Quiz #60. A Prince
Why did I take a break from this quiz for 3 weeks? Reflections in Steve's Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz for June 17, 2020.
It’s been 3 weeks since my last quiz (Quiz #59. Foot Notes on May 26th). With all that’s happened in those 3 weeks, I just felt that no one needed to hear the quirky complaints of an old white guy. Especially when the last few weeks have made it clear that old white guys like me really have so little to complain about--and so much work to do.
No one needs me to explain the outrage over the George Floyd video. Watch Dave Chappelle’s concert, 8:46. In his remarks, Chappelle talked about watching a man who knew he was going to die who called out for his mother in his last moments of life.
I have watched the George Floyd video. I think everyone should watch it. What struck me was that Floyd was either dead or unresponsive for 2 minutes and 43 seconds at the end of the video. I’ve been in a room when a person has died. I am not a hunter, but I do fish. There is a moment when life leaves--and you know it. The still silence. The slackness of every muscle. The end of breath. After that moment had arrived for Floyd, how could those officers not move--even just to get off his lifeless body? For 2 minutes and 43 seconds.
I understand the rage of the protests. A friend and former colleague with the Vimeo username Crystal Palace put together this video from the protests.
I have not gone to a protest. In part, I am a journalist and the protests are too politically charged for those in my profession. In part, I am afraid of the coronavirus. I cannot look at a protest without worrying about the virus--and how the virus doesn’t care about the righteousness of the protests. It just wants to spread.
Since I started writing this quiz 3 months ago, I have always been aware of how lucky I have been when it comes to the coronavirus (and so much more). I have a job where I can work from home. Sara and I have figured out how to get groceries delivered. We have a milkman and Amazon will deliver just about anything else. We haven’t been in a store in more than 3 months.
We are very much in a cocoon. We are as safe as possible these days, and yet we know the virus is right outside our door--and so is the systemic racism that has plagued America for hundreds of years.
I am reading “White Fragility.” I know it’s cliche, but it’s a small step that I can take.
On Wednesday morning, June 17th, Sara and I sat on the back deck, drinking coffee and trying to wake up. I told Sara that I felt like the world was ending. Everything is a complete mess. No one’s in charge--and it feels like things will get a lot worse before they’ll get better. If our grandparents were the greatest generation, certainly we are the worst.
Sara reminded me that America had survived bad times before. 1968. Riots. Unrest. Assassinations. Politicians and civil rights leaders being shot and killed. We talked about our memories of 1968. I have no memories of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Junior. None. I was 11 years old that summer. My family did not watch the evening news (it conflicted with cocktail hour) and we had no Black friends, no Black neighbors. I went to a Catholic grammar school. All white--and just 2 blocks from “the Projects” in our town.
I have lived my life as a privileged prince. In the terms of “White Fragility,” I have always “belonged.” Prep school. College. Success. I am smart and have always worked hard—the only barriers in my way were of my own making.
Did it really take until this moment--June 17, 2020--for Quaker Oats to remove the image of Aunt Jemima from its pancakes?
This is the first sentence of the Quaker Oats statement:
We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype.
Shame on them.
Shame on us.
Shame on me.
What did NOT happen?
A. On May 29th, my sister Susan texted me, “R u okay? No quizzes since Tuesday.” I texted back, “Yes. OK. Busy at work and taking a break. Thanks;”
B. On June 11th, college friend Patty emailed me with the Subject line, “Are you guys ok?” Patty wrote,
I know you posted that you were going to take a break from the daily updates. But now I am worried.
I assured Patty (and now you) that we are all OK. No one in our family is infected;
C. On June 15th, college friend Brooks emailed me with the Subject line, “Miss the quiz.” Brooks wrote,
Should footnotes (Quiz # 59. Foot Notes) really have been called endnotes? I miss the quiz. Everything ok?”
Again, I replied that everyone was OK and Brooks, who works in Washington, filled me in on his own experiences in June.
All good here (relatively speaking of course). Figured you were taking a break, but I think you need some sort of coda to an inspired performance. My office now is directly across from Lafayette Square and I have been going in throughout the pandemic mainly to get out of the house. Since mid-March downtown DC has seemed like a really spooky post-apocalyptic ghost town…. So, for the last 2 weeks I feel like I’ve had a front row seat at ground zero—everything from the looting and burning of the ground floor retail in my own building to Trump’s walk across the park to St John’s Church (picked up spent rubber bullets on the street 2 days later with the paramilitary troops lined up and staring at me) to the peaceful protests, curious families and vendors selling ice cream and t-shirts on the blocked off streets today. Strange times. I feel fortunate to have seen it all;
D. During June, I signed up for a subscription to The Atlantic. In the past few months, I have found that their articles on coronavirus, racism and so much more have always been spot on--and the February 24th article, “You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus” was the first one that made me understand the danger of coronavirus. The fact that it spreads so readily and yet is not severe or even symptomatic in most cases is precisely what makes it so dangerous. The article contains a quote from Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsich who stated, back then, “I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable;”
E. I am taking a week off from work this week--my first extended time off in 2020. On Tuesday of this week, I went to Queens for my first socially-distant visit with Annie since the start of the coronavirus. (More on Annie and other developments in the days and quizzes ahead.)
Want the answer?
Answer #60. A Prince.
If you’re a subscriber, the answer will be sent to you as a separate email when the question is published.
Want more?
Here’s the next quiz in the series: Quiz #61. Beyond the Bubble.
Here’s the previous quiz in the series: Quiz #59. Foot Notes.
Here’s the first quiz in the series: Quiz #1. Stella and Social Distancing, March 13, 2020
Here is an archive of all the quizzes.
The quiz is explained here: Steve’s Stay-at-Home Coronavirus Quiz.
Want to let me know how I’m doing with this quiz?
Please let me know about any typos or misspellings.
Comments, corrections and confessions welcome.
Thank you and good night.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for commenting.