by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
I have said more than once that when New Yorkers feel that same feeling they had on 9/11 that America’s knees will buckle and the country will fall to its collective knees. I’m not a New Yorker, but I am an American and empathetic.
What made 9/11 so bad on a national level was that the otherwise fearless New Yorkers were gobsmacked. Stunned. The one city in the world that can kick the ass of any other city in the world was cowering in fear. It bounced back in a few hours, but when America saw NYC wasn’t functioning, we became equally dazed.
So, here we are. It’s now probably inevitable that NYC is going to become a hot zone. All we don’t know is when and how severe. As we start to test more and more people, the numbers are going to rise rather dramatically. There is likely to be a rather dramatic “re-calibration” of New Yorkers’ world view, just like there was on 9/11. But they’ll bounce back soon enough and start to thrive in The New Normal.
The thing New Yorkers probably need to realize is the WuFlop is going to pop up in the city soon enough. When it happens, a lot of New Yorkers are likely going, indeed, feel that same gut punch feeling they felt on 9/11. The WuFlop is extremely disturbing. Eerie. Frighting. But don’t let how spooky it is get to you. You’re a New Yorker and hayseed rubes like me in the hinterland look up to you for how tough you are otherwise in the face of adversity.
Now, let me address something — I don’t see the above as Fear Porn. I’m not trying to scare you by pulling bullshit out of my butt. I’m simply using what is known and then extrapolating into the future using the facts. New York City — especially mid-town — has a shit ton of world tourists every day, every week, every month. So, COVID19 is going to pop up in NYC in a pretty brutal fashion soon enough.
But I believe in NYC. Maybe one day I’ll get to live there, just like I did in Seoul. Let’s rock.
