midweek

We are now living in the midst of the world’s longest, largest, and most coordinated “timeout”. Many, if not most, parents know of and understood this concept (whether or not they’ve actually used it) since it first came into social consciousness as a child behavioral modification system over a half-century ago.

But unlike the normally prescribed timeout, used to diffuse a situation caused by a child’s misbehavior or attitude, almost nobody’s behavior warranted this universal timeout. No one had a tizzy fit or ramped up the drama to force his/her mentor to tell us that we all need to calm down… in weeks-long isolation. Yes, a number of people thought (or still think) they’re above it all and can go on with their normal socializing, arrogant or ignorant to the proven facts that they can get and spread the COVID-19 virus whether they show symptoms or not.

But as we are inundated with daily (hourly?) updates about this developing, devastating phenomenon, most of us have reluctantly accepted our fates as a temporarily threatened species by hunkering down and even binge-watching shows on channels from providers that didn’t even exist five years ago. Or we play Candy Crush Saga, Subway Surfers, Solitaire, Scrabble, Connect Four, or Monopoly in some of the longest and most arduous competitions in family history. 

Over 90%of the population of the United States is now in some form of mandated virtual lockdown. Over 290-million, freedom-loving Americans are now inside doing Sudoku or crossword puzzles… regularly. I’ve now watched “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” so many times, I actually know by heart the ingredients that make up most of the small restaurant pork rubs, briskets, and rib combos nationwide that have been shown repeatedly over the past 13 seasons. I even almost watched reality TV last week!

When severe danger finally arrived on our shores, it wasn’t a weather catastrophe, a gas leak, a chemical spill, or the redundant scourge of the 21^st century- the “active shooter” situation- that forced humanity inside for its own well-being and safety. This one couldn’t be seen. Turns out it was a highly-transmittable, sometimes symptom-less virus that is testing our mettle (and it even lasts for up to three days on metal!), our economy, and our collective patience as we await testing on possible, mitigating treatments or solutions (soon?) and preventive inoculations (not so soon).

Think About It…

Three UCLA professors recently penned an article centered on the current concept of “social distancing”. They write that we are not, in fact, needing to practice social distancing. Now more than ever, we need to remain in very close social contact with people- for our sanity and theirs. What we do need to do, they write, is to practice “physical distancing”. Stay close, but stay away.

We’re all becoming math experts figuring out how far to stand behind people in lines, and approximating the best times to go out for essentials to minimize interaction. Well, at least the smart people are… The ones who continue with their “normal” activities and behaviors aren’t thinking clearly or constructively. It’s not about you- it’s about everyone you might come in contact with due to the silent predator, COVID- 19.

UCLA Profs. Brand, Foster, and Menjivar point out the well-known, positive effects of maintaining and even ramping up social connections- by phone, text, email, video, group chat, or any other digital sharing, especially nowadays since we’ve curtailed the physical closeness and group grope mentality that means so much to our species.

But you can simply go out for a drive… anywhere. Just drive; don’t get out of your car to interact at all, just (literally) keep moving and enjoy the chosen circuitous route. Drive around; then go home. If you live with others, perhaps two can share the driving so that each car occupant gets a chance to gaze and also pick the all-important tunes that you must play while motoring along.

Pick up food for infirmed, elderly, or scared neighbors; leave it at the door to avoid interaction. Catch up with semi-forgotten school buddies electronically in a deeper way than a tweet, text, or showing them what your lunch plate looked like. Support by offering a simple “thanks” to anyone involved in first line defense- doctors, nurses, security- and vital providers like shelf stockers, produce pickers, plumbers, truckers, shippers, and delivery personnel. That list goes on and on- people at risk, at work and/or on call… on our behalf.

We’re all in uncharted territory here. Will you remember this anxious era with a false sense of pride if you hoarded a year’s worth of bun wad and beans, or will you recall the empathy, compassion, and true humanity you’ve experienced, shared, and witnessed while maintaining vigilant safety guidelines for yourself and your loved ones?

