thenation--2020-05-05--The Pandemic Has Made the Poor People’s Campaign Virtual—and Vital

EDITOR ’ S NOTE : The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service .
For that reason , this article , and all of our coronavirus coverage , is now free .
Please subscribe to support our writers and staff , and stay healthy .
Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel ’ s column at the WashingtonPost.com .
Read the full text of Katrina ’ s column here .
“ May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ factors remember those most vulnerable .
May we have the necessary righteous indignation in this moment to fight for transformation.
” Those words were part of a prayer that the Rev .
William J. Barber II offered last week to a virtual meeting for readers of The Nation magazine ( where I am publisher and editorial director ) .
With his deep baritone , Barber ’ s moral clarity cut through the distance of the Internet .
As the human toll reaped by the pandemic and the deepening economic depression grows , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Deal—gets louder .
Whether we can summon up the vision and the leadership for that remains uncertain .
What is clear is that Barber and the Poor People ’ s Campaign that he and his colleagues have been mobilizing over the past two years will galvanize a movement.
< More than two years ago , Barber took on the Rev .
Martin Luther King Jr. ’ s 1968 call for a “ revolution of values ” in America and revived King ’ s effort to build a poor people ’ s campaign across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region .
Long before the current catastrophe , the Poor People ’ s Campaign was challenging the “ interlocking evils ” of systemic racism , poverty , ecological devastation , militarism , and “ the distorted moral narrative ” of religious nationalism .
Read the full text of Katrina ’ s column here .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy. Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.
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“May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake. May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable. May we have the necessary righteous indignation in this moment to fight for transformation.” Those words were part of a prayer that the Rev. William J. Barber II offered last week to a virtual meeting for readers of The Nation magazine (where I am publisher and editorial director). With his deep baritone, Barber’s moral clarity cut through the distance of the Internet. As the human toll reaped by the pandemic and the deepening economic depression grows, the call for fundamental change—for a new New Deal—gets louder. Whether we can summon up the vision and the leadership for that remains uncertain. What is clear is that Barber and the Poor People’s Campaign that he and his colleagues have been mobilizing over the past two years will galvanize a movement.<
More than two years ago, Barber took on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 call for a “revolution of values” in America and revived King’s effort to build a poor people’s campaign across lines of race, religion, and region. Long before the current catastrophe, the Poor People’s Campaign was challenging the “interlocking evils” of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism, and “the distorted moral narrative” of religious nationalism.
Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.


thenation--2020-05-05--Bernie Sanders Reflects on the Power of International Solidarity

