People are more afraid to actively cause harm than to passively allow harm to occur — One of the most frustrating aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been vaccine hesitancy — residents of rich countries have surplus vaccines that they are refusing to take, while residents of poorer countries don’t have access. There are many reasons for vaccine hesitancy in the United States; for example, there…

Comedies about murder investigations are gaining in popularity…could you imagine the same for rape? — Comedies used to be about lighthearted topics such as family life and the dating scene. Recently though, comedies about heavy subjects, such as murder, have become all the rage. For example, consider Brooklyn 99, a comedy that just ended after 8 seasons. It’s a workplace comedy, but instead of setting…

The new Medium Partner Program rule requiring 100 followers suggests as much — One year ago, I watched The Queen’s Gambit and was suddenly inspired to write a piece about it. I quickly authored it and tried sending it off to a few newspapers and magazines, with no luck. Then, I stumbled across Medium. I could quickly self-publish and be paid based on…

The recent Medium changes made it too difficult to find quality content — I have been trying to kick the habit of mindlessly scrolling through content on my phone. I deleted most social media apps, but I kept Medium. I loved its old home page, where I could find a few, high-quality articles about topics I was interested in. …

So why are we so hesitant to impinge on the rights of anti-maskers and vaxxers? — On a recent American Airlines flight, a woman caused a commotion by trying to open a door while the flight was mid-air. If she had succeeded, she risked killing not only herself but every other passenger on that flight. Of course, the passenger was restrained with flex cuffs and tape…

Then why are so many Republicans discouraging vaccinations? — A successful virus doesn’t kill its host, at least not right away. A virus’ goal is to replicate its genetic material as many times as possible. If a virus kills its host immediately, that host won’t have time to infect other people. Thus, all successful viruses allow their hosts to…

If you fail to set boundaries, the only person you should be angry with is yourself. — When someone requests permission, they are asking what your preferences and boundaries are. It is that person’s responsibility to ask permission and accept your response. However, it is your responsibility to honestly answer their question. If you’re not honest with them, if you grant permission when you didn’t want to…

Although sexism is problematic, depictions of sexism don’t have to be problematic, if done responsibly — Endless articles and listicles have been written about why Friends is problematic and did not age well. Some of the points they make are excellent; for example, although the show is set in the diverse city of New York, there are very few actors of color. However, there are other…

Structural inequities in the US are affecting who has the easiest access to vaccines — I was able to get the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine relatively quickly for my age group, as was my entire immediate family. And, the speed at which I got vaccinated may have saved my life. Three weeks after my first dose, I ate indoors with someone who later…