Op-Ed: I Lived Through Collapse. America Is Already There.

[baseline bum]

https://www.anchoragepress.com/columnists/i-lived-through-collapse-america-is-already-there/article_5310929e-01d7-11eb-85e5-0335b2293693.html
I Lived Through Collapse. America Is Already There.
By Indi Samarajiva 7 hrs ago

I lived through the end of a civil war. Do you know what it was like for me? Quite normal. I went to work, I went out, I dated. This is what Americans don’t understand. They’re waiting to get personally punched in the face while ash falls from the sky. That’s not how it happens.

This is how it happens. Precisely what you’re feeling now. The numbing litany of bad news. The ever rising outrages. People suffering, dying, and protesting all around you, while you think about dinner.

If you’re trying to carry on while people around you die, your society is not collapsing. It’s already fallen down.

I was looking through some old photos for this article and the mix is shocking to me now. Almost offensive. There’s a burnt body in front of my office. Then I’m playing Scrabble with friends. There’s bomb smoke rising in front of the mall. Then I’m at a concert. There’s a long line for gas. Then I’m at a nightclub. This is all within two weeks.

Today I’m like, ‘did we live like this?’ But we did. I mean, I did. Was I a rich Colombo fuckboi while poorer people died? Well, yes. I wrote about it, but who cares.

The real question is, who are you? I mean, you’re reading this. You have the leisure to ponder American collapse like it’s even a question. The people really experiencing it already know.

So I’m telling you, as someone who’s been there, in similar shoes to yours; this is it. America has already collapsed. What you’re feeling is exactly how it feels. It’s Saturday and you’re thinking about food while the world is on fire. This is normal. This is life during collapse.

Collapse does not mean you’re personally dying right now. It means y’all are dying right now. Death is sometimes close, sometimes far away, but always there. Usually for someone else, but someday, randomly, for you. I used to judge those herds of gazelle when the lion just eats one of them alive and everyone keeps going but, no, humans are just like that. That’s the real meaning of herd immunity. We’re immune to fundamentally giving a shit.

It honestly becomes mundane (for the privileged). As Colombo kids we used to go out, worry about money, fall in love — it all went on. We’d pop the trunk for a bomb check. Turn off our lights for the air raids. I’m not saying that we were untouched. My friend’s dad was killed, just gone with a land mine. RIP Uncle Nihal. I know people who were beaten, arrested, went into exile. But that’s not what my photostream looks like. It was mostly food and parties and normal stuff for a dumb 20-something.

If you’re waiting for a moment where you’re like ‘this is it’, I’m telling you, it never comes. Nobody comes on TV and says ‘things are officially bad’. There’s no launch party for decay. It’s just a pileup of outrages and atrocities in between friendships and weddings and perhaps an unusual amount of alcohol.

Perhaps you’re waiting for some moment when the adrenaline kicks in and you’re fighting the virus or fascism all the time, but it’s not like that. Life is not a movie, and if it was, you’re certainly not the star. You’re just an extra. If something good or bad happens to you it’ll be random and no one will care. If you’re unlucky you’re a statistic. If you’re lucky, no one notices you at all.

Collapse is just a series of ordinary days in between extraordinary bullshit, most of it happening to someone else. That’s all it is.

One day, I was at work when someone left a bomb at the bag check at NOLIMIT. It exploded, killing 17 people who were out shopping. I experienced this as the phone lines getting clogged for an hour. My wife experienced it as, well, a bomb, it was 500m from her house. 17 families experienced it as the end. And their grief goes on.

As you can see, this is not a uniform experience of chaos. For some people it destroys their bodies, others their hearts, but for most people it’s just a low level hum at the back of their minds. What’s that buzzing sound you hear now?

Today I assume you went to work. Bad news was everywhere, clogging up your social media, your conversations. Maybe it struck close to you. I’m sorry. Somewhere in your country, a thousand people died. I’m sorry for each of them. A thousand families are grieving tonight. A thousand more join them every day. The pain doesn’t go away, it just becomes a furniture of bones, in a thousand homes.

As a nation you don’t seem to mourn your dead, but their families do. Their communities do. Jesus, also, weeps. But for most people it’s just another day. You’ve run out of coffee. There’s a funny meme. This can’t be collapse, because nothing’s collapsing for me.