Bernie Sanders called me on May Day afternoon to talk about solidarity .
The senator and 2020 presidential candidate was in a reflective mood , as we spoke on International Workers Day , a holiday that is celebrated around the world but , because of its radical history , often neglected in the United States .
We talked politics , a bit .
But then we got into a deeper discussion about the ideals and values that underpin progressive movements .
Here ’ s a portion of our discussion .
John Nichols : You ’ re talking a lot about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : I am .
I am .
The truth of the matter is that , for obvious reasons , May Day is not celebrated or discussed very much in the United States .
But I think that the concept behind May Day , which is well over 100 years old , is profound and it remains extraordinarily relevant for today .
What May Day is about , in a very simple sense , is the concept of solidarity .
Solidarity tells us that if working people stand together , there is nothing they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true within a given country , and it ’ s certainly true internationally .
I ’ m afraid that the concept of solidarity really has been not discussed very much in recent years , especially in America .
But it is a vision I think that we have got to strive for—especially at this moment when we ’ re seeing massive pain in the United States as a result of the pandemic and economic meltdown , where at least 30 million people have lost their jobs in the last six weeks , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost their health insurance .
The Most Consequential Decision of Biden ’ s 2020 Campaign If Woody Guthrie Were Singing Now About the Postal Service I think what May Day is about is bringing working people together in the struggle for justice .
And the struggle for justice is about human rights , and it is about egalitarianism .
It is why we fight against the massive level of income and wealth inequality—why we seek to address the fact that the people on top have so much political power at the expense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vision that , within a nation , within the world , working people have got to stand together for justice , to create an economy that works for all , not just a few , to end the absurdity of spending trillions of dollars a year on war internationally while tens of millions of children die from preventable diseases and billions of people live on pennies an hour .
That ’ s a vision that we have got to reestablish in people ’ s consciousness , and we ’ ve got to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that everybody has got to try to become a billionaire and you can lie , cheat , and steal if your goal is to make billions and not pay attention to the suffering of others .
That is a bogus vision , and our job is to say that if we stand together , everybody in America can have a decent-paying job .
That is not utopian .
We can have government policy that guarantees a good job to all .
We can have educational opportunity for all , regardless of income .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ human right , not a privilege .
We can lead the world here in the United States in combating climate change .
We can combat this outrageous and racist criminal justice system and a very , very broken immigration system and more .
We can build the houses that people need .
We can secure decent retirement for our people .
But we have got to really fight for a new vision for America , rather than this every-person-for-himself-or-herself view that now permeates our society .
And to win that fight , yes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power of working-class solidarity .
JN : This concept of international solidarity becomes especially important right now because we ’ re in a period of international crisis with the coronavirus pandemic .
If ever there was a time when ideas of international solidarity and working together across borders matters , it should be in a moment when we are trying to prevent the spread of the disease , to come up with vaccines , to share ideas for where we go next .
BS : Absolutely .
This pandemic and this economic meltdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country , people all over the world , especially lower-income people .
If there is any silver lining in the midst of this horrific moment , it is that maybe , just maybe , we will reevaluate our national priorities and our vision for where we as a nation and as a world want to go into the future .
And we are going to need international cooperation to not only address the pandemic of the day but future pandemics .
We ’ re going to have to work globally so that scientists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sharing their research about what treatments might work and how we can progress toward a vaccine for this virus and for future pandemics .
The nature of a virus and a pandemic requires , absolutely requires , international cooperation .
But , unfortunately , we have a president , Trump , who is cutting funding for the World Health Organization , picking fights with China , etc .
That is exactly the wrong response at this moment .
JN : The ideal of international solidarity is not new .
As you said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ democratic socialists .
I read some of the statements Eugene Victor Debs issued a century ago on May Day .
What was striking to me was how much of what he said a hundred years ago anticipated what you have been saying , and what a lot of young folks who are coming into politics are saying .
BS : That ’ s true .
Look , when we think about where we are as a nation , it is painful to me that there is , again for very obvious reasons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real American history and the role that people like Debs played a hundred-plus years ago in the struggle for workers ’ rights and for justice .
I would be willing to guess that 90 percent of the American people don ’ t know who Debs was , or the role that he had in building up the industrial trade union movement in America , or his anti-war activities , or the other struggles that he waged .
Not many people know the huge impact that Debs and the Socialist Party of his time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Franklin Delano ] Roosevelt and the New Deal .
I did a video on Debs back in the late 1970s .
I had asked students at the University of Vermont if they had ever heard of Eugene V. Debs , and they had not .
Of course , that ’ s true not only for Debs and the Labor Movement ; it ’ s true for African American history , true for Native American history , true for women ’ s history , for gay rights history .
It ’ s just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know as a nation about our own history .
Certainly , the corporate media does not help with that .
Schools do not do a good job in most cases .
But it is important .
If we want to know where we ’ re going to go , we have to know where we ’ re coming from .
And I think , in many respects , we don ’ t .
I just think there ’ s a great deal to learn from our past in understanding how real change takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggles that so many people since the inception of this country have gone through .
We have got to appreciate the wider importance of solidarity within our own country , not letting Trump and his friends divide us up because of the color of our skin or where we were born or our sexual orientation or our religion or our gender , for that matter , but bringing people together around a common vision of a very different future for our country and for the world .
It ’ s very , very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , this solidarity vision , can be accomplished .
Debs and others were talking , for instance , about a world without war .
Think of that !
Today , we ’ re just taking for granted that we ’ re spending $ 700 billion dollars every year on the Pentagon , on war , on weapons .
And other countries around the world are also spending huge amounts of money .
There ’ s so much misery in the world , but we ’ re investing in nuclear weapons and in missile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk about trying to move toward a world of peace .
JN : You mentioned the New Deal .
It would seem that now , more than ever , we could use a better understanding of the New Deal .
BS : Absolutely !
How do you know American history if you don ’ t know about what FDR did during the New Deal ?
We should be thinking so much more about the New Deal .
Examining it .
You would think from that momentous moment in American history , where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we could learn a few things .
JN : Part of international solidarity involves learning from other countries .
You talk a lot about how progress was achieved by countries around the world .
BS : I do .
I want people to understand the gains that have been made in Europe .
I ’ ve just been reading about how the NHS [ National Health Service ] was developed in the UK and the role that [ British Labour Party parliamentarian ] Nye Bevan played .
I mean , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knows who Winston Churchill is and the important role he played in World War II .
But very few people know that in 1945 , he was defeated despite his enormous popularity as a war leader .
He was badly defeated by the Labour Party , who in the next five years ushered in a massive transformation of British society in terms of health care and housing and education and many other areas .
JN : World War II and its aftermath were overwhelming times , traumatic times .
But it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country ’ s history , moments of war , depression , natural disaster , that we really make the big changes and that people start to look for different approaches , better approaches .
Is that a possibility now ?
BS : I would hope so !
In the last six or seven weeks , millions of people have lost their health insurance when they lost their jobs .
So does anybody believe that we should tie your health care needs to your job ?
I think more and more people understand that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Is As Frustrated as You Are You need health care whether you ’ re working , whether you ’ re not , whether you have a good-paying job , whether you have a bad-paying job , whether you ’ re old , whether you ’ re a kid .
Health care must be a human right , and if we don ’ t learn that lesson right now , we will never learn that lesson .
I would hope that , out of this crisis , we will see some significant growth in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , single-payer program .
That ’ s number one .
Number two , from an economic perspective : The vast majority of people [ here ] have been hurt economically because of this pandemic .
What does it mean that , in the richest country in the history of the world , maybe half of our population survives paycheck to paycheck ?
So in the middle of a so-called “ strong economy , ” it turns out that when people lose their paycheck for a few weeks , they ’ ve got nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic desperation and they ’ re forced to go to emergency food banks to get the food they need to literally stay alive .
This exposes the mythology about a “ good economy.
” You don ’ t have a good economy when half of your people have nothing in the bank and are dependent every week on their paycheck in order to literally stay alive .
JN : May Day has historically been closely associated with organizing workers and making demands for a fairer distribution of wealth .
Do you think that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trade union movement will be revitalized ?
BS : I think there is an excellent chance that we will see stronger unions .
Given the disparities of income and the fact that so many workers are working for starvation wages , I think we will see an increase in the number of people who want to join unions , and in the militancy of those people who today are in unions .
We just sent out some tweets today in support of workers at Amazon , Target , and Walmart , who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better protective equipment because they ’ re putting their lives on the line interacting with the customers .
JN : One of the things that FDR and the New Deal taught us was that it is possible to strengthen unions by speaking up for them .
But in those days there was government action , as well , to make it easier to organize .
BS : There was .
And we need legislation right now .
As you know , during the campaign , we outlined a proposal that , in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers in unions in this country in a four-year period .
Double it .
What we ’ ve talked about is simply establishing a process that says that if a majority of workers are in a bargaining unit , plus one , and they sign the cards , they have a union .
If an employer refuses to negotiate a first contract , that employer will be severely penalized .
And employers will not be allowed to hire workers or to break strikes or to break unions .
I think if you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this country , we need a strong trade union movement .
We need legislation to help bring that about .
JN : It ’ d make for a hell of a May Day if we had a stronger trade union movement !
BS : Yes , it would .

