Thought Experiment on Our Pandemic

[Fluidic Kimbo]

Anyone here ever give blood?

I have twice. I think the first time was last Summer, and then for a second time in January.

My type is O+. I've sat in the waiting area of the blood bank chatting to other people. One guy I chatted to was O-, so they can put his blood inside anyone. This means he can help out anyone in need, but it also means that he could have difficulty finding blood if he himself needs it. I'm the most common blood type in Europe, I should be fine in most cases if I ever need a transfusion.

And then there's the guys who are AB+. Their blood isn't very useful to the rest of us, but they have the perk of being able to take anyone's blood if they ever fall off a ladder or get in a car crash.

Sitting in that little waiting area, chatting to these other people, I've thought about how we sometimes look out for ourselves, and how sometimes we look out for others.

If I could wave a magic wand right now and make you be any blood type you want, I think a lot of sensible people would very quickly reply "AB+ please!". Some people might want to be O- so that they can help others. You even hear of people who voluntarily give away a kidney to a total stranger.

I've had the cheek swab done to be added to the database for people who need bone marrow. If I ever got the call to say I'm a match for some little 6-year-old child with leukemia, I'd call my boss right away and say "I need a week or two off work to save a 6yr old". I'd have the support of everyone in my workplace.

Would I go so far though as to give a kidney to some fourty-something year old stranger in Dallas? Honestly, I wouldn't. I've got two kidneys to do me and I'll keep them both. Of course though if I had a spouse or child who needed a kidney, I'd throw it at them.

So now let's talk about Carona.

I'm in my thirties, I don't drink or smoke, I run about 25-30 miles per week, and I don't have any breathing problems or any kind of immune system problems. Actually I lived in Asia for two years so, if anything, my immune system is probably stronger than the average European's.

In this Carona situation, I'm like the guy back in the blood bank waiting room who has AB+ and doesn't have many worries.

I'd actually prefer just to get infected with Carona now -- before it mutates into something more harmful -- and just let it run its course (and hopefully develop significant immunity). Right now I have the sniffles and a mildly sore throat so I might have it already. Because I am 'the guy with AB+ blood' in this situation, I'd rather just have the gym and cinema open, and I'd like to still be doing the parkrun at the weekend. I wanna sit reading the paper in a café with a hazelnut Latté.

A friend of mine in Dublin messaged me lastnight. We went to the same school together 20 years ago, and he's relatively fit. He's keeping the hell away from everyone though because he has asthma. So in this Carona situation, he's a little like the guy back in the waiting room with O- blood.

Here in N. Ireland, we're only supposed to leave our house to buy food or to do 'one form of exercise' per day. It might get stricter with the police actually walking up to people and asking them what they're doing out and telling them to go straight home. They're talking about police arresting people and giving them fines if they refuse to go home.

From my point of view, my town, country, and the whole world has come to a standstill because of a shitty little flu that I'd rather catch now and be done with. But of course that's easy for me to say because I'm 'the guy with AB+ blood'.

[almostgone]

I'm O+, buy would settle for Rh null.


Edit: Actually, I'm quite satisfied with O+, but since I have very rich blood, if I were Rh null I could help out the 50 or so people that have that type.

[Fluidic Kimbo]

Back when I was in school we learned a poem in Irish Gaelic called "An tÓzón". It was a poem written in the first person by our Ozone layer. The poem began with "I am the ozone layer here in the middle of the sky".

If we can learn a poem like that in public school then I'm definitely allowed to write a poem in the 1st person by the Carona virus.

[almostgone]

Back when I was in school we learned a poem in Irish Gaelic called "An tÓzón". It was a poem written in the first person by our Ozone layer. The poem began with "I am the ozone layer here in the middle of the sky".

If we can learn a poem like that in public school then I'm definitely allowed to write a poem in the 1st person by the Carona virus.

Is Carona the UK spelling? It's spelled Corona in the States. Not being a smart@ss, I know their are differences in the way words are spelled in different regions.

....and yes, you can write a first person poem.