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How Chinese people came together when separated by quarantine, creating hope, humor and art

How Chinese people came together when separated by quarantine, creating hope, humor and art
The Conversation / Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Fear and blame appear to be fast becoming Americans' defining emotions around COVID-19. Headlines seem to offer either worst-case estimates or government leaders' mutual accusations.

Amid the bewildering figures and contradictory political narratives, it is important to recall that numbers and governments are abstractions – whereas people actually live with and through disease. By fixating on the former, we risk losing sight of the human dimensions of epidemic life.

As a scholar researching the cultural aspects of the 2003 SARS epidemic, I too initially focused on geopolitics and biosecurity. But what I discovered in addition – rarely discussed but vitally humanizing – were the vibrant forms of everyday communal life generated by SARS at its very epicenters.

Under conditions of obligatory isolation and social distancing, common people invented new kinds of sociality and new genres of epidemic expressions. With COVID-19 now even more than SARS, the Chinese internet and social media offer a cornucopia of examples of epidemic communities brought together by heart, humor and creativity.


Wuhan residents chant ‘Keep it up, Wuhan’ out of their windows to boost moralewww.youtube.com


Pandemic solidarity

One early set of viral videos surfaced in Wuhan just five days into the city's lockdown. On the night of Jan. 27, residents shouted "jiayou" – literally "add oil," meaning "hang in there" or "don't give up" – out their apartment windows, in a spontaneous burst of solidarity. It was a demonstration of collective strength and defiance, of people's refusal to be quelled by the virus and the quarantine, and their desire to cheer each other on.

One of these clips, uploaded onto YouTube by the South China Morning Post, has received over a million hits, with netizens from numerous Asian countries echoing "Wuhan jiayou!" in encouragement. Indeed, the refrain has flourished into a rallying cry among an international public on social media, despite the Chinese government's attempts to co-opt it as a slogan for ethnonational patriotism.


Good Samaritan Gives Cops 500 Masks Amid Shortagewww.youtube.com


Pandemic care

This spirit of reciprocal support extends to the care of animals. The Wuhan lockdown has stranded tens of thousands of residents outside the city, leaving an estimated 50,000 pets trapped in unattended homes. Through social media, some pet owners connected with Lao Mao ("Old Cat"), who heads a team of volunteer animal rescuers in Wuhan. These rescuers now roam the city and sometimes break into deserted homes to feed abandoned cats and dogs.

Outside Hubei, other animal lovers likewise help those stuck inside the province look after their pets at home. These tales of animal caretaking, even in times of human crisis, can usefully offset perceptions of Chinese culture as simply one of cruel and unbridled animal consumption.

Another unexpected focal point for communal care is the face mask. Across China, masks have become a powerful vehicle for enacting goodwill, generosity and fellowship during the epidemic. In one viral video from Anhui, an anonymous Good Samaritan was captured on surveillance camera dropping off 500 masks at a local police station. As he hurried away, two officers ran outside to salute him.

This video in turn inspired the Hong Kong-based singer G.E.M. (Gloria Tang/Deng Ziqi) to compose "Angels," a song that garnered nearly 600,000 hits within the first day of its upload. A tribute to ordinary people's small acts of fortitude and kindness during the outbreak, the music video opens with the Anhui clip and then splices together other moving scenes, including a train employee gifting a mask to an elderly woman passenger and a man distributing free masks to travelers in an airport abroad.


【武汉肺炎最新情况】正月初二 封村 封城 地铁让座 戴口罩打麻将China Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreakwww.youtube.com


Pandemic humor

This creative energy has also spurred China's folk humor culture. In locked-down sites across the country, social media is spawning a new genre of quarantine humor. On Weibo, WeChat and Douyin, memes of quarantine boredom and stir-craziness proliferate. Netizens record themselves singing the lockdown blues by rescripting classic tunes, fishing from home aquariums, playing mahjong with plastic bags over their heads, playing solo mahjong, playing living-room badminton and choreographing wacky dance moves.

People also showcase their creative flare in donning protective gear and venturing out to neighborhood convenience stores and parks in inflatable costumes of T-Rex dinosaurs, green aliens and Christmas trees. When they run out of face masks, some half-jokingly substitute with bras, sanitary pads, and orange rinds.