But that’s exactly how collapse feels. This is how I felt. This is how millions of people have felt, including many immigrants in your midst. We’re trying to tell you as loud as we can. You can get out of it, but you have to understand where you are to even turn around. This, I fear, is one (of many) things Americans do not understand. You tell yourself American collapse is impossible. Meanwhile, look around.

In the last three months America has lost more people than Sri Lanka lost in 30 years of civil war. If this isn’t collapse, then the word has no meaning. You probably still think of Sri Lanka as a shithole, though the war ended over a decade ago and we’re fine. Then what does that make you?

America has fallen. You need to look up, at the people you’re used to looking down on. We’re trying to tell you something. I have lived through collapse and you’re already there. Until you understand this, you only have further to fall.

[SnakeBoy]

lol What a load of shit

[Winehole23]

lol What a load of shitWhat's the exit plan for COVID-19?

If that plan includes broad access to rapid testing and contact tracing, why don't we have that shit already?

[Winehole23]

Has the USA got enough PPE for cold & flu season?

[Spurtacular]

Plenty of doomsdayers out there; always will be. Can't say it's America's political leadership keeping us afloat.

Too big to fail? God I hope so; but I don't count on it.

[hater]

Lol its not a civil war until you hqve to make queues to buy bread and milk :lol

You can have a fucking drone deliver you batteries for christsakes :lmao

Get real

[Bogie]

lol What a load of shit

hey you shouldn’t talk about yourself like that.

Also, you load of cowardly shit, tell us all what you support about trumps Russian policy.

[Bogie]

What's the exit plan for COVID-19?

If that plan includes broad access to rapid testing and contact tracing, why don't we have that shit already?


don’t expect self described load of shit to answer you. He’s slightly brighter than spurtacular, but with less moral character

[Spurs Homer]

https://www.anchoragepress.com/columnists/i-lived-through-collapse-america-is-already-there/article_5310929e-01d7-11eb-85e5-0335b2293693.html
I Lived Through Collapse. America Is Already There.
By Indi Samarajiva 7 hrs ago

I lived through the end of a civil war. Do you know what it was like for me? Quite normal. I went to work, I went out, I dated. This is what Americans don’t understand. They’re waiting to get personally punched in the face while ash falls from the sky. That’s not how it happens.

This is how it happens. Precisely what you’re feeling now. The numbing litany of bad news. The ever rising outrages. People suffering, dying, and protesting all around you, while you think about dinner.

If you’re trying to carry on while people around you die, your society is not collapsing. It’s already fallen down.

I was looking through some old photos for this article and the mix is shocking to me now. Almost offensive. There’s a burnt body in front of my office. Then I’m playing Scrabble with friends. There’s bomb smoke rising in front of the mall. Then I’m at a concert. There’s a long line for gas. Then I’m at a nightclub. This is all within two weeks.

Today I’m like, ‘did we live like this?’ But we did. I mean, I did. Was I a rich Colombo fuckboi while poorer people died? Well, yes. I wrote about it, but who cares.

The real question is, who are you? I mean, you’re reading this. You have the leisure to ponder American collapse like it’s even a question. The people really experiencing it already know.

So I’m telling you, as someone who’s been there, in similar shoes to yours; this is it. America has already collapsed. What you’re feeling is exactly how it feels. It’s Saturday and you’re thinking about food while the world is on fire. This is normal. This is life during collapse.

Collapse does not mean you’re personally dying right now. It means y’all are dying right now. Death is sometimes close, sometimes far away, but always there. Usually for someone else, but someday, randomly, for you. I used to judge those herds of gazelle when the lion just eats one of them alive and everyone keeps going but, no, humans are just like that. That’s the real meaning of herd immunity. We’re immune to fundamentally giving a shit.

It honestly becomes mundane (for the privileged). As Colombo kids we used to go out, worry about money, fall in love — it all went on. We’d pop the trunk for a bomb check. Turn off our lights for the air raids. I’m not saying that we were untouched. My friend’s dad was killed, just gone with a land mine. RIP Uncle Nihal. I know people who were beaten, arrested, went into exile. But that’s not what my photostream looks like. It was mostly food and parties and normal stuff for a dumb 20-something.

