6 | APRIL 2 • 2020 

W

e are living in 
unprecedented 
times. A global pan-
demic with a colorful graphic 
attached to it has caused the 
president to 
declare a national 
emergency, and 
reports are the 
reach of COVID-
19 will surpass 
the concern 
and financial implications of 
anything we have imagined in 
modern times. 
But while our community 
struggles to respond to the 
novel coronavirus, we are 
facing another outbreak: fin-

ger-pointing and scapegoating. 
Unfortunately, the two viruses 
appear inexorably linked — as 
coronavirus fears rise, our 
leaders and communities are 
displaying increasingly severe 
symptoms of bigotry. As out-
breaks of the virus cluster into 
geographic areas or within 
religious groups as a result of 
close quarters, it becomes clear 
we are fighting a virus on two 
fronts: with concerns of grave 
and potentially fatal physical ill-
ness and group-blaming, which 
serves to destroy our communal 
sense of human connections 
though vile commentary and scape-
goating. 

And, like with the biologi-
cal disease, the social disease 
threatens to spiral out of control 
if we do not act quickly.
COVID-19 is not a foreign 
virus — it is a human virus. 
Coronavirus does not dis-
criminate based on ethnic 
background or race, nor does it 
select its victims based on celeb-
rity or anonymity. Anyone can 
contract and contribute to the 
spread of this disease.
But the thing spreading faster 
than the actual virus is fear. 
The truth is, none of us has 
ever really dealt with a situation 
quite like this. To be sure, in the 
past few decades, there have 

been other pandemics — such 
as HIV/AIDS and ebola — but 
those diseases, which spread 
quickly and indiscriminately in 
terms of “victims,
” were limited 
in scope to a subset of the gen-
eral public or particular conti-
nents. It was easier for people to 
compartmentalize their fears. 
Over the past few weeks, 
confusing and mixed messages, 
combined with a lack of under-
standing, have caused several 
missteps. Well-known people — 
without facts or understanding 
— have made fun of the situa-
tion or have unknowingly given 
visual miscues. 
As humans, our urge to 
find someone to blame is not 
new. In the Middle Ages, Jews 
were accused of causing the 
Bubonic Plague. In the early 
19th century, Irish immigrants 
were blamed for cholera. The 
LGBTQ community was vilified 

Carolyn 
Normandin

guest column
Coronavirus Surfaces a Familiar Disease: 
Fear And Scapegoating

I 

think I’
m getting a bit 
loopy as I shelter in place. 
This week I realized that 
the prophet Elijah is the 
GOAT social dis-
tancer.
(Here’
s a 
bit of youth 
slang for you 
to annoy your 
homeschooled 
kids with today: 
“GOAT” is an 
acronym meaning “Greatest 
Of All Time.” Not an actual 
goat. Although the real Elijah 
probably knew some great 
goats in his time, too.)
Anyway, think about it. 
Every year at Passover, we 
invite Elijah into our homes. 
And every year he stays safely 
away. Instead of potential-

ly serving as a vector for a 
contaminant that could have 
spread across the entire global 
Jewish community, he shelters 
in place and sends his bless-
ings to us virtually instead.
This year, sadly, we are all 
Elijahs. When the government 
issues its guidelines for the 
kinds of social gatherings we 
should be avoiding to curb 
the spread of COVID-19, 
it might as well be flying a 
giant banner that reads, “NO 
PASSOVER SEDERS.” 
The timing is terrible — 
cases are exploding just as we 
gear up for what’
s supposed 
to be a festive holiday, a time 
when we can sit around a table 
with family and friends and 
enjoy a nice, leisurely, lovingly 
cooked meal. But for our own 

health and safety, we can’
t 
share our seders this year. 
So now, instead of com-
memorating the Jews’
 exodus 
from slavery, we must pray for 
an eventual exodus from our 
own homes. Clearly, this night 
is indeed different from all 
other nights.
We must try, as much as 
we can, to keep our hopes up 
during these uncertain times. 
Check out this issue and our 
website, TheJewishNews.com, 
for information on local “vir-
tual seders.” And you should 
consider hosting one yourself 
with your own loved ones. 
Rituals still matter in dark 
times; they can still bring us 
comfort and purpose. 
Our work at the JN is anoth-
er kind of ritual, one that we 

hope can survive the current 
crisis. For the moment, you 
may see our print issues 
shrink as we face reduced 
advertiser support during the 
economic downturn. But we 
are still here. And we’
re also 
committed to serving as a 
community resource, which 
is why we’
re taking initiatives 
like making our e-edition free 
and available to all for the next 
several weeks. 
As always, let me know how 
else we can help during this 
time: alapin@thejewishnews.
com. This Passover, be like 
Elijah — be safe and stay 
home. And I promise: If you 
invite me to your virtual seder, 
I will bring the tastiest virtual 
matz 
ah balls you’
ve (n)ever 
eaten. 

Andrew Lapin

editor’
s note

An All-Elijah Pesach

Views

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