Beneath Sobs

the ease with which Bakari Sellers
thinking of his children
asks
what do they do if
and then names
George Floyd killed slow by the knee on his neck 

and then
Brionna Taylor shot sleeping 

and then
Ahmaud Arbery hunted in a "good old fashioned Georgia lynching" is
a social fluency in 2020.
it is one of the languages spoken by those with their eyes open
there are fewer verbs in this language
all violent
fewer colors, mostly black
the language can be faked but
it is best understood when
heard beneath sobs 

It's Time for the End of Health Insurance

My brother is about to lose his job. He'll join the record 16 million who have started down that path in the last three weeks.

It's the only formal job in his household, so he, his wife, and my two nephews are passing through the antechamber of a fragile-by-decree democracy into its great hall.  It's in that room, with the soaring frescoed domes and neolithic stylings, that wealthy America hides its signature trap door.

The trick is failure by and of design.

Letter to the Future XVII - The Sweet Quiet of Negative Success

"If you need to be right before you move, you will never win."

Dr. Michael Ryan, Exec Director, WHO

on the lessons from Ebola

15 March 2020

Dear Future -

Today, New York City announced an 80% increase in cases, in 24 hours. The curve of our detection capacity is, finally, starting to chase the curve of contagion. At 3,000 or so confirmed cases today, we have every reason to expect 10,000 by next weekend, as our national testing capacity comes online. Settling down to a 25% day over day increase for 31 days would mean an increase of a factor of 1,000 a month from now. The unofficial national motto has become 'flatten the curve.'