As Manya Koetse reports from Beijing, these social media trends allow people to "mock neighbors, their friends or family, or even themselves in the extreme and sometimes silly measures they are taking to avoid the coronavirus." But more than mockery, the very sharing of these memes is a constructive and healing social act. In times of high stress and distress, to sustain these virtual communities is to deliver shared recognition, concern and laughter.

This is not to say that China's epidemic experience is solely lighthearted or affirming. Yet neither does life at epicenters have to be apocalyptic, defined by epic heroes and villains or horror scenarios of collapse and conflict.

Indeed, in other countries that have since become COVID-19 epicenters, social media offer similarly inspiring examples. Frontline health workers in Iran dance in hospital hallways to buoy their patients as well as themselves, and Italians in lockdown sing from their balconies to boost each other's morale – in turn prompting a string of "Italy jiayou" videos from Chinese netizens.

Collectively, these chronicles attest to the idea of pandemic resilience – the possibility that disease outbreaks can be lived through with empathy, ingenuity and sheer human ordinariness.

Belinda Kongis Professor of Asian Studies, Bowdoin College

This article originally appeared on the Conversation. You can read it here.

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Dad's heartfelt lunch message shows how simple, everyday acts can change lives

You can make a huge difference by using O Organics.

via Meg Sullivan (used with permission) and Canva/Photos

A volunteer hands out food in a food bank and Meg Sullivan shares her dad's kind gesture.

When we consider people who have had a positive impact on the world, we often think of those who have made grand gestures to improve the lives of others, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Greta Thunberg, or Mahatma Gandhi. Unfortunately, that type of effort is out of reach for the average person.

However, O Organics would like to remind everyone that they can positively impact the world through small, consistent acts of kindness that add up over time. Much like how a small creek can create a valley over the years, we can change lives through small, consistent acts of kindness.

O Organics is dedicated to the well-being of all by nourishing people everywhere with delicious organic foods grown by producers who meet USDA-certified organic farming standards.

Upworthy's Instagram page recently posted a touching example of everyday kindness. Meg Sullivan shared how her father, Tom, peeled oranges for her lunch just about every day from kindergarten through high school. But on the final day of her senior year of high school, he sent his 17-year-old daughter unpeeled oranges with a touching note about how she’d have to start peeling them for herself.



“It’s Time Baby Girl,” he wrote on a wikiHow printout on how to peel an orange with a drawing of himself crying. For the father, this daily ritual was about more than just making lunch; it was about showing that he cared by going the extra mile. “I could have put money on her lunch account,” Tom told Today.com. “But it’s one of those little things I thought was important, that she knows somebody’s taking the time to take care of her.”

The small, daily gesture taught Megan an essential lesson in kindness.

The post reminded people how their fathers’ small acts of kindness meant so much to them. “My dad peeled my oranges until I graduated high school, too. Now, I peel my daughter’s oranges and will for the next 7 plus years,” Katie wrote in the comments. “Love this. My dad peeled mine, too. When I moved out, he gave me an orange peeler gadget,” Mary added.

o organics, albertson's giving backO Organics has a wide array of foods and flavors covering almost everything on your shopping list.via Albertson's

Did you know that every time you go to the supermarket, you can also change the world through small gestures? O Organics not only allows you to feed your family delicious and nutritious organic food, but each purchase also gives back to help people and communities facing food insecurity.

Through contributions from customers like you, O Organics donates up to 28 million meals annually. The company’s contribution is essential when, according to the USDA, 47.4 million Americans live in food-insecure households.

O Organics has a wide array of foods and flavors covering almost everything on your shopping list. “Over the years, we have made organic foods more accessible by expanding O Organics to every aisle across our stores, making it possible for health and budget-conscious families to incorporate organic food into every meal,” Jennifer Saenz, EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer at Albertsons, one of many stores where you can find O Organics products, said in a statement.

O Organics now offers over 1500 items, from dairy products such as eggs and milk to packaged meats and breakfast staples such as cereal bars, granola and oatmeal. You can also enjoy affordable organic produce with O Organics’ fresh salads and fruit.

Everybody wants to make the world a better place. With O Organics, you can feed your family healthy, organic food every time you go to the market while paying it forward by contributing to the company’s efforts to end food insecurity nationwide. That’s a small, daily gesture that can amount to incredible change.