If you’re waiting for a moment where you’re like ‘this is it’, I’m telling you, it never comes. Nobody comes on TV and says ‘things are officially bad’. There’s no launch party for decay. It’s just a pileup of outrages and atrocities in between friendships and weddings and perhaps an unusual amount of alcohol.

Perhaps you’re waiting for some moment when the adrenaline kicks in and you’re fighting the virus or fascism all the time, but it’s not like that. Life is not a movie, and if it was, you’re certainly not the star. You’re just an extra. If something good or bad happens to you it’ll be random and no one will care. If you’re unlucky you’re a statistic. If you’re lucky, no one notices you at all.

Collapse is just a series of ordinary days in between extraordinary bullshit, most of it happening to someone else. That’s all it is.

One day, I was at work when someone left a bomb at the bag check at NOLIMIT. It exploded, killing 17 people who were out shopping. I experienced this as the phone lines getting clogged for an hour. My wife experienced it as, well, a bomb, it was 500m from her house. 17 families experienced it as the end. And their grief goes on.

As you can see, this is not a uniform experience of chaos. For some people it destroys their bodies, others their hearts, but for most people it’s just a low level hum at the back of their minds. What’s that buzzing sound you hear now?

Today I assume you went to work. Bad news was everywhere, clogging up your social media, your conversations. Maybe it struck close to you. I’m sorry. Somewhere in your country, a thousand people died. I’m sorry for each of them. A thousand families are grieving tonight. A thousand more join them every day. The pain doesn’t go away, it just becomes a furniture of bones, in a thousand homes.

As a nation you don’t seem to mourn your dead, but their families do. Their communities do. Jesus, also, weeps. But for most people it’s just another day. You’ve run out of coffee. There’s a funny meme. This can’t be collapse, because nothing’s collapsing for me.

But that’s exactly how collapse feels. This is how I felt. This is how millions of people have felt, including many immigrants in your midst. We’re trying to tell you as loud as we can. You can get out of it, but you have to understand where you are to even turn around. This, I fear, is one (of many) things Americans do not understand. You tell yourself American collapse is impossible. Meanwhile, look around.

In the last three months America has lost more people than Sri Lanka lost in 30 years of civil war. If this isn’t collapse, then the word has no meaning. You probably still think of Sri Lanka as a shithole, though the war ended over a decade ago and we’re fine. Then what does that make you?

America has fallen. You need to look up, at the people you’re used to looking down on. We’re trying to tell you something. I have lived through collapse and you’re already there. Until you understand this, you only have further to fall.



food for thought

damn good writing and perspective


but-but HER EMAILS!!!

[SnakeBoy]

What's the exit plan for COVID-19?


https://img0.etsystatic.com/045/0/8571233/il_570xN.683581984_bvhi.jpg

[Winehole23]

https://img0.etsystatic.com/045/0/8571233/il_570xN.683581984_bvhi.jpgyeah, you skipped ahead left out the steps I was talking about.

[DMC]

lol What a load of shit

The left longs for it to be true, until the left gets the WH then it will no longer be a topic of discussion. It's amazing how much crying the left does when they aren't in power. Get a passport, haul ass.

[DMC]

What's the exit plan for COVID-19?

If that plan includes broad access to rapid testing and contact tracing, why don't we have that shit already?

Something about HIPPA.

[boutons_deux]

Has the USA got enough PPE for cold & flu season?

there is still a shortage of PPE for C19 docs, nurses, staff.

Why Can't America Make Enough N95 Masks? 6 Months Into Pandemic, Shortages Persist


https://www.npr.org/2020/09/17/913093387/why-cant-america-make-enough-n95-masks-6-months-into-pandemic-shortages-persist

[Winehole23]

Something about HIPPA.is your tongue bound by HIPPA?

[DMC]

is your tongue bound by HIPPA?

People don't recollect everyone they were in contact with and the doctors cannot report exactly who was infected. So people who have better recall than someone who just found out they have COVID and would know they were in contact will likely never know. They just get notified that someone was infected, and to monitor their temps and wash their hands.

I know you want clear cut, bifurcated options but those are the realities. Without violating HIPPA, real contact tracing probably won't happen.

So no, not my tongue, but the tongues of doctors and anyone in the medical field who has knowledge of HIPPA.

[Winehole23]

People don't recollect everyone they were in contact with and the doctors cannot report exactly who was infected. So people who have better recall than someone who just found out they have COVID and would know they were in contact will likely never know. They just get notified that someone was infected, and to monitor their temps and wash their hands.