Bernie Sanders called me on May Day afternoon to talk about solidarity. The senator and 2020 presidential candidate was in a reflective mood, as we spoke on International Workers Day, a holiday that is celebrated around the world but, because of its radical history, often neglected in the United States. We talked politics, a bit. But then we got into a deeper discussion about the ideals and values that underpin progressive movements. Here’s a portion of our discussion.
John Nichols: You’re talking a lot about May Day this year.
Bernie Sanders: I am. I am. The truth of the matter is that, for obvious reasons, May Day is not celebrated or discussed very much in the United States. But I think that the concept behind May Day, which is well over 100 years old, is profound and it remains extraordinarily relevant for today.
What May Day is about, in a very simple sense, is the concept of solidarity. Solidarity tells us that if working people stand together, there is nothing they cannot accomplish. That’s true within a given country, and it’s certainly true internationally. I’m afraid that the concept of solidarity really has been not discussed very much in recent years, especially in America. But it is a vision I think that we have got to strive for—especially at this moment when we’re seeing massive pain in the United States as a result of the pandemic and economic meltdown, where at least 30 million people have lost their jobs in the last six weeks, and where tens of millions of people have lost their health insurance. More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
I think what May Day is about is bringing working people together in the struggle for justice. And the struggle for justice is about human rights, and it is about egalitarianism. It is why we fight against the massive level of income and wealth inequality—why we seek to address the fact that the people on top have so much political power at the expense of everybody else.
This all speaks to the vision that, within a nation, within the world, working people have got to stand together for justice, to create an economy that works for all, not just a few, to end the absurdity of spending trillions of dollars a year on war internationally while tens of millions of children die from preventable diseases and billions of people live on pennies an hour.
That’s a vision that we have got to reestablish in people’s consciousness, and we’ve got to break through this current worldview that suggests that everybody has got to try to become a billionaire and you can lie, cheat, and steal if your goal is to make billions and not pay attention to the suffering of others. That is a bogus vision, and our job is to say that if we stand together, everybody in America can have a decent-paying job. That is not utopian. We can have government policy that guarantees a good job to all. We can have educational opportunity for all, regardless of income. We can have health care as a human right, not a privilege. We can lead the world here in the United States in combating climate change. We can combat this outrageous and racist criminal justice system and a very, very broken immigration system and more. We can build the houses that people need. We can secure decent retirement for our people. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
But we have got to really fight for a new vision for America, rather than this every-person-for-himself-or-herself view that now permeates our society. And to win that fight, yes, we need an understanding of the power of working-class solidarity.
JN: This concept of international solidarity becomes especially important right now because we’re in a period of international crisis with the coronavirus pandemic. If ever there was a time when ideas of international solidarity and working together across borders matters, it should be in a moment when we are trying to prevent the spread of the disease, to come up with vaccines, to share ideas for where we go next.
BS: Absolutely. This pandemic and this economic meltdown have been devastating for people in our country, people all over the world, especially lower-income people. If there is any silver lining in the midst of this horrific moment, it is that maybe, just maybe, we will reevaluate our national priorities and our vision for where we as a nation and as a world want to go into the future.
And we are going to need international cooperation to not only address the pandemic of the day but future pandemics.
We’re going to have to work globally so that scientists and doctors all over the world are sharing their research about what treatments might work and how we can progress toward a vaccine for this virus and for future pandemics.
The nature of a virus and a pandemic requires, absolutely requires, international cooperation. But, unfortunately, we have a president, Trump, who is cutting funding for the World Health Organization, picking fights with China, etc. That is exactly the wrong response at this moment.
JN: The ideal of international solidarity is not new. As you said, it has deep roots, especially for democratic socialists. I read some of the statements Eugene Victor Debs issued a century ago on May Day. What was striking to me was how much of what he said a hundred years ago anticipated what you have been saying, and what a lot of young folks who are coming into politics are saying.
BS: That’s true. Look, when we think about where we are as a nation, it is painful to me that there is, again for very obvious reasons, not an understanding or an appreciation of real American history and the role that people like Debs played a hundred-plus years ago in the struggle for workers’ rights and for justice. I would be willing to guess that 90 percent of the American people don’t know who Debs was, or the role that he had in building up the industrial trade union movement in America, or his anti-war activities, or the other struggles that he waged. Not many people know the huge impact that Debs and the Socialist Party of his time had on creating an agenda for [President Franklin Delano] Roosevelt and the New Deal.
I did a video on Debs back in the late 1970s. I had asked students at the University of Vermont if they had ever heard of Eugene V. Debs, and they had not. Of course, that’s true not only for Debs and the Labor Movement; it’s true for African American history, true for Native American history, true for women’s history, for gay rights history. It’s just very disturbing to me how little we know as a nation about our own history. Current Issue View our current issue
