I totally understand the feeling of being out for blood right now about the number of children who are likely to get sick in our public schools this fall, some who will never recover. We want to find someone to pay.
But the nature of our fucked up bureaucratic system is that it's engineered so that nobody takes responsibility for anything. It's rule by nobody.
If anyone should be in trouble, it's the premiers of each province. They're the ones who are in charge of directing the mess. Now the CMOs aren't their own entity, so they take direction from premiers. And, more to the point, school boards can't do much to override whatever direction they're given or they risk losing their right to govern themselves. That means a supervisor can be appointed by the government to take over a board. At some schools, teachers who have complained about how things are run have been suspended.
If we want blood for the anti-mask rhetoric, then we need to aim at the top. But will that accomplish anything?? It might feel good, but is it productive?
Today would have been James Baldwin's 100th birthday. In 1955 he wrote,
"I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain."
He wrote it about his feelings about his father as he lay dying, but it has numerous applications.
If we stop acting on hate, if we stop looking to charge someone (or worse) for harm to our children and other loved ones, we have to reconcile with how truly powerless we are to affect it all. We can yell at teachers for not masking every single day and still not get more kids wearing masks in class.
Definitely if teachers wear masks and talk about how useful they are, a few kids will feel more comfortable wearing masks in class. Absolutely. But others will call their parents to complain, and the VP will get on the teacher's case for starting things, and some angry dad will threaten their teacher's life and the life of her children for making his unmasked kid uncomfortable by wearing a mask.
It's a whole thing.
If we want to change things, attacking teachers is the least effective path. School boards can't make them mask. Nobody can make them. It would be lovely if they willingly wanted to be good role models, but they're following all the same bullshit news that most people follow: Covid ended and it's just a cold. They're not worried about their neurons sticking together in clumps or their heart suddenly giving out in their 30s. They don't think it matters because they don't know anyone who has Long Covid, so clearly it just happens somewhere else to other people - probably people who were sickly anyway. They've been told that it doesn't affect kids much, and that's much nicer to believe than contrary reports that it really does! I haven't been able to change the mind of a single teacher despite my very best efforts. I didn't go to my own retirement because it was in a room without any windows, no HEPA, and no masks, and when I asked about coming, I was explicitly told, "Nobody's going to wear a mask for you, Marie!" And what I heard was, "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!"
Jumping on teachers is one of the easiest paths because school boards, schools, and teachers are sitting ducks. You can email, phone, or slam them all over social media for allowing this atrocity to continue for this sixth year of Covid in the schools. It feels more personal and effective because they're closer. They sometimes even respond to call-outs online. Hell, you can even call into their classroom to yell at them while they're teaching!!
And the premier feels like he's behind glass. He really doesn't care about what we say to him. He's got some money-making plan (or scam) going on, and he's bulldozing the province to do it along with all wastewater testing. So it starts to feel purposeless to bark up that tree. At least we sometimes get a reaction with the calls to teachers.
But the only thing I can see possibly changing things is one-on-one conversations with other parents. Many won't want to hear about it, for sure, but some will listen because it's their own kids at stake (once they get over any guilt from having put them at risk to this point). One other classmate in a mask can make a world of difference to a little one. Of course, nobody wants to take a chance with a bottom-up campaign to try to change the world one person at a time. It's really hard work putting yourself out there. I've been there, and many people hate me for it, side-eyeing me, rolling their eyes, or even crossing the street to avoid me. But a few people listened and asked a few follow-up questions.
I really feel like that's all we've got at this point. Top down isn't going to work until June 2026 approaches, and threatening those stuck in the middle, who are largely misinformed, won't do much to save children's brains come fall. Grassroots education might, though. Maybe. 78% of Americans are not at all worried about Covid, but 22% ARE!!
And it might get bad enough that mandates come back, like in Guelph hospital, which just reinstated masks (but not in hallways?) because of the number of people hospitalized for Covid right now. But that was on orders from Public Health. It sometimes feels like Public Health can act independently, but mine won't. I've asked them!
So, parents, please consider trying to get your kids to wear masks again. It's not over by a long shot. In the last 12 months in Ontario, we're still averaging 3.5 times as many Covid deaths as vehicle collision fatalities. If you won't start the car without the kids strapped up, consider that they have significantly more risk in a school than on the highway. And imagine all they'll miss out on if they're sick in bed from rotating illnesses or just one that never seems to go away. Masks work (well, N95s)! They're an amazing solution! They're well within our control to use, and only $5/month/kid because they can be reused.
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