The Mutant Coronavirus Isn’t the Only Invisible Danger Lurking Around Baltimore
The mutants of the pandemic era were more than just faster-moving versions of the evolving coronavirus. They were the spawn of an evolving culture, the children of the uncertainty created in an environment where people had been damaged by months of isolation and desperation.
By the time the coronavirus pandemic was preparing to celebrate its one-year anniversary of wreaking havoc in America, the extraordinary had evolved into the ordinary. People were no longer panicked about the possibility of dying from the virus even though they came into close contact with it in the grocery stores and other crowded spaces, even though nearly half a million Americans had already died. The apathy they embraced had turned into poison. And, as anyone knows, poison is best served chilled with a splash of Sprite and a maraschino cherry in a dark, crowded bar.