I know you want clear cut, bifurcated options but those are the realities. Without violating HIPPA, real contact tracing probably won't happen.

So no, not my tongue, but the tongues of doctors and anyone in the medical field who has knowledge of HIPPA.Maybe doctors and nurses could be immunized for the purpose.

[DMC]

Maybe doctors and nurses could be immunized for the purpose.

You'd have to shit can HIPPA for that to happen.

HIPPA doesn't have to be violated though. Here's an example:

Patient A tests positive for COVID. Patient A works at Bob's Fill Dirt and LINAC Rebuilding Services. BFDLRS issues statement "there has been a positive COVID test in our building. See attachment for instructions". Attachment says "put a checkbox next the the names you've been in direct contact with". This way both the patient's recollection and the coworkers/outside vendor's recollection can be matched for quarantine orders.

As it stands, only the patient is asked and quite often the patient might not even know the names of most of their coworkers.

[ElNono]

I disagree with the OP. I lived through a military dictatorship. It doesn't look anything like this.

That said, the fact that we're not there yet doesn't mean we're not on the path. We clearly have individuals in power that couldn't care less about Democracy, and that's indeed dangerous.

[Winehole23]

You'd have to shit can HIPPA for that to happen.

HIPPA doesn't have to be violated though. Here's an example:

Patient A tests positive for COVID. Patient A works at Bob's Fill Dirt and LINAC Rebuilding Services. BFDLRS issues statement "there has been a positive COVID test in our building. See attachment for instructions". Attachment says "put a checkbox next the the names you've been in direct contact with". This way both the patient's recollection and the coworkers/outside vendor's recollection can be matched for quarantine orders.

As it stands, only the patient is asked and quite often the patient might not even know the names of most of their coworkers.So is your basic take that we can't everhave contact tracing in the USA because we're weenies about privacy? Just trying to catch your drift.

[DMC]

So is your basic take that we can't everhave contact tracing in the USA because we're weenies about privacy? Just trying to catch your drift.
Benefits have drawbacks. In countries that protect individual rights and information, nitpicking through personal data is cumbersome if not impossible. It's a necessary trait for a free society. Which do you value more, safety (health) or privacy?

But we don't need the patient's information to trace if we are clever. If person A is in contact with persons B, C, D and E, then persons B, C, D and E, who do not fall under HIPPA, can all check the box for person A. That would indicate contact. Contact can be verified in reverse.

[ElNono]

We can certainly have contact tracing in the US without violating HIPPA. The systems I've seen anonymize individuals and reduce them to a non-identifiable token. That's eventually what gets used to notify them of potential close contact.

[Winehole23]

We can certainly have contact tracing in the US without violating HIPPA. The systems I've seen anonymize individuals and reduce them to a non-identifiable token. That's eventually what gets used to notify them of potential close contact.So where does this narrative that American customs of privacy make contact tracing impracticable, come from?

[DMC]

We can certainly have contact tracing in the US without violating HIPPA. The systems I've seen anonymize individuals and reduce them to a non-identifiable token. That's eventually what gets used to notify them of potential close contact.

In some cases. I have personal experience that indicates direct contact with infected individuals is not leading to notifications for the reasons I stated.

[DMC]

So where does this narrative that American customs of privacy make contact tracing impracticable, come from?

Because there are 50 states with 50 different ideas on how to enforce it.

[ElNono]

In some cases. I have personal experience that indicates direct contact with infected individuals is not leading to notifications for the reasons I stated.

There's nothing of what you said that contradicts what I said. Contact tracing means you're notified that you were recently in close contact with somebody that reported being infected.

That means you either have to quarantine and/or take a test.

The biggest issue with a solution on contact tracing in this country is the lack of organization for a single, viable and privacy conscious solution. If you have every state rolling out their own shit, and it doesn't interoperate, then yeah, you have a problem.

[ElNono]

I don't see how HIPPA enters the equation at all. Almost every system I know relies on self-reporting.

[DMC]

There's nothing of what you said that contradicts what I said. Contact tracing means you're notified that you were recently in close contact with somebody that reported being infected.

