A good friend of mine texted me yesterday lamenting that his older brother posted a message on Facebook in which he essentially rationalized that the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant stay-at-home orders are government and media lies because he, and several other people whom he’s asked, do not know anyone who has contracted the virus.

I know, I know. Like you meat processors, who are seeing workers get sick and in some cases die, I’d like to slap the dude in the face. And I like to think that the dozens of responses he has received, including one from someone whose loved one died from the virus, amounted to one.

But I can’t slap my friend’s brother in the face. One, I’m just too damn tired, sapped of the energy the virus requires in order to keep up with it, to raise my hand. And two, I’d be a hypocrite; in early March, I was pushing the flu-is-worse argument and saying the concerns seemed overblown. I don't know anyone who has contracted COVID-19, but now that some positives have emerged in my father's nursing home, well, slap me in the face.

It’s taken a while for me to admit it, but I’ve been thinking it for a while and now I have to say it unequivocally — I was an idiot. It’s not a good feeling to arrive at that conclusion; I have an ego and pride like anyone else, and I like to be right about things. I guess that my only solace is the fact that COVID-19 has made fools of all of us.

This is one of those moments where I wonder how we look as a race. I’m not talking about aliens. I’m not talking about a higher power. I actually imagine the virus, the cunning devil that it is, laughing at us as it deposits infections into our bodies as if we were mailboxes on a street of row houses.

Like bacteria are to harborage points in a meat processing plant, COVID-19 is to our vulnerabilities as humans. We, for example, have the unique and wonderful gift of reason, but its benefits often are offset by our lack of humility. From there is a whole host of problems, not least of which is a false sense of security.

How funny COVID-19 must find it that the United States, with all its resources and intelligence, was not prepared for this fight. Bipartisan finger-pointing aside, the fact that we’re home to five times — count ‘em, five times (or about one-third of the world’s total) — the number of cases as the second comer, Spain, suggests in the very least that we didn't quite have a good grip on the ball. We’re still fumbling it.

Nowhere is the chaos more apparent today than in meat processing plants, where the virus is having a field day and making a very public case study of the general vulnerabilities of the nation at large. Consistent testing? Nope, a fragmented healthcare system currently won’t facilitate such. Consistent guidelines on preventive measures? Nope, a fragmented governance structure is making that unattainable. Social distancing? Nope, not when a business is deemed critical infrastructure, and that business isn’t set up to provide distance.

COVID-19 has the industry in an uncomfortable corner, and those whose offices reside there have to make some unenviable choices at the cross-section of worker safety and consumer demand. Serving the latter at all costs, sometimes at the expense of employees’ health and safety and to the extent that it diminishes their legal rights, feeds mouths. It also feeds an unflattering public image of the industry, and surely will damage future efforts to recruit and retain labor.

The challenges presented by COVID-19 will be many, and there to tackle for years to come. I'm eager to see how we adapt as an industry and as humans. As imperfect as we are, we’re a resilient bunch with a wonderful capacity for overcoming adversity.

For now, though, the meat cases need filling and the job must get done. I applaud those risking their health to do so. They are heroes, and I hope that they get what they need to stay safe.

A slap in the face

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