Certainly, the corporate media does not help with that. Schools do not do a good job in most cases. But it is important. If we want to know where we’re going to go, we have to know where we’re coming from. And I think, in many respects, we don’t. I just think there’s a great deal to learn from our past in understanding how real change takes place—a great deal to learn from the struggles that so many people since the inception of this country have gone through.
We have got to appreciate the wider importance of solidarity within our own country, not letting Trump and his friends divide us up because of the color of our skin or where we were born or our sexual orientation or our religion or our gender, for that matter, but bringing people together around a common vision of a very different future for our country and for the world.
It’s very, very important that we maintain that this vision, this solidarity vision, can be accomplished. Debs and others were talking, for instance, about a world without war. Think of that! Today, we’re just taking for granted that we’re spending $700 billion dollars every year on the Pentagon, on war, on weapons. And other countries around the world are also spending huge amounts of money.
There’s so much misery in the world, but we’re investing in nuclear weapons and in missile systems, and we don’t talk about trying to move toward a world of peace.
JN: You mentioned the New Deal. It would seem that now, more than ever, we could use a better understanding of the New Deal.
BS: Absolutely! How do you know American history if you don’t know about what FDR did during the New Deal? We should be thinking so much more about the New Deal. Examining it. You would think from that momentous moment in American history, where the role of government was fundamentally reconfigured, we could learn a few things.
JN: Part of international solidarity involves learning from other countries. You talk a lot about how progress was achieved by countries around the world.
BS: I do. I want people to understand the gains that have been made in Europe. I’ve just been reading about how the NHS [National Health Service] was developed in the UK and the role that [British Labour Party parliamentarian] Nye Bevan played. I mean, it’s an extraordinary history. Everybody in America knows who Winston Churchill is and the important role he played in World War II. But very few people know that in 1945, he was defeated despite his enormous popularity as a war leader. He was badly defeated by the Labour Party, who in the next five years ushered in a massive transformation of British society in terms of health care and housing and education and many other areas.
JN: World War II and its aftermath were overwhelming times, traumatic times. But it’s often been in traumatic periods in this country’s history, moments of war, depression, natural disaster, that we really make the big changes and that people start to look for different approaches, better approaches. Is that a possibility now?
BS: I would hope so! In the last six or seven weeks, millions of people have lost their health insurance when they lost their jobs. So does anybody believe that we should tie your health care needs to your job? I think more and more people understand that that is totally absurd. Sanders Speaks Bernie Sanders Is As Frustrated as You Are John Nichols
You need health care whether you’re working, whether you’re not, whether you have a good-paying job, whether you have a bad-paying job, whether you’re old, whether you’re a kid.
Health care must be a human right, and if we don’t learn that lesson right now, we will never learn that lesson.
I would hope that, out of this crisis, we will see some significant growth in political support for a Medicare for All, single-payer program. That’s number one.
Number two, from an economic perspective: The vast majority of people [here] have been hurt economically because of this pandemic. What does it mean that, in the richest country in the history of the world, maybe half of our population survives paycheck to paycheck? So in the middle of a so-called “strong economy,” it turns out that when people lose their paycheck for a few weeks, they’ve got nothing in the bank and they are in economic desperation and they’re forced to go to emergency food banks to get the food they need to literally stay alive.
This exposes the mythology about a “good economy.” You don’t have a good economy when half of your people have nothing in the bank and are dependent every week on their paycheck in order to literally stay alive.
JN: May Day has historically been closely associated with organizing workers and making demands for a fairer distribution of wealth. Do you think that we are in a time where the trade union movement will be revitalized?
BS: I think there is an excellent chance that we will see stronger unions. Given the disparities of income and the fact that so many workers are working for starvation wages, I think we will see an increase in the number of people who want to join unions, and in the militancy of those people who today are in unions. We just sent out some tweets today in support of workers at Amazon, Target, and Walmart, who are demanding hazard pay, who are demanding better protective equipment because they’re putting their lives on the line interacting with the customers.
JN: One of the things that FDR and the New Deal taught us was that it is possible to strengthen unions by speaking up for them. But in those days there was government action, as well, to make it easier to organize.
BS: There was. And we need legislation right now. As you know, during the campaign, we outlined a proposal that, in my judgment, would double the number of workers in unions in this country in a four-year period. Double it. What we’ve talked about is simply establishing a process that says that if a majority of workers are in a bargaining unit, plus one, and they sign the cards, they have a union. If an employer refuses to negotiate a first contract, that employer will be severely penalized. And employers will not be allowed to hire workers or to break strikes or to break unions.
I think if you’re going to rebuild a new economy in this country, we need a strong trade union movement. We need legislation to help bring that about.
JN: It’d make for a hell of a May Day if we had a stronger trade union movement!
BS: Yes, it would.