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Parenting

Yet another school district shifts to 4-day week and parents are sounding off

So... when are we getting the matching 4-day work week?

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When talking with other parents I know, it's hard not to sound like a grumpy old man when we get around to discussing school schedules. "Am I the only one who feels like kids have so many days off? I never got that many days off when I was a kid! And I had to go work in the coal mine after, too!" I know what I sound like, but I just can't help it.

In Georgia, where I live, we have a shorter summer break than some other parts of the country. But my kids have the entire week of Thanksgiving off, a week in September, two whole weeks at Christmas, a whole week off in February, and a weeklong spring break. They have asynchronous days (during which they complete assignments at home, which usually takes about 30 minutes) about once a month, and they have two or three half-day weeks throughout the year. Quite honestly, it feels like they're never in school for very long before they get another break, which makes it tough to get in a rhythm with work and career goals. Plus, we're constantly arranging day camps and other childcare options for all the time off. Actually, I just looked it up and I'm not losing my mind: American kids have fewer school days than most other major countries.

So it caught my attention in a major way when I read that Whitney Independent School District in Texas recently decided to enact a 4-day week heading into the 2025 school year. That makes it one of dozens of school districts in Texas to make the change and over 900 nationally.


Giphy

The thought of having the kids home from school EVERY Friday or Monday makes me want to break out in stress hives. But this 4-day school week movement isn't designed to give parents a headache. It's meant to lure teachers back to work.

Yes, teachers are leaving the profession in droves and young graduates don't seem eager to replace them. Why? The pay is bad, for starters, but that's just the beginning. Teachers are burnt out, undermined and criticized relentlessly, held hostage by standardized testing, and more. It can be a grueling, demoralizing, and thankless job. The love and passion they have for shaping the youth of tomorrow can only take you so far when you feel like you're constantly getting the short end of the stick.

School districts want to pay their teachers more, in theory, but their hands are often tied. So they're getting creative to recruit the next generation of teachers into their schools — starting with an extra day off for planning, catch-up, or family time every week.

Teachers in 4-day districts often love the new schedule. Kids love it (obviously). It's the parents who, as a whole, aren't super thrilled.

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

So far, the data shows that the truncated schedule perk is working. In these districts, job applications for teachers are up, retirements are down, and teachers are reporting better mental well-being. That's great news!

But these positive developments may be coming at the price of the working parents in the communities. Most early adopters of the 4-day week have been rural communities with a high prevalence of stay-at-home parents. As the idea starts to take hold in other parts of the country, it's getting more pushback. Discussions on Reddit, Facebook, and other social media are overrun with debate on how this is all going to shake up. Some parents, to be fair, like the idea! If they stay-at-home or have a lot of flexibility, they see it as an opportunity for more family time. But many are feeling anxious. Here's what's got those parents worried:

The effect on students' achievement is still unclear.

The execution of the 4-day week varies from district to district. Some schools extend the length of each of the four days, making the total instructional time the same. That makes for a really long day, and some teachers say the students are tired and more unruly by the late afternoon. Some districts are just going with less instruction time overall, which has parents concerned that their kids might fall behind.

4-day school weeks put parents in a childcare bind.

Having two working parents is becoming more common and necessary with the high cost of living. I know, I know — "school isn't daycare!" But it is the safe, reliable, and educational place we send our kids while we need to work.

Families with money and resources may be able to enroll their kids in more academics, extracurriculars, sports, or childcare, but a lot of normal families won't be able to afford that cost. Some schools running a 4-day week offer a paid childcare option for the day off, but that's an added expense and for families with multiple kids in the school system, it's just not possible.

This will inevitably end with some kids getting way more screentime.

With most parents still working 5-day weeks, and the cost of extra activities or childcare too high, a lot of kids are going to end up sitting around on the couch with their iPad on those days off. I'm no expert, and I'm certainly not against screentime, but adding another several hours of it to a child's week seems less than ideal.

Of course there are other options other than paid childcare and iPads. There are play dates, there's getting help from family and friends. All of these options are an enormous amount of work to arrange for parents who are already at capacity.

Working 4 days is definitely a win for teachers that makes the job more appealing. But it doesn't address the systemic issues that are driving them to quit, retire early, or give up their dreams of teaching all together.

