OFF THE BLOCK

I had a friend send me a link with a video attached. I watched the video and was somewhat alarmed at what I’d listened to from the orator. Essentially the State Bar passed a “mandatory COVID-19 vaccination recommendation” for New Yorkers once the vaccine has been approved. The resolution states that the state’s government should only consider making the vaccine mandatory if there are not enough volunteers. This was according to the New York Law Journal. So what does that mean? And who decides how many volunteers are enough to avoid such a measure?

Needle in a Haystack

While I’ve heard several conspiracy theories about what may actually be transmitted via these vaccinations, I have yet to make a decision of my own completely. I have witnessed people dying from complications resulting from COVID, but I have also witnessed people who fought through it and won. Everything is so confusing and the government has become so untrustworthy that deciding what to do may be enough to drive some people mad.  Especially for black people who are constantly reminded of the Tuskegee Experiment, we have become petrified with accepting vaccinations.  Where does that leave us then?  Do we become carriers and agents of destruction like the many Trump supporters who paraded around as if there was no pandemic?  Do we wear two masks inside the vehicle alone then pull it down around our necks to smoke a cancer-causing cigarette?  I’ve got too many questions.

Fear of the Unknown

It can easily be said that the anxiety of the future’s uncertainty will more than likely begin to take toll on us physically.  This anxiousness is what makes the vaccination even more perceivable. When state governments start considering making them mandatory though, I become more weary.  I, along with millions of others, are not keen on being forced to do anything by the government.  To the contrary though, it may mean an avenue back to “normalcy.”  I use quotes because I say that loosely.  At this point normal doesn’t even seem normal so where do we stand?  Honestly, when I started writing this blog, I thought I might come up with some convincing argument as to why you should certainly never take a vaccine especially if the government is trying to make it mandatory.  Then something changed.  I started thinking of all the selfish, privileged folks that fill the brims of our nation’s state lines who refused to wear masks and continue to deny the validity of the virus.  Had I become one of them?  So tied up in my self-righteousness that I disregard the health and well-being of others? If I’m offering complete transparency, I’m afraid of both.  I’m afraid to live in a society where my lungs get overwhelmed with fluid because I didn’t wear a mask all week and I’m afraid that whatever they are pumping into us via a vaccine may very well be killing me as well.  Pharmaceutical companies being publicly traded and being worth millions, probably billions of dollars makes it even harder to trust them or the process.  As we venture into 2021, I’m not sure what to expect.  However, if there is a decision to make the vaccine mandatory, I would seriously consider living off the grid.