18 August 2021

Editor’s Note: The Editorial Staff was wrestling with the Afghan situation and the aftermath of a horrific humanitarian collapse. The topic caused the two Interns to look on with amazement, and another member of the senior circuit to announce “their” displeasure on a topic settled by law 56 years ago and depart abruptly to await the opening call at Belmont Farms. We briefly returned to current events, though it was difficult to determine what they are.

The word this morning is that 15,000 assorted US citizens may remain in country. Our recollections of the hostage crisis in Tehran- the one from 1979-80- was about 50 mostly civilian Embassy personnel held for 444 days. You can imagine the reaction from a crowd of interested readers, some of whom did the evacuation of Saigon and the Tehran crisis. We have compiled the raw reactions of that string on the matter but will save it for perspective rather than share because the emotions are so raw.

This is not a matter of politics, exactly, but rather something of a civics lesson. Marlow has shared his thoughts on another civic matter of this morning. It caused a conflict in the Writers Section on several levels. In fact, I have not seen the group roused to such passion in several years. Some of us are vaccinated fully. Others have what they think was the COVID, and survived with self-produced antibodies. Others are distrustful and refuse, claiming individual right. I am naming no names. At the end of the discussion, consensus was that Marlow’s perspective on this separate but somehow related issue was worth presenting as he wrote it, the amalgamation of emotion about something now and more than a century old in today’s unsettled week. But that is what we all confront. All history. All now. All at once.

– Vic

18 August 2021

And Now for Something Completely Different:  a man jamming pencils up his city fathers’ noses

Savannah’s mayor at podium surrounded by our city’s alderpersons

As a brief respite, I turned away from the slow-mo human tragedy half a world away, brought to us by 24/7 news channels and our American government for, by and sometimes of the people. I decided to put these thoughts to paper as a palliative. I ask you readers to vote whether I should send some form of this to the city’s mayor and alderpersons. Edits are most welcome.

The rate of daily plague vaccinations in the Empire stalled back in late June at around 40%. Despite the arrival of deadly Delta, they still are flat. Leaders elected and otherwise have made moving speeches imploring the unvaxxed to get the shots.

No one listened when hospitalizations recently started soaring into the stratosphere. We are days away from turning sick and injured people away from our three hospitals. Chatham County COVID-19 Data – COVID-19 | Coastal Health District (gachd.org)

The linchpin to any such effort turning around low vax rate of our most vulnerable population (which is also our county’s largest segment at ~140K out of 295K souls) – Blacks. They also make up a supermajority of the county’s 30% poverty rate and for the most part live in subsidized housing.

One last set of stats: 52% of the county’s Caucasians have been vaccinated while 30% of its Blacks have been. Both these figures are dead in water and have been for weeks on end during the Delta force’s ongoing slaughter.

Here in Savannah, we commemorate and mourn an event that occurred162 years — The Weeping Time. The plaque says it better than I can.

“The Weeping Time” commemorative plaque

If, as suspected, this variant cuts through us as the public health charts suggest, we will see a 21stcentury Weeping Time — this time it will be self-inflicted with much larger numbers and more lasting in impact that is presently imagined.

We already have mask mandates for all indoor public spaces since early last month with most of us doing our bit, yet the public health graphs track the inexorable rise in the slaughter.

The elected now talk about cancelling much beloved public events as they did all last year to include those near on the calendar — the Philharmonic’s Picnic in the Park (October 9), Savannah Jazz Festival (last weekend in September) and Savannah Film Festival (October 23-30).

Well, that’s the ticket. Not. These honky event cancellations won’t move the needle with the 70% unvaxxed portion of Chatham County’s Blacks.

So, what’s a politician to do in this war? Yes, it’s really that – a war against foolhardiness. How can they lead the charge up to take Plague Vax Hill? Eight months of begging, pleading, free-fooding, cash give-aways have been met with meh.

The sole leverage they have is making vaccinations mandatory for occupation of the county’s and city’s public housing. Get vaxxed or you’re on the street in 8 weeks.

Yeah, it’s bad politics, but (sarcasm switch on) that’s why they get the big bucks (sarcasm switch off). This wartime choice is existential – the lives and wellbeing of our fellow citizens hang in the balance.

They damn well matter.

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