Think about it…

Singers Rick Springfield (1983) and Bruce Springsteen (1992) each wrote and sang great songs called “Human Touch”. Springfield sang, “We all need the human touch.” Springsteen sang, “I just want something to hold on to / And a little of that human touch.” These are sentiments that many, perhaps most, earthlings can relate to, at individual physiological and emotional levels.

Hawai’i leads the league in friendliness via the Aloha spirit, which often includes the human touch. We also top the Center for Disease Control’s annual state list in per-capita flu cases. We hug people we just saw yesterday; we pull/hug bruddahs when we shake hands; people honi, pressing noses and inhaling, as an exchange of ha– the breath of life- and mana– a spiritual mix of energy, humility, and respect. Human touch is an integral part of our very existence, and now it’s really been thrown for a loop. 

We’re separating today not due to political arguments or disagreements about passion issues like the TMT or short-term rentals, not by class stature or by where you went to class. No, we keep our distance nowadays because of the novel coronavirus scourge- COVID-19. Fist or elbow bumps, head nods, small waves, bowing- that’s how we say hello and goodbye (or should) in 2020. A UH-Mānoa Hawaiʻinuiākea professor/kumu has proffered the concept of Kapu Ola Aloha (“a loving restriction that preserves life”). Beautiful. A novel concept for the novel coronavirus.

“Social distancing” is nowadays not only acceptable, but preferable. No human touch today means you really do care. Normal acceptance of being in close proximity to others is exactly what makes this virus so dangerous and why so many events, meetings, and public gatherings have been cancelled… for now.

When this novel coronavirus situation is finally under reasonable control, treatable, and perhaps preventable, let’s keep hygiene standards in the forefront relating to inter-personal and public contact. Let’s refrain from going to work when ill. Over 41,000 Americans died annually from 2014-2019 due to the flu- yes, every year- and that ailment has proven vaccinations readily available, plus treatments, unlike with COVID-19 today.  We normally go about life with little thought to flu facts- and 41,000 Americans die annually (including over 500 people here). We can all cautiously respect individual space and valued customs without completely giving up the human touch, or the vital essence of the Aloha spirit.

Think about it… 

One of the many items we hear, read, and talk about and yet see minimal long-term resolution is affordable housing. “Affordable housing” is a term based around one’s economic situation, often defined as when one’s housing costs are at or below 30% of one’s total household income. Add in many people’s second biggest cost- transportation- and you start running into even more reasons why so many here struggle to find and maintain a living space and still have funds available for food, clothing, utilities, medical and household emergencies, plus retirement funds.

Builders put up million dollar condos in Kakaako because they can- the financial rewards are obviously greater than building $400,000 units. And oh, yeh, government smiles- the taxes are higher. Where’s the incentive to build units for less when there’s a ready market (even if it’s non-residents) who’ll pay more? Homeowners and apartment owners don’t want cheaper properties built in their neighborhood as those units would undermine their ever-increasing property values, and they make sure that their locally elected representatives know it. “Sure, build ‘em, just not in my back yard (NIMBY).”

Busy builders and construction laborers go from job to job as demand for their services exceeds their available work time. Gotta get it while the going is good. Our overall construction costs are the America’s highest. Our houselessness rate (a real term) is tops in the nation. These are not areas that warrant chanting “we’re #1!”

We need more public/private creativity and action now. We need more unused or under-utilized land to be re-zoned to create affordable units. That’s reality, 2020. We need greater builder tax incentives for affordable units, more pre-fabricated units shipped in to keep costs down, and better oversight and planning for under-utilized, city- or state-held properties that might be retro-fitted or rebuilt into housing properties. Let’s move some city and state entities together into reconfigured city/state buildings to free up the vacated buildings for reconstruction. Yes, city and state working together…

We need to retrofit older schools into vertical, more efficient structures to allow for more housing unit options around them… very carefully. We need to identify best practices used in congested metropolitan and suburban areas (or islands) worldwide to help us mitigate houselessness and our lack of affordable living units.  And we need to do it now, before more 25-45 year olds move out and our population ages ungracefully.

Think about it…