prehistories:

i’m seeing a lot of people saying things about our collective current situation wrt covid and social distancing like “the idea that i could unknowingly cause someone else to die is terrifying” which is absolutely true, it’s a harrowing thought and something to be aware of right now, but i need to make sure that people understand that this doesn’t just apply to covid, but literally every single time you get a cold or the flu. this is why people not getting paid sick leave and students requiring a doctors note to get time off school is such a big issue, not just now but always. there are always elderly people and immunocompromised people and people with other health issues in your community if you aren’t one of those people yourself, and every time you’re sick and not at home you are putting other people at risk, other people who could get severely sick and end up in the hospital or die because of a virus or infection that your body was able to fight on its own. this isn’t just a current problem, this is what it’s always like for the most vulnerable members of our communities, and why fighting for these labour rights is vital not only for individualist reasons but for the collective whole. this is why labour issues are important, the difference between having guaranteed paid sick leave and not is the difference between life and death for many people in our communities regardless of whether or not we’re dealing with a global health crisis.