The absolute unreality of this year just keeps coming at us, and yesterday, I was so pissed, I could have EXPLODED. So we have been getting everything ready to go to the wedding on Saturday – got my suit, got the pants hemmed, Debbie got a dress and some shoes to match, cleaned out the garage and set up Tessi’s old bed in Kyrsten’s room so the kids would have a bed to sleep on, bought an air mattress so the other kid would have somewhere to sleep when Kyrsten is here, etc etc – then yesterday morning, I come across an article on CNN just as Debbie is messaging me about it: New York and 2 other states are enacting mandatory quarantine restrictions on people visiting from coronavirus hotspot states, and guess which state is one of those? Of course – Arizona, the biggest hotspot in the nation right now. And to make matters worse, it was effective immediately, as of Wednesday at 12am. So no going to the wedding, no taking the kids back home to visit – nada. And of course Debbie is super upset, as am I, and the kids were devastated Megan said, crying inconsolably. And me? I was – still am – SOOOOO pissed!

I just can’t fucking believe that we live in a country where, and this just takes the cake, a Scottsdale City Councilman actually had an anti-mask rally yesterday, where a bunch of people were protesting losing their “freedom” by being required to wear a mask by the City of Scottsdale. I mean, when did people in this country – of course I am talking mainly about Trumpers, as they are primarily the ones who are anti mask – get so selfish and entitled that they can’t be troubled to put a little piece of cloth on their face to help stop the spread of a deadly virus? Of course Trump has made it all the worse by coming out and saying bluntly that wearing a mask is a sign of opposition to him. Honest to God, and I and others on FB have said it, it seems as if he is intentionally TRYING to spread the virus as much as he can. He even had a rally here Tuesday with 3000 people, most not wearing masks, at an indoor church. I mean, you couldn’t craft a better super-spreader event if you TRIED. It’s just unbelievable.

I’ve been following this guy named Chris Martenson on YouTube since like February, and he has stated since the very beginning that wearing masks is the NUMBER ONE way to stop the spread. It’s cheap, easy, and pretty non-invasive. So I have been wearing one since March, as has Debbie, and have been a big proponent of it. And I had gotten to a point where I was constantly pointing out to Debbie when people weren’t wearing masks, getting frustrated, and ranting about it sometimes. Then Emilee, Debbie and I had a talk or two, and I started to settle down about it. I saw how some people could still be misinformed. I realized that maybe some people couldn’t find masks. I understood that maybe some people did have actual issues that prevented them from being able to wear one. And I had started to come to a place of acceptance about it: I could wear mine, and let other people make their own decisions, without being upset.

Then 2 weeks ago, Ducey finally relented and agreed to allow local governments to implement their own mask mandates if they wanted to, and immediately all the big cities and Maricopa County did just that. A day or 2 later, I was on the City of Gilbert FB page, and I could not BELIEVE the number of people who were all butthurt, saying they were so disappointed in Gilbert, threatening they were going to take their money and their business to Queen Creek (apparently they don’t or didn’t have mask mandates?) – I mean, it was astonishing. I always thought maybe people in Gilbert, because it is kind of “trendy,” were a little more “enlightened” and could see that masks help. But no, it is a hotbed of Trump support, and so, like good Trumpies, they have to fight against wearing masks, speak out against it, and post all the misinformation they can find to refute the efficacy of wearing them – one of my favorites of which is a long post attributed to OSHA – as if OSHA is the agency to look to for pandemic advice.

And so here we have all these people complaining about their loss of their “freedom” as a result of being ordered to wear a mask. MEANWHILE, we can’t even travel to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, and the entire EU is talking about banning travel from the US indefinitely because of how badly the pandemic is raging here. So we are LOSING our freedom to travel freely so some selfish, whiny entitled people can have their “freedom” to not wear masks?!? The ignorance is just sickening, and I am losing my grip on holding anger and frustration with those people at bay. Today, I am having trouble being nice to anyone I know to be a Trump supporter, and really have to practice restraint and pen. I know a lot of people on my team at work – Wally, Kim, Jerry, Bob – are Trumpies, and part of me just wants to lash out at them. I am extremely grateful that we are working from home now so at least I don’t have to interact with them, or perhaps even overhear some of their “wonderful” conversations about political stuff. Of course, I nipped that in the bud at the office – got tired of that shit. Talked to Wally, Kim and Jerry about it. I can’t remember if I talked to Bob, think I might have mentioned it in passing.

I posted a few times about this, but am serious in a sense – I would really like to look at moving to Canada. I know it’s not “paradise,” and I’m sure there are some people up there with similar views to the Trumpies down here. But every time I read a post on Facebook or somewhere else from someone from Canada, they always say how bad they feel for us in America, that things are different up there, that they can’t understand how we’ve gone backwards on so many things. And I am sick of living in the country that is being pitied – a wealthy, powerful, first world country that used to be the envy of the world that has turned into an anti science, post truth, bully society. It sucks, and I’m tired of being surrounded by fake patriots, ‘Muricans, who are really just brain dead Trump supporters who now have a reason to flout their hateful, ignorant, divisive, intolerant, science-averse, post fact views. And while it seems highly likely Biden will win in November, the sobering fact is that all those Trumpies will still be with us. That – that physically sickens me.

So I don’t know what to do at this point. I mean, I keep PRAYING that we will win the lottery so we can bail the fuck out of this backwards country. And if it wasn’t for the kids being here, I would start honestly pursuing job opportunities in Canada. I have marketable skills that are always in demand, and I’m fairly certain I could find a job up there. But for now, I guess I just keep praying, keep meditating, keep trying to hang and communicate with those of like mind. Oh, and I started praying for the meteor again too. They have the “Giant Meteor 2020” shirts now, and I loved my 2016 version. I think I need to get one – that will bring a smile to my face 🙂