Giphy

A Commissioner of Education from Missouri calls truncated schedules a "band-aid solution with diminishing returns." Having an extra planning day won't stop teachers from getting scapegoated by politicians or held to impossible curriculum standards, it won't keep them from having to buy their own supplies or deal with ever-worsening student behavior.

Some teachers and other experts have suggested having a modified 5-day school week, where one of the days gets set aside as a teacher planning day while students are still on-site participating in clubs, music, art — you know, all the stuff that's been getting cut in recent years. Something like that could work in some places.

As a dad, I don't mind the idea of my busy kids having an extra day off to unwind, pursue hobbies, see friends, catch up on projects, or spend time as a family. And I'm also very much in favor of anything that takes pressure off of overworked teachers. But until we adopt a 4-day work week as the standard, the 4-day school week is always going to feel a little out of place.


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This narcoleptic dog named Toast can't help but to fall asleep when he's excited

Dinner time? Nap. Playtime? Nap. Treats? Out like a light.

Photo credit: Canva

Narcoleptic dog named Toast falls asleep when he's excited

There is nearly nothing cuter than a sleeping dog. They do their little snores, dream boofs while their legs twitch like they're trying to run. They're just adorably sweet when they're sleeping, kind of like toddlers. They're not getting into anything and it's a moment for you to sit back and look at this adorable creature that has occupied your heart.

But all naps are not created equal, a doodle named Toast falls asleep unexpectedly when he gets excited. We aren't talking he has a big stretch and yawn after playing with a new friend at the dog park, no. Toast literally just sort of flops over like a fainting goat at the first sign of a little excitement coming his way. The cute doodle has doggy narcolepsy which causes him to take impromptu naps when he's happy about something.

It can be things as small as going outside in the snow to play or having dinner served, both of those things mean a brief nap-time for Toast. The poor dog doesn't even get a few bites in before his head starts drooping and he's out like a light.

Dog Doodle GIF by sarahmaesGiphy

"On any given day, Toast will fall asleep at least 100 times," his mom, Laura tells The Dodo. "It really just means that when he's extra happy and excited he needs to take a little break or a nap.

According to VCA Animal Hospitals, narcolepsy is a disorder of the nervous system that affects younger dogs, "In a narcoleptic episode, an animal may abruptly lose consciousness, fall on its side or stomach, and lie perfectly still, as if napping. Like in deep sleep, rapid closed eye movements (REM) may occur and muscles become slack, but the dog may still be aware of his surroundings. Often, the dog will abruptly come out of an episode after auditory or physical stimulation."

Big Dog GIF by MOODMANGiphy

VCA emphasizes that narcolepsy in dogs is not dangerous or life-threatening, nor is the condition painful but owners of narcoleptic dogs should be aware of the signs of an episode to ensure the dog is in a safe place to abruptly fall asleep.

Toast's mom knows what triggers him to get excited and it seems his sister, a dog named Laney does as well. Laney, knows Toast gets overly excited and falls asleep when they play and she doesn't mind one bit. The two dogs go at it for a couple minutes, Toast takes a brief nap and hops back up to finish wrestling with his sister. He often lays right on top of Laney to nap or just chew on her ears even though he's as big as she is. The doodle's antics don't seem to have any affect on his big sister, she lets him get out his excitement even when she's not in the mood to play.

"Toast has to be wherever Laney is. He is obsessed with her. She just allows him to lay on top of her, chew on her ears, and she may chew on a toy or just rest and let him do what he needs to," Laura shares with the outlet.

Toast appears to be living his best life and is completely unbothered by the frequent interruptions of surprise naps. He doesn't let it slow him down and his mom makes sure he's napping safely, even if she has to move his face out of his food until he wakes up to finish eating. Narcolepsy doesn't impact a dog's lifespan so Toast is expected to live just as long as any other doodle with just a few extra naps throughout his days.

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Pop Culture

Mom leaves a 'heartbreaking' gift to flight passengers sitting next to her baby

"That's a mom trying so hard."

@callmebelly/TikTok

An excellent reminder to show kindness and patience.