thenation--2020-05-05--Letters From the May 18/25, 2020, Issue

Letters From the May 18/25, 2020, Issue

Neither Snow nor Rain nor Covid-19 Re “ How to Save the Postal Service , ” by Mike Davis [ April 20/27 ] : Thanks to The Nation for recognizing the US Postal Service as an essential public service as it carries on undaunted through the coronavirus contagion .
The USPS Fairness Act , now before the Senate , would do much to address the entirely unfair retiree prefunding requirement at the core of the Postal Service ’ s financial woes and to keep it solvent .
As for tapping into Amazon ’ s windfall profits as a potential revenue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s principal delivery conduit , and those who suggest the Postal Service simply isn ’ t driving a hard enough per-package bargain with the high-handed merchandising leviathan are very likely correct .
Mike Wettstein Jr. appleton , wis .
I can understand Rohan Grey ’ s frustration , in “ Whatever It Takes ” [ April 20/27 ] , about Joe Biden ’ s hesitancies regarding a progressive Democratic agenda and his part in forming and upholding Barack Obama ’ s policies ( e.g.
, the bailout of the banking system instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their homes safe from foreclosure ) .
And then there is what Grey calls , in reference to the global climate crisis , Biden ’ s “ defensive bluster and nostalgic promises to restore the 2016 Paris Agreement.
” Grey ends with “ Such hypocrisy from someone aspiring to the office of president of the United States is morally and practically unacceptable.
” Where Grey ’ s language leads one inevitably—though I hope not The Nation ’ s readers—is to refrain from voting for Biden for president in November , thereby ushering in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if progressives refrain from voting entirely , the Senate will remain under Republican control , the House may lose its Democratic majority , and governorships and state legislatures will fall into the GOP ’ s hands .
And Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg can ’ t live forever .
How about a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court ?
In Shakespeare ’ s play Coriolanus , Volumnia says in response to a revolt against her son , “ Anger ’ s my meat ; I sup upon myself , / And so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have his anger , but anyone who would not welcome four more years of Trump had better vote for Biden in November .
I am , to put it mildly , disappointed that the Democratic presidential primaries have produced Joe Biden as the party ’ s presumptive nominee .
That said , I did not read Jeet Heer ’ s “ The Pennsylvania Paradox ” [ April 20/27 ] and have zero intention of reading any future Biden bashing that The Nation publishes over the next six months , which at this political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The voters have made clear that he is their choice , but one doesn ’ t need to be a Biden supporter to grasp the reality that the next administration will be either Biden ’ s or an extension of Donald Trump ’ s .
Every Biden-bashing piece you publish from here through November serves only to increase dismay , discord , and disunity among the majority of Americans who want to eliminate the corrupt , criminal , immoral Trump administration—thereby making four more years of Trump more likely .
If Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the head of the queue demanding that The Nation return to illuminating Biden ’ s regressive policy positions and helping hold his administration accountable .
America should be so lucky .
For now , I recommend that you review the past four years of your publication if you really need a reminder of the stakes , then get a grip and pivot to educating your readers about the efforts that are under way across the country to ensure Trump ’ s defeat .
Pennsylvania isn ’ t the only problem Democrats are facing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem is making sure that everyone can vote .
This will probably mean that thousands of volunteer lawyers will have to be available on Election Day .
Long before then , the removal of people from the voter rolls and the relocation and elimination of polling places in many states must be addressed .
Fighting voter suppression is crucial .
It appears that Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee .
At least the party ’ s leaders seem to have somewhat awakened and are endorsing him .
Hopefully , he will pick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Doing so would help win progressive voters .
If Bernie Sanders can make sure his supporters vote , he will be in a much better position to make changes in the party ’ s platform and in the coming years .
History will then show him to be the hero that he is .
Re “ Underpaid , Ignored , and Essential , ” illustrated by Molly Crabapple [ April 20/27 ] : Thank you .
These are really beautiful and sensitive portraits of real-life heroes and heroines .
Sheila Cano I agree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus outbreak upending every economic calculation , the Democrats ’ populism must be focused and forward-looking ” [ “ How to Win in Wisconsin , ” April 13 ] .
Many Democrats have been too deferential to Wall Street .
If the Democratic Party hopes to mobilize the Bernie Sanders voting bloc , it should unequivocally repudiate the neoliberal brand of capitalism .
The Democratic nominee should announce that the Reagan-Thatcher era is ending and that 2021 is the time to begin finishing the New Deal .
Democrats should embrace the idea that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Jim Phillips wichita , kan .

