to create distance from oncoming people. Families, friends, book clubs, churches and their small groups, as well as businesses have been using some of the video meeting services to communicate by way of home Internet connections or using cellphone data services. Zoom Meetings have been particularly used a lot for their "one click" ease of use: 40 minute session free, or one person can pay the monthly $15 to obtain "host" credentials (up to 100 simultaneous users and 24 hours of uninterrupted connection per session). Food stores and perhaps other retail operations have installed plexiglass barriers to separate the breath of cashier from customer. Curbside pick-up of recycling and yard trimmings (official yard-waste bags) has been suspended, too.

Imagining the steps leading to more and more restrictions eventually going the other way, loosening up as Covid cases decline, it is hard to know precisely how all these precautions will carefully be dismantled. One radio commentator summarizes the "3 T's" as (1) testing, (2) tracing any flare-ups, (3) treatment that is effective and proven. Only when that infrastructure is in place can the free movement of people and their exhaled water droplets resume; not just in the orbit of the local economy, but also to go longer distances and between countries, too. The whole thing in the aggregate will be uneven, since hotspots differ from the areas most lightly affected. That is true within a particular nation-state, but also globally, with some societies better organized and supplied and informed than others. So long as the virus has a reservoir to reproduce, the risk of pandemic will always be on the horizon. The disruption to the status quo of transporting capital, ideas, people, raw resources and value-added products could lead to new ways of regionalizing or evaluating the things capable of conveying viruses. Recession or sustained recession that results in shrinking the economic pie (depression) may be another multi-faceted legacy of these months now.

Pandemic thoughts - stockpiling food and master narrative

When faced with unknown events, people look for precedent or analogous situations as a ready-made source of how things will play out and where one fits into the sequence of actions and also to know what to be cautious of when seeking to minimize liability and other risk from the situation. The spread of the novel variety of the Corona Virus that causes the disease the experts have named Covid-19 began at the end of 2019 in SW China. As of middle March there are more cases each day in France, Spain, and Italy than in China's epicenter.

Saturday around 6 p.m. on March 14, 2020 in Grand Rapids, MI - bare shelves.

So far in USA the news media has focused on the locations that report confirmed cases; sort of like a weather forecast about where the (known) hot-spots seem to be. Repeated instructions to wash hands and keep them away from eyes, nose, and mouth emphasize the behaviors to break the chain of transmission by water droplets exhaled or coughed onto hard surfaces (72 hours of infection possible; 24 hours on paper or cardboard surfaces). And with the shortage of testing equipment, staff, and infrastructure the message has been that testing to know each region's tally is helpful for administrators who deploy resources efficiently, but whether one's own test is positive or not, the same advice comes into play: avoid contact with other people and treat the symptoms; otherwise just let time heal the infection. If fever is high and breathing difficult, telephone for instructions rather than to arrive and contaminate the clinical settings. But what happens after a person is (confirmed to be) infected? When does a recovered person go  back to "normal life"?

If it is true that children frequently have mild or no symptoms, young and prime-of-life people normally have tolerable symptoms (unless burdened by complicating factors from underlying health condition like high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, and so on), then why should the entire country public and private sector close any public activity and retreat to dispersed (social distancing) configurations of work space and home life? The officially given reason is not to contain the virus, but to slow the rate of infection so that the life-threatening cases can be handled by hospitals, unburdened by surges in admissions of patients. By playing the inpatients across a slower pace and longer span of time, any surges and resulting loss of life can be minimized; the disaster can be mitigated by collective action and for collective benefit. In other words, the central organizing idea for nation-wide, indeed- cross-national coordination of effort and closures and social distancing is meant to preserve life of the vulnerable, including elders (age 60 and older).

Although the public messaging is aimed at individual self-interest, in fact most people in good health are not at risk to die from contracting the virus and letting the cycle of infection run its course. Instead, the coordinated effort and urgent tone of public news briefings and analysis is about the collective dangers to the whole of society. Without an "all hands on deck" approach, including all the public livelihoods like transportation, education, entertainment, dining, worship, hobbies, and workplace interaction, the virus could very quickly inundate all segments of the population and mortally affect the infirm, weak, vulnerable, and so on. By putting on the brakes to virus transmission, many individual lives will be preserved, and all the accumulated knowledge, social capital, and emotional weight can be protected.

The cost of ceasing most all of the normal movement of people and interactions closer than 6 feet of separation is very big since so many hover at the edge of bankruptcy, debt, and so on. Any interruption in health, working hours, and income rapidly destroys social order. In the USA as of March 19 there is rapid legislative action underway to disburse money from the central government to each tax payer and worker. Precise details are not yet confirmed, but the idea is for 1 round of checks in early April and another in early May. But perhaps there is a silver lining in the dark clouds formed by suddenly idling almost all sectors of the economy for an extended period of unknown duration: more people will acknowledge the inter-relatedness of the world economy and within the US society; and that this collective effort may not directly, personally, and materially affect one's own life, but there are indirect effects that come from preserving the weakest parts of the society and paying attention to each other's needs instead of dreaming utopian escapes of news echo-chambers online and chasing after yet another consumer purchase.