The Red Bulletin June 2020 (US)

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Writer and environmentalist, 60, USA.
McKibben has authored 17 books
and is a founder of 350.org, a global
climate-change movement.
Bill
McKibben
Reality Matters
How a tiny pathogen may finally force the world to take
science seriously. It could save the planet.
Words BILL McKIBBEN
Illustrations SÉBASTIEN THIBAULT
The small, spiky microbe might as well be
an armada of alien invaders: It appeared
from the blue, it struck across the planet
within days and it threatened us with
real destruction. For once we had a truly
common enemy, and that enemy called on us to
define “human” in our time.
Some of the answers we came up with to that
question were ugly. There have been leaders who
tried to blame other countries, and people who
have used the illness as a cover for their racism.
You could see that kind of nastiness almost from
the start: Consider the Asian American head of the
emergency department at a Manhattan hospital
who went to a hardware store to try and buy
protective masks for his staff, only to be assailed in
the parking lot by three thugs on the grounds that
the “Chinese” caused the virus.
But most of the time people have been—
remarkable. Consider that doctor from the
Manhattan hospital: His staff, like doctors around
the world, had willingly gone to work even when
they lacked the proper protection. From the very
first physician in Wuhan, who was willing to
expose himself not only to the disease but to an
inquisition from local authorities, doctors and
nurses have faced down their fears and done all
that they could. And not just doctors, who have
been trained for this all their lives. Cashiers. Guys
who stock the bread shelves at supermarkets.
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