This article appears in the May 18/25, 2020 issue.
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Neither Snow nor Rain nor Covid-19
Re “How to Save the Postal Service,” by Mike Davis [April 20/27]: Thanks to The Nation for recognizing the US Postal Service as an essential public service as it carries on undaunted through the coronavirus contagion. The USPS Fairness Act, now before the Senate, would do much to address the entirely unfair retiree prefunding requirement at the core of the Postal Service’s financial woes and to keep it solvent. As for tapping into Amazon’s windfall profits as a potential revenue stream, the USPS is indeed Amazon’s principal delivery conduit, and those who suggest the Postal Service simply isn’t driving a hard enough per-package bargain with the high-handed merchandising leviathan are very likely correct.
Mike Wettstein Jr.
appleton, wis.
On Holding Your Nose
I can understand Rohan Grey’s frustration, in “Whatever It Takes” [April 20/27], about Joe Biden’s hesitancies regarding a progressive Democratic agenda and his part in forming and upholding Barack Obama’s policies (e.g., the bailout of the banking system instead of enabling millions of Americans to keep their homes safe from foreclosure). And then there is what Grey calls, in reference to the global climate crisis, Biden’s “defensive bluster and nostalgic promises to restore the 2016 Paris Agreement.” Grey ends with “Such hypocrisy from someone aspiring to the office of president of the United States is morally and practically unacceptable.”
Where Grey’s language leads one inevitably—though I hope not The Nation’s readers—is to refrain from voting for Biden for president in November, thereby ushering in another term for Donald Trump. Furthermore, if progressives refrain from voting entirely, the Senate will remain under Republican control, the House may lose its Democratic majority, and governorships and state legislatures will fall into the GOP’s hands. And Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg can’t live forever. How about a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court?
In Shakespeare’s play Coriolanus, Volumnia says in response to a revolt against her son, “Anger’s my meat; I sup upon myself, / And so shall starve with feeding.” Grey may have his anger, but anyone who would not welcome four more years of Trump had better vote for Biden in November.
Jack Kligerman
bozeman, mont.
Progress v. Progressive Values Current Issue View our current issue
I am, to put it mildly, disappointed that the Democratic presidential primaries have produced Joe Biden as the party’s presumptive nominee. That said, I did not read Jeet Heer’s “The Pennsylvania Paradox” [April 20/27] and have zero intention of reading any future Biden bashing that The Nation publishes over the next six months, which at this political moment does a grave disservice to America.
The voters have made clear that he is their choice, but one doesn’t need to be a Biden supporter to grasp the reality that the next administration will be either Biden’s or an extension of Donald Trump’s. Every Biden-bashing piece you publish from here through November serves only to increase dismay, discord, and disunity among the majority of Americans who want to eliminate the corrupt, criminal, immoral Trump administration—thereby making four more years of Trump more likely. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
If Biden defeats Trump, I will be at the head of the queue demanding that The Nation return to illuminating Biden’s regressive policy positions and helping hold his administration accountable. America should be so lucky. For now, I recommend that you review the past four years of your publication if you really need a reminder of the stakes, then get a grip and pivot to educating your readers about the efforts that are under way across the country to ensure Trump’s defeat.
Ulysses Lateiner
somerville, mass.
Pennsylvania isn’t the only problem Democrats are facing in the 2020 elections. The biggest problem is making sure that everyone can vote. This will probably mean that thousands of volunteer lawyers will have to be available on Election Day. Long before then, the removal of people from the voter rolls and the relocation and elimination of polling places in many states must be addressed. Fighting voter suppression is crucial.
It appears that Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee. At least the party’s leaders seem to have somewhat awakened and are endorsing him. Hopefully, he will pick Elizabeth Warren as his running mate. Doing so would help win progressive voters. If Bernie Sanders can make sure his supporters vote, he will be in a much better position to make changes in the party’s platform and in the coming years. History will then show him to be the hero that he is.
Anne K. Johnson
new york city
Essential Tributes
Re “Underpaid, Ignored, and Essential,” illustrated by Molly Crabapple [April 20/27]: Thank you. These are really beautiful and sensitive portraits of real-life heroes and heroines.
Sheila Cano
No More Neoliberalism
I agree with John Nichols that “with the coronavirus outbreak upending every economic calculation, the Democrats’ populism must be focused and forward-looking” [“How to Win in Wisconsin,” April 13]. Many Democrats have been too deferential to Wall Street. If the Democratic Party hopes to mobilize the Bernie Sanders voting bloc, it should unequivocally repudiate the neoliberal brand of capitalism. The Democratic nominee should announce that the Reagan-Thatcher era is ending and that 2021 is the time to begin finishing the New Deal. Democrats should embrace the idea that economic and social rights are human rights.
Jim Phillips
wichita, kan.


thenation--2020-05-06--President Punch (and His Judys)

President Punch (and His Judys)

Trump lashes out as the pandemic spreads .

