OK so I am not going to try to structure this and I am not going to edit it, because Class is an infinitely complicated and difficult topic to even approach, and I don’t have an exhaustive set of thoughts, but I had some thoughts today that I wanted to share. These are mostly drawn from my perceptions and beliefs about social structure in the Bay Area and about the various equilibria that form under pressures with low variation. It’s about privilege & class & COVID, so if those aren’t interesting to you then it might not be interesting.
Relaxing Social Distancing and Class Stratification
As social distancing begins to relax — either as people merge their “pods,” or as governmental restrictions are lifted, there will be two classes of people:
- Those who can mostly stay physically separate from others while still fulfilling their needs for safety, connection, etc. (due to privilege in terms of housing, employment, wealth, etc.).
- Those who cannot mostly stay physically separate from people while fulfilling their needs. This might be because they are an “essential worker” (e.g. a medical worker in California or, in Georgia, a hair stylist…), it might be because they cannot afford to live separate from others, it might be because they don’t have enough money to isolate themselves, etc.
As it becomes clear that interaction with the former group of people is less likely to cause one to contract COVID and that interaction with the latter group is more likely, stratification will occur. Those who wish to “get together” in limited ways — either in parks, outdoor spaces, etc. or those who wish to “merge bubbles” (e.g. two isolated people living together to form a 2-person “quaranteam”) will do so more often with folks in the former circles. It is more likely that a person will want to quaranteam with another person if they don’t have a job which forces them to come into perpetual interaction with others, for instance.
As we know from Game Theory and Endless Sociological Studies, even small probabilistic differences, applied over time, can lead to large differences. E.g. the conditions behind the current extreme state of racial segregation in childhood education in the United States is generated from significantly smaller differences in the near-post-desegregation US.
As time goes on, these connections between people in the former and latter categories will grow stronger, and there will most likely be further stratification. Who we share space, food, water, etc. with will increasingly be defined by various conditions which all sum to: privilege.
Resisting Class Stratification
As a Good and Conscious and Intentional and Brilliant and Loving member of our communities, it is your responsibility to resist this stratification. Stratification fucking sucks — it makes society less diverse, less equitable, less inclusive, etc. It makes all of the ugliness that we have seen historically. Fuck Stratification! Fight Stratification! Stratification is the Enemy!
How do we do it? Well, first of all:
- STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR FRIENDS WHO ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS AND YOUR FRIENDS WHO ARE NOT RESOURCED
IMO this is your moral responsibility, meaning that if you do it you are making the world a better place, and if you don’t do it you are allowing stratification to happen, which means you’re making the world a worse place (or, less pointedly, you’re letting the world become a worse place). Obviously this is a function of your privilege — but if you’re privileged then STAY CONNECTED!!!
How do you stay connected? Reach out! Take the driver’s seat! Offer support! Schedule time! As you are able to figure out ways to satisfy your own needs, begin to think about those you know who may not be able to satisfy their own (economic, social, mental, physical, etc.) needs. Second:
2. DON’T MAKE YOUR BUBBLE TOO BIG
I hate that I have to say this, but seriously! When I say “Bubble,” I mean the set of people who you share physical space, food, water, etc. with. People who, if they contracted COVID, would likely infect you, and vice versa.
10 people might be the absolute max — I don’t even know. But as the bubble grows, the more likely the bubble is to become disconnected (because the more stringent the restrictions must be regarding the connections between members of the bubble and the “outside world.”)
Big Bubbles are likely to break off from society almost completely — which is bad for society if these conditions persist in the long run.
3. ACCEPT THAT YOU MAY CONTRACT COVID
I am by no means advocating that you take any risks that you do not feel comfortable taking. What I am saying is that if you don’t accept that you might get it, and if you have serious privilege, you may separate yourself more distantly from society than is warranted. COVID is scary, but many things are scary, and we do have to find a balance in the long-run.
I am not trying to shame or guilt anyone who has an extreme desire to separate in terms of avoiding COVID. However, I believe that extreme fears drive extreme behavior and extreme behavior can drive extreme separation.
For example, take the Ultra-Rich who are now safely nestled into their bunkers in New Zealand and elsewhere. Fuck them! What the fuck is their problem? Fucking assholes. A little pandemic happens and suddenly they ditch everyone and head to the hills. Are they supporting people? It looks like the billionaires in San Francisco are doing piss-all. Fuck them! Don’t be like them! Don’t totally disconnect!
4. BE AWARE OF HOW COVID IS AFFECTING YOUR FEELINGS TOWARDS OTHER PEOPLE
When you walk down the street right now who are you more likely to avoid? The Homeless? People with tattoos or other indicators of class? People in scrubs? Why do you avoid them? What does it feel like? How is your fear spreading around in your concept of people?
All of these are valuable things to take stock of, because these feelings, if unchecked, can become the basis of various forms of bigotry including sexism, racism, classism, etc.
I am not saying that you should hug a homeless person right now. I am saying that you should think about how you are feeling about the homeless — and think about how you might go back to how you felt before, once this is “over…” and ALSO think about what this feeling will become, if this is “never over.”
With Love
The above is all written with love and just represents some of my off-the-cuff thoughts. I hope that these rules and thought exercises will be helpful to you in doing what you can to avoid leaving our most vulnerable and important populations out in the (social/physical/emotional/mental/economic/…) cold.
Any tips or tricks for staying connected warmly appreciated!