Listening to a baby cry during a flight might be aggravating, but it’s nothing compared to the moans, groans, and eyerolls that the baby's parents must endure from other passengers when it happens. No matter what tips and tricks are used to try to soothe a little one’s temperament while 30,000 miles in the air, crying is almost inevitable. So, while having to ease their own child’s anxiety, moms and dads also must suffer being the pariah of the trip. What a nightmare.

Recently, one mom was apparently trying so hard to avoid upsetting her fellow flight members that she went above and beyond to essentially apologize ahead of time if her baby began to cry on its first flight. It was a gesture that, while thoughtful, had folks really feeling for how stressed that poor mom must be.

In a clip posted to his TikTok, one of the passengers—Elliot—explained that the mom handed out small care packages to those nearby.

“She’s already so busy and took the time to make these bags for everyone,” Elliot said, before panning the camera to reveal a Ziplock bag full of candy, along with a note that made him “want to cry.”

The note read: “It’s my first flight. I made a deal to be on my best behaviour—but I can’t make any guarantees. I might cry if I get scared or if my ears start to hurt. Here are some treats to make your flight enjoyable. Thank you for being patient with us. Have a great flight.”

@callmebelly♬ BIRDS OF A FEATHER - Billie Eilish

Like Elliot, those who watched the video felt some ambivalence at the well intentioned act. Many felt remorse that she would feel the need to appease people in this way.

“This is so sweet but also … kind of breaks my heart that we live in a world in which parents feel the need to do that.”

“Because jerk people have shamed parents into believing that they need to apologize for their kids' absolutely normal behavior. What a gem of a mom.”

“You know that sweet mom worried about this trip so much.”

“That poor mom probably spent nights awake … nervous about that flight, thinking of ways to keep strangers happy.”

"That's a mom trying so hard."

Many rallied behind the mom, arguing that making others feel more comfortable with her child being on board was in no way her responsibility.

“No mom should be apologizing. Adults can control their emotions … babies not …. Hugging this mom from a distance.”

“Dear new parents: no you don’t have to do this. Your babies have the right to exist. We all know babies cry. We know you try your best.”

Luckily, there are just as many stories of fellow passengers being completely compassionate towards parents with small children—from simply choosing to throw on their headphones during a tantrum (instead of throwing one themselves) to going out of their way to comfort a baby (and taking the load of a parent in the process). These little acts of kindness make more of an impact than we probably realize. Perhaps if we incorporated more of this “it takes a village” mindset, flying could be a little bit more pleasant for everyone involved.

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Health

Moving to a 4-day work week instead of raising pay? It's a smart move, apparently.

San Juan County took a gamble that’s paid off literally and figuratively.

Photo credit: Jelson25

Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington

If you could choose between getting a pay raise or working fewer hours for the same pay, which would you choose? The added money or the added time off? What you'd choose may depend on your financial circumstances, of course, but assuming you make enough to live comfortably, what would you value more?

For employees of San Juan County, Washington, that choice wasn't exactly a choice, but the result speaks volumes. In October of 2023, the county faced a dilemma. Workers had demanded a pay raise, but the county wouldn't be able to do that without blowing the budget or raising taxes, which it didn't want to do. Instead, it implemented a 32-hour work week, meaning many employees could work a 4-hour work week and enjoy a 3-day weekend every weekend, but keep their pay the same. There were skeptics, of course, but six months later, a report showed that the move was a rousing success.

First, the county saved nearly a million dollars, which is definitely nothing to sneeze at. The county also saw an increase in job applications and were able to fill open positions 62% faster. The number of employees quitting or retiring dropped by 46%. Employees used 31% less sick time and 83% of employees said their work-life balance had improved. And those numbers were nearly the same in the 1-year check-in report.

"At the end of the day, money only does so much for you," Nadine Varsovia, who works in Human Resources told CBS News. "And what's the good of having money anyway if I can't use it to do anything for fun?"

In the report, the workers union shared glowing praise for the 32-hour work week a year in:

"The 32-hour work week win has been significant for our members. This groundbreaking approach is now being considered by other public agencies in Washington State. Represented employees are reporting a beneficial effect on job satisfaction and work life balance. While there continues to be a need to improve efficiencies and address concerns raised by staff, the overall response to the 32-hour work week at this one-year mark is mostly positive."