President Punch (and His Judys)
President Punch (and His Judys)
Trump lashes out as the pandemic spreads.


thenation--2020-05-06--Will the Pandemic Lead to Better Treatment for Drug Users?

In late March , North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper directed businesses to close because of the coronavirus pandemic—only those deemed essential could remain open .
For many , nothing is more essential than the syringe exchange at the North Carolina chapter of the Urban Survivors Union ( NCUSU ) , a harm-reduction group run by and for people who use drugs .
Louise Vincent , the executive director of the NCUSU , said their drop-in center is doing its best to adhere to public health guidelines ; they have , for example , installed a plexiglass barrier and a Dutch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their clients .
This has allowed them to keep providing clean needles and helping clients stick with the treatment programs .
The center has also moved its support groups online and is running a virtual “ advocacy academy ” to enable people to press lawmakers for better access to treatment and decriminalization of drugs .
“ We ’ re busier than we ’ ve ever been , ” Vincent told me .
Still , even with the work of groups like the NCUSU , the pandemic and lockdowns will increase the risks of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida , New York , and Ohio have already reported spikes in opioid overdoses .
“ I ’ m truly worried about what ’ s going to happen to people , ” said Vincent .
“ I really worry in this crisis that we are going to harm people that are already very vulnerable and struggling.
” Before Covid-19 , the opioid epidemic was arguably the country ’ s most urgent public health scourge , killing 46,802 people in 2018 .
Now , advocates for people who use drugs fear that the stay-at-home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spurred by surging unemployment , could cut people off from medication-assisted treatment ( MAT ) , which they need to stay stable and stave off the horrific illness that accompanies withdrawal .
It ’ s not just that physical isolation could lead to social isolation ; the pandemic has also disrupted the transnational drug markets for opioids , boosting street prices and potentially cutting many off from their usual supplies of opioids .
Harm-reduction groups have urged people to stock up on drugs ( as well as on methadone or buprenorphine ) in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are addicted to prescription painkillers or black-tar heroin , many people who use opioids struggled to access treatment even before the coronavirus .
The pre-pandemic methadone treatment protocol typically required patients to get their doses through daily supervised clinic visits , which often required waiting on long lines .
Similarly , another popular treatment drug , buprenorphine , required in-person visits with a certified medical practitioner .
But in the era of social distancing , federal health authorities have made some emergency reforms that many hope will endure once the pandemic ends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of MAT drugs issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA ) , people can get up to 28 days of doses in one batch ( or two weeks if they are deemed “ less stable ” ) .
The guidelines also allow doctors and other licensed health care practitioners to evaluate patients through a Telehealth appointment .
Yet local media and advocates have reported that the new federal guidelines have sometimes been flouted .
In late March , the New York Daily News reported that patients at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied take-home medication .
A month later , long lines appeared at a methadone clinic in San Antonio .
( Both facilities later claimed they were adjusting to the new policies . )
According to STAT News , the National Alliance for Medicated Assisted Recovery has received reports from several states , including Massachusetts and Florida , that clinics have continued to make people pick up doses in person or attend group counseling sessions—even patients who are immunocompromised or diagnosed with Covid-19 .
More than a month into the stay-at-home order , Vincent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , N.C. , there were still lines at methadone clinics , and that people had to attend counseling sessions in person and could only receive only supply for a few days—not the two week ’ s worth that the new guidelines allow : “ Now you ’ re just lined up down the street , six feet apart… .
Why are we so absolutely resistant [ to the new guidelines ] ?
… I think one of the reasons we don ’ t hear more about it is because people are so beaten @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an environment where you clearly don ’ t matter.
” Your Rent or Your Life A Roof Is Only the Beginning The pandemic is likely to exacerbate anxiety , depression , and intimate-partner abuse , all of which could intersect with barriers to treatment for people with opioid use disorders .
Rehabilitation programs have shut down and had to offer counseling via videolink .
Many users face the stigma of addiction in solitude , and the risk of overdoses increases when the nearest inpatient detox facility might be closed or now a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people with diseases associated with opioid use , like Hepatitis C or HIV , access to health care might decline as distressed hospital systems absorb a surge in coronavirus patients .
“ I ’ m sure that we are going to see increased overdose , ” Vincent said .
“ Look , people are sheltering in their homes , domestic violence has gone up , people are stressed out , bored .
Yeah , we ’ re going to see more overdoses… Just the pure stress of it .
And then [ Narcotics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not operating , and treatment centers not seeing people , and methadone clinics not raising people ’ s doses .
And everything standing still in a world that ’ s not standing still.
” Harm-reduction advocates also worry that clients may drop off .
Sarah Ziegenhorn , executive director of Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition , said in an e-mail , “ We ’ ve also seen a decreased number of clients , and we are hearing this from every program across the country .
Fewer clients coming into our drop in center and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are going without sterile injection supplies.
” Then there is the issue of clients ’ not taking the risk of Covid-19 seriously .
Among the clients she works with , Ziegenhorn said , “ most laugh at me when I ask them to keep a little bit of distance between other people and themselves.… A lot of responses are along the lines of , ‘ My life is too stressful to need to think about this.
’ ” Harm-reduction advocates hope the relaxed federal rules for medication-assisted treatment will lead to broader reforms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than a dozen advocacy organizations , including Drug Policy Alliance and National Council for Behavioral Health , sent a letter to state and local government recommending additional safeguards to protect the health of people who use opioids , including giving all patients take-home privileges for MAT prescriptions “ to the maximum extent possible ” ; authorizing facilities like pharmacies and medical-aid vans to provide take-home medication ; and deploying federal and state Medicaid funds to pay for take-home medications that are not covered by insurance .
The letter also urged authorities to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people for Covid-19 testing , effectively turning harm-reduction specialists into frontline health care workers .
But it remains to be seen whether the relaxation of MAT rules will lead to more systemic reforms .
People who use opioids continue to face hostility from law enforcement : In Marion County , Ind.
, near Indianapolis , for instance , police have announced that they would stop administering the overdose-reversal drug Narcan to overdose victims—potentially leaving people to die—for fear that they might cough or sneeze and infect an officer with Covid-19 .
Aspects of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public conversation and even driven incremental reforms like the decriminalization of marijuana .
But basic harm-reduction facilities like needle exchanges still often operate in a quasi-legal gray zone , as policy-makers claim such programs encourage drug use .
Although needle exchanges are legal in Greensboro , Vincent said that stigma still surrounds the NCUSU ’ s grassroots syringe services , because authorities “ just can ’ t wrap their head around people who use drugs wanting to engage with their community .
I guess it flies in the fact of everything they say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care about our community , that we actually care about our health , that we actually care about one another , that there is community resilience.
” The campaign to establish “ safe consumption sites ” has met even more resistance .
Local governments have bristled at providing people a clean setting for drug use .
In general , opioid use remains heavily criminalized and subject to draconian policies , such as federal and state drug-induced homicide laws , which allow someone to be charged with homicide if they manufacture , sell , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ someone ’ s death .
The focus on criminalization stems in part from concerns about fentanyl , a powerful opioid that is seen as particularly dangerous , explained Daniel Raymond , the deputy director of planning and policy with the New York City–based Harm Reduction Coalition .
“ You have state after state passing laws , ” he said , “ including states that had gone through sentencing reform for other drugs in recent memory—saying , ‘ Oh , but fentanyl ’ s too dangerous so we need to treat it like the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and actually increase penalties.
’ ” Despite the political inertia , one area where there has been a political shift in recent years has been the expanded use of naloxone , an effective overdose-reversal drug often known by the brand name Narcan .
As local governments have seen spikes in overdoses during the pandemic , social service organizations have worked to meet the growing need for Narcan by sending mailers and doing online trainings for administering the medication .
Harm Reduction Ohio has distributed just over 1,900 naloxone kits in March—a record—and is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of methadone .
“ I hope [ the Narcan ] goes into the hands of people who are going to use it , ” said Billy McCall , advocacy director of Harm Reduction Ohio ’ s syringe program , who recently left a halfway house following a drug-related prison sentence of eight months .
He noted that opioid use could intensify , since the price of methamphetamine has soared in recent weeks because of disruptions in the supply chain for illicit drugs .
On a personal level , he said , “ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the last few weeks that have never overdosed in their life , ” because they are so distressed by the Covid-19 crisis , “ and the depression that comes with all this , and the void of not working , the financial stress , and just , everything.
” Nonetheless , McCall is heartened by the recent changes in the federal guidelines for distributing medication-assisted treatment .
“ I think that for so long , people have been trying to get this changed , ” he said , “ and there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all came down to with coronavirus is the flick of a pen , and they were changed .
”