Unless magic happens, the patient has to have recollection and willingness to identify those in close contact. Otherwise all bets are off. This seems intuitive. "Who were you in close contact with?"... you really want to base all your contact tracing on this one lead?


That means you either have to quarantine and/or take a test.

If you are identified. See above.


The biggest issue with a solution on contact tracing in this country is the lack of organization for a single, viable and privacy conscious solution. If you have every state rolling out their own shit, and it doesn't interoperate, then yeah, you have a problem.
That's what happens. You either trust the patient who doesn't have to tell you shit, or you make some bland statement about washing hands and wearing masks, and tracking your temp. Sorry, but what you're saying is just wishful thinking in a country with 50 individual governments with countless sub-governments who all get decision making powers.

[DMC]

I don't see how HIPPA enters the equation at all. Almost every system I know relies on self-reporting.

HIPPA means no one can say "person X tested positive, were you in contact with them?"

Self reporting what exactly? If you test positive and you give a few names, does that satisfy the contact tracing needs? Do you think countries who do real contact tracing honor patient privacy?

Again, all you need is a series of check boxes.. who were you in contact with. Then those who chose the actual COVID patient get their names presented to said patient for verification. This prevents people from getting quarantine days off by selecting everyone on the list.

When you walk into a business, get on the elevator and go to multiple floors and interface with a myriad of people for whatever reason, do you recall everyone you spoke to, do you know who you were on the elevator with? Do they know you?

[ElNono]

Unless magic happens, the patient has to have recollection and willingness to identify those in close contact. Otherwise all bets are off. This seems intuitive. "Who were you in close contact with?"... you really want to base all your contact tracing on this one lead?

It doesn't work like that at all. I'm not sure what systems you used, but the ones I've seen generate a random token per person, transmit and collect the token through Bluetooth LE when they're around other devices, and once one of the persons uses the app to notify he's been infected, all the other people with the token get notified.

Digital tokens do not contain any personal information, cannot be used to track people, and somebody stealing/publishing tokens do not lead to the leak of any personal identifiable information. They're also HIPPA compliant as they don't contain any medical records.


That's what happens. You either trust the patient who doesn't have to tell you shit, or you make some bland statement about washing hands and wearing masks, and tracking your temp. Sorry, but what you're saying is just wishful thinking in a country with 50 individual governments with countless sub-governments who all get decision making powers.

It isn't wishful thinking at all. We have similar standards for a million things, from credit card readers to actual Bluetooth, Wifi, etc. Too many to list. All it takes is a federal government that sets what the standard is and regulates it. You know, leadership, something we're sorely lacking right now.

[ElNono]

HIPPA means no one can say "person X tested positive, were you in contact with them?"

Self reporting what exactly? If you test positive and you give a few names, does that satisfy the contact tracing needs? Do you think countries who do real contact tracing honor patient privacy?

Again, all you need is a series of check boxes.. who were you in contact with. Then those who chose the actual COVID patient get their names presented to said patient for verification. This prevents people from getting quarantine days off by selecting everyone on the list.

When you walk into a business, get on the elevator and go to multiple floors and interface with a myriad of people for whatever reason, do you recall everyone you spoke to, do you know who you were on the elevator with? Do they know you?

See my post above, you're completely lost on how this tech works.

[ElNono]

If you actually want the nuts and bolts, see Apple's spec:

https://covid19.apple.com/contacttracing

[FrostKing]

When the dollar falls or atleast stops being the global standard

[DMC]

See my post above, you're completely lost on how this tech works.

What you're proposing would be fine if everyone had it and it was always on their person. That's not what's happening now. I talked about what's happening now. RIGHT NOW people aren't carrying this tech so real contact tracing cannot happen.

[boutons_deux]

I disagree with the OP. I lived through a military dictatorship. It doesn't look anything like this.

That said, the fact that we're not there yet doesn't mean we're not on the path. We clearly have individuals in power that couldn't care less about Democracy, and that's indeed dangerous.

you claim your anecdote from a different country invalidates his anecdote from his country.

so why does your anecdote that negate his anecdote?

and why is your anecdote true (for everywhere?) and his isn't?

do all failed states have the same characteristics?

[Winehole23]

1311353873743912963

[hater]

Unless magic happens,





See my post above, you're completely lost on how this tech works.

:lmao you can say that again

[TampaDude]

1311353873743912963

It's just maths...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_pyramid