Overwhelmingly, the results have shown that it was a smart move. However, that doesn't mean every single person loves it. Some employees report that pressure to complete their work in a shorter period of time leads to stress, so it's not a panacea across the board. Residents, too have had to make some adjustments, as some county offices are now closed on Fridays.

It's been a life-changing shift for Varsovia, though, who says she wouldn't go back to a 40 hour work week even if she did get a pay raise. "Money is only worth so much. I'd rather have that time for myself," she told CBS.

As 4-day work weeks and 4-day school weeks become more common, the question of time vs. money is on a lot of people's minds. Many have come to the same conclusion: What good is extra money if you don't have time to enjoy it? A survey in 2023 found that Americans overwhelmingly value time over money vs. the opposite, though nearly half of respondents said they value both equally. If you don't have enough money, you may value money more because you feel the lack of it. Accordingly, by nearly every account, the wealthier people are the more they tend to value time more than money.

A 4-day work week might be a fabulous solution to the work-life balance problem so many people face, but it's not always practical or even possible in every industry. There is, however, a lot more room for creativity in how time and work are structured than people might think in many cases. Fear of trying something new or assumptions about what will or won't get done with a different schedule may hold companies or employers back from attempting a shift in hours, which is why data points like the ones San Juan Island has collected in the past year-plus are so helpful to see.

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Education

Fired National Park Education Ranger shares heartbreaking post on losing his 'dream job'

"Share this truth widely."

via Brian Gibbs/Facebook

Brian Gibbs and son at Effigy Mounds National Monument.

On Friday, February 14th, Brian Gibbs, a National Park Ranger at Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa, learned he was terminated as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) move to decrease the federal workforce. Gibbs was one of thousands of federal probationary workers terminated that day. Officials have targeted probationary workers employed for less than one or two years because they have fewer job protections or rights to appeal.

While working at Effigy, Gibbs’ job was to educate children, from kindergarten through high school, about more than a dozen American Indian tribes associated with the park. “My job was to teach people about the sacredness of this site, and people … who built the mounds and tribes and still continue to come to the park,” he told CNN.

The reason for his termination felt strange to Gibbs, who says that he exceeded expectations in his most recent evaluation. “According to the letter I received, I ‘failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment’ because my ‘subject matter, knowledge, skills and abilities do not meet the department’s needs,’” Gibbs told Today.com. Now that he is unemployed, Gibbs’ big concern is for his family. He and his wife have one child, and are expecting another in the summer.

In the wake of the mass federal layoffs of over 77,000 people, Gibbs bravely put a face to the story by making a heartbreaking post about losing his job and the National Park Rangers' importance in American life.

“I am absolutely heartbroken and completely devastated to have lost my dream job of an Education Park Ranger with the National Park Service this Valentine’s Day,” Gibbs wrote in his post. “Access to my government email was denied mid-afternoon and my position was ripped out from out under my feet after my shift was over at 3:45pm on a cold snowy Friday. Additionally, before I could fully print off my government records, I was also locked out of my electronic personal file that contained my secure professional records.”

Gibbs then listed a litany of roles he assumed as a ranger, father, and American citizen.

"I am an oath of office to defend and protect the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic... I am the protector of 2500 year old American Indian burial and ceremonial mounds... I am the one who told your child that they belong on this planet. That their unique gifts and existence matters ... I am the lesson that showed your children that we live in a world of gifts- not commodities, that gratitude and reciprocity are the doorway to true abundance, not power, money, or fear," Gibbs wrote.

To raise money for his family during a time of need, Gibbs has partnered with Des Moines-based Raygun to create three shirts honoring those who work for the National Parks Service. Two of the shirts quote his viral post, "Gratitude and reciprocity are the doorway to true abundance, not power, money, or fear." A third shirt has a Ranger hat with the quote: "DON'T TREAD ON ME."


national parks, brian gibbs shirt, raygunRaygun x Brian Gobbs shirts.via Raygun


It’s disheartening to see a man lose the job that he loved so much. But Gibbs's brave post, which appealed to America's better angels, was a wonderful way to humanize the thousands of federal workers who have lost their jobs and the countless who will in the coming months. It can be hard to empathize with federal employees when they’re in offices we’ve never seen or states we’ll never visit. But America’s National Parks are the undisputed gems that make America great, and when those who work to protect them are under threat, it’s a call for all Americans to take notice.

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