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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In late March, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper directed businesses to close because of the coronavirus pandemic—only those deemed essential could remain open. For many, nothing is more essential than the syringe exchange at the North Carolina chapter of the Urban Survivors Union (NCUSU), a harm-reduction group run by and for people who use drugs.
Louise Vincent, the executive director of the NCUSU, said their drop-in center is doing its best to adhere to public health guidelines; they have, for example, installed a plexiglass barrier and a Dutch door to help them maintain distance from their clients. This has allowed them to keep providing clean needles and helping clients stick with the treatment programs. The center has also moved its support groups online and is running a virtual “advocacy academy” to enable people to press lawmakers for better access to treatment and decriminalization of drugs.
“We’re busier than we’ve ever been,” Vincent told me.
Still, even with the work of groups like the NCUSU, the pandemic and lockdowns will increase the risks of opioid deaths. Counties in Arkansas, Florida, New York, and Ohio have already reported spikes in opioid overdoses.
“I’m truly worried about what’s going to happen to people,” said Vincent. “I really worry in this crisis that we are going to harm people that are already very vulnerable and struggling.”
Before Covid-19, the opioid epidemic was arguably the country’s most urgent public health scourge, killing 46,802 people in 2018. Now, advocates for people who use drugs fear that the stay-at-home orders, along with the financial havoc spurred by surging unemployment, could cut people off from medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which they need to stay stable and stave off the horrific illness that accompanies withdrawal. It’s not just that physical isolation could lead to social isolation; the pandemic has also disrupted the transnational drug markets for opioids, boosting street prices and potentially cutting many off from their usual supplies of opioids. Harm-reduction groups have urged people to stock up on drugs (as well as on methadone or buprenorphine) in case their supply dries up. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Whether they are addicted to prescription painkillers or black-tar heroin, many people who use opioids struggled to access treatment even before the pandemic. The methadone treatment protocol typically required patients to get their doses through daily supervised clinic visits, which often required waiting on long lines. Similarly, another popular treatment drug, buprenorphine, required in-person visits with a certified medical practitioner. Current Issue View our current issue
But in the era of social distancing, federal health authorities have made some emergency reforms that many hope will endure once the pandemic ends. Under new guidelines on the distribution of MAT drugs issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), people can get up to 28 days of doses in one batch (or two weeks if they are deemed “less stable”). The guidelines also allow doctors and other licensed health care practitioners to evaluate patients through a Telehealth appointment.
Yet local media and advocates have reported that the new federal guidelines have sometimes been flouted. In late March, the New York Daily News reported that patients at a crowded Brooklyn methadone clinic were initially being denied take-home medication. A month later, long lines appeared at a methadone clinic in San Antonio. (Both facilities later claimed they were adjusting to the new policies.) According to STAT News, the National Alliance for Medicated Assisted Recovery has received reports from several states, including Massachusetts and Florida, that clinics have continued to make people pick up doses in person or attend group counseling sessions—even patients who are immunocompromised or diagnosed with Covid-19.
More than a month into the stay-at-home order, Vincent said that in her community in Greensboro, N.C., there were still lines at methadone clinics, and that people had to attend counseling sessions in person and could receive only a supply for a few days—not the two week’s worth that the new guidelines allow: “Now you’re just lined up down the street, six feet apart…. Why are we so absolutely resistant [to the new guidelines]?… I think one of the reasons we don’t hear more about it is because people are so beaten down by these clinics…. You’re in an environment where you clearly don’t matter.” More From Michelle Chen Starbucks Closes Its Ithaca Locations One Year After Workers Unionized May 25, 2023 Exploiting Prison Workers for Cheap Sheets March 10, 2023 Defund the Police Algorithms August 25, 2022
The pandemic is likely to exacerbate anxiety, depression, and intimate-partner abuse, all of which could intersect with barriers to treatment for people with opioid use disorders. Rehabilitation programs have shut down and had to offer counseling via videolink. Many users face the stigma of addiction in solitude, and the risk of overdoses increases when the nearest inpatient detox facility might be closed or now a several-hour drive away. Moreover, for people with diseases associated with opioid use, like Hepatitis C or HIV, access to health care might decline as distressed hospital systems absorb a surge in coronavirus patients.
“I’m sure that we are going to see increased overdose,” Vincent said. “Look, people are sheltering in their homes, domestic violence has gone up, people are stressed out, bored. Yeah, we’re going to see more overdoses.… Just the pure stress of it. And then [Narcotics Anonymous] and [Alcoholics Anonymous] not operating, and treatment centers not seeing people, and methadone clinics not raising people’s doses. And everything standing still in a world that’s not standing still.”
Harm-reduction advocates also worry that fewer people will take advantage of their services. Sarah Ziegenhorn, executive director of Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition, said in an e-mail, “We’ve also seen a decreased number of clients, and we are hearing this from every program across the country. Fewer clients coming into our drop-in center and to our outreach sites means that people are going without sterile injection supplies.”
Then there is the issue of clients’ not taking the risk of Covid-19 seriously. Among the clients she works with, Ziegenhorn said, “most laugh at me when I ask them to keep a little bit of distance between other people and themselves.… A lot of responses are along the lines of, ‘My life is too stressful to need to think about this.’”
Harm-reduction advocates hope the relaxed federal rules for medication-assisted treatment will lead to broader reforms. Building on the SAMHSA guidelines, more than a dozen advocacy organizations, including Drug Policy Alliance and National Council for Behavioral Health, sent a letter to state and local government recommending additional safeguards to protect the health of people who use opioids, including giving all patients take-home privileges for MAT prescriptions “to the maximum extent possible”; authorizing facilities like pharmacies and medical-aid vans to provide take-home medication; and deploying federal and state Medicaid funds to pay for take-home medications that are not covered by insurance. The letter also urged authorities to allow treatment and needle-exchange facilities to refer people for Covid-19 testing, effectively turning harm-reduction specialists into frontline health care workers.
But it remains to be seen whether the relaxation of MAT rules will lead to broader systemic reforms. People who use opioids continue to face hostility from law enforcement: In Marion County, Ind., near Indianapolis, for instance, police have announced that they would stop administering the overdose-reversal drug Narcan to overdose victims—potentially leaving people to die—for fear that they might cough or sneeze and infect an officer with Covid-19.
Aspects of harm reduction have started to enter the public conversation and even driven incremental reforms like the decriminalization of marijuana. But basic harm-reduction facilities like needle exchanges still often operate in a quasi-legal gray zone, as policy-makers claim such programs encourage drug use.
Although needle exchanges are legal in Greensboro, Vincent said that stigma still surrounds the NCUSU’s grassroots syringe services, because authorities “just can’t wrap their head around people who use drugs wanting to engage with their community. I guess it flies in the fact of everything they say about people that use drugs—that we actually care about our community, that we actually care about our health, that we actually care about one another, that there is community resilience.”
The campaign to establish “safe consumption sites” has met even more resistance. Local governments have bristled at providing people a clean setting for drug use. In general, opioid use remains heavily criminalized and subject to draconian policies, such as federal and state drug-induced homicide laws, which allow someone to be charged with homicide if they manufacture, sell, or provide drugs that later cause the someone’s death.
The focus on criminalization stems in part from concerns about fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is seen as particularly dangerous, explained Daniel Raymond, the deputy director of planning and policy with the New York City–based Harm Reduction Coalition. “You have state after state passing laws,” he said, “including states that had gone through sentencing reform for other drugs in recent memory—saying, ‘Oh, but fentanyl’s too dangerous so we need to treat it like the bad old drugs of the ’80s and actually increase penalties.’”
Despite the political inertia, one area where there has been a political shift in recent years has been the expanded use of naloxone, an effective overdose-reversal drug often known by the brand name Narcan. As local governments have seen spikes in overdoses during the pandemic, social service organizations have worked to meet the growing need for Narcan by sending mailers and doing online trainings for administering the medication.
Harm Reduction Ohio has distributed just over 1,900 naloxone kits in March—a record—and is also supplying Narcan to supplement take-home prescriptions of methadone.
“I hope [the Narcan] goes into the hands of people who are going to use it,” said Billy McCall, advocacy director of Harm Reduction Ohio’s syringe program, who recently left a halfway house following a drug-related prison sentence of eight months. He noted that opioid use could intensify, since the price of methamphetamine has soared in recent weeks because of disruptions in the supply chain for illicit drugs.
On a personal level, he said, “I know a few people that have overdosed in the last few weeks that have never overdosed in their life,” because they are so distressed by the Covid-19 crisis, “and the depression that comes with all this, and the void of not working, the financial stress, and just… everything.”
Nonetheless, McCall is heartened by the recent changes in the federal guidelines for distributing medication-assisted treatment. “I think that for so long, people have been trying to get this changed,” he said, “and there’s all this red tape…. And what it all came down to with coronavirus is the flick of a pen, and they were changed.”