Re: [DL] Survivor's Guilt

[Ivan E <ivan_gaming@yahoo.com>]

How to deal? Good question.

) Set aside at least 15% of this week's pay to donate
to the Red Cross. Their lines will come unjammed in a
few days, but the need will last at least several
weeks.

) Make an appointment to give blood, if they can't
take you today and if you are eligible to give blood
(I'm not, sadly, which bumps up the cash donation).

) Ignore the flame posts online, ignore the people
trying to scam your money. There are more (expletives
deleted) in heaven and earth than were dreamt of in my
philosophy, but responding to them just takes up
bandwidth that could be used to transfer good news to
relatives and friends of survivors.

) Go talk to your neighbors. Talk to the old lady
across the hall, the young couple down the street, the
stupid college kids who play their music too loud at
three am. Make sure everyone's OK in your vicinity.
Acts like this can either drive us into isolation or
into each other's sheltering embraces. Guess which
reaction the enemy wants?

) If you're planning to go to New York, my suggestion
is, don't. The airline, train and bus seats can be
better filled with people who lost someone and need to
get to family, and the hotel rooms can be better used
for relatives in mourning.

) Don't let the bastards scare you. Go outside. Eat
out. Gather with friends. The sooner we return to a
semblance of normality, the less victory they feel.

These are my plans, anyway. I know they're obvious,
but sometimes we get so lost looking for big things we
can do that we overlook the constant small things we
should do. 

I sincerely hope that all of you are well, and remain
so in the coming days and months and years. Remember
that love and hope are always stronger than tyranny
and terror.

- Ivan

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