I can't say I have sentinel intelligence, but it doesn't take extraordinary ability to see the SARS pandemic is a disaster. I looked this up the other day: for the US, in the 240 or so weeks of the pandemic, every single week had more deaths from acute covid (ignoring the subsequent heart attacks, strokes and all the other long term consequences) than tuberculosis deaths in a *year*.
I don't think many doctors would tell the patients that TB is "mild". Or that if they live with someone with an active TB infection they don't need to take precautions.
If I have a superpower, it's seeing what is right in front of my eyes.
Ryan Gregory and Arijit Chakravarty have coined the term "calm monger" to describe what we have so often seen in this pandemic.
Thank you for affirming my superpower. It's exhausting. I'm still debating purchasing emergency survival blankets and LifeStraws as stocking stuffers this year…
I think the Cassandras and sentinels get dumped on and gaslit so much, constantly, that it's important not to hold back on the self-affirmation this once. It's less about self-glorification, more about validification.
Not sure if I’m a Casandra, but my fears about the climate and pandemics have been sitting on my brain for years. And all I see is that I now live in the most reactionary country in the world when it comes to climate activism. Here in the UK you can almost guarantee going to prison if you speak out against the state and its ignoring of reality. It is probably the nearest thing to the sacking of Troy we’ve ever created/experienced. But rereading the Greek myths has been a very useful exercise; they knew all about dictatorship, violence and misogyny. Which are now embedded in modern civilisation. Not so much history repeating, but the way of humanity it seems. Oy vey!
Thank you for the validation and encouragement, Jessica.
(And apologies to all for this longish post)
As an intelligent and compassionate survivor of CSA, I can’t imagine turning out any different than I did, and I truly appreciate the “Sentinel Intelligence” label as more helpful than “Cassandra” (esp. since the latter implies that we *know* the future, when we just have strong, evidence-based povs on what’s likely or inevitable).
Through my 30 year+ career in information security, putting those SI-related skills to work and pushing back constantly against Pollyanna types, my mental health has suffered greatly at times - seeing a predicted negative outcome come true is very draining, especially if one has compassion for those affected by the preventable outcomes.
Frankly, COVID broke me.
Between managing my PTSD, and dealing with the triggers associated with my work, the lacklustre and selfish responses to C19 - and the predictable state that we’re still in 5 years later - it was all too much.
I’ve been working to repair my broken psyche ever since late 2020, slowly but surely, with several road bumps along the way: the hidden societal effects of our ongoing mass disabling event, the continued erosion of women’s rights and child safeguarding by gender ideology, Trump II (‘nuf said), climate change, Putin/right wing geopolitics and conflict (Trump again!), the accelerated degradation of critical public institutions & services by necrocapitalists and populists, the concretization of left wing identitarianism and the feeling of political homelessness, …
And while it might be “easier” to ignore the news, you likely know that’s neither realistic nor helpful in the long term: reality is what it is, whether we face it head on or bury our heads in the sand.
So again, I am grateful for your writing and that of other “doomers” - while most around me don’t understand, “doomer” is actually an incredibly optimistic pov: acknowledging reality as it is, and seeking/developing/evolving opportunities to minimize the damage to - and maximize the resilience of our societies (and ourselves :) and NOT GIVING UP.
Knowing there are others, and recognizing that while my ability to contribute in the future may differ from that of my past, I can still put my SI to good pro-social use, gives me great comfort as I continue my journey back to better (maybe even good!) mental health.
So thanks once more, for what you have already given me, and for the support that your writing and community interactions will undoubtedly provide me.
I can't say I have sentinel intelligence, but it doesn't take extraordinary ability to see the SARS pandemic is a disaster. I looked this up the other day: for the US, in the 240 or so weeks of the pandemic, every single week had more deaths from acute covid (ignoring the subsequent heart attacks, strokes and all the other long term consequences) than tuberculosis deaths in a *year*.
I don't think many doctors would tell the patients that TB is "mild". Or that if they live with someone with an active TB infection they don't need to take precautions.
If I have a superpower, it's seeing what is right in front of my eyes.
Ryan Gregory and Arijit Chakravarty have coined the term "calm monger" to describe what we have so often seen in this pandemic.
Interesting essay, thanks for writing.
Yep, I've read the piece on calm mongering--fits right in with elite panic. Their panic about property and profit drives the calm mongering.
Thank you for affirming my superpower. It's exhausting. I'm still debating purchasing emergency survival blankets and LifeStraws as stocking stuffers this year…
Well done. Well said.
Although, I have to say, this kind of labeling contains a bit of self-glorification, a focus on individual specialness that distorts the information.
Having said that, you're right. Carry on.
I think the Cassandras and sentinels get dumped on and gaslit so much, constantly, that it's important not to hold back on the self-affirmation this once. It's less about self-glorification, more about validification.
Spot on. HSPs (highly sensitive people) need validating. Thanks.
Not sure if I’m a Casandra, but my fears about the climate and pandemics have been sitting on my brain for years. And all I see is that I now live in the most reactionary country in the world when it comes to climate activism. Here in the UK you can almost guarantee going to prison if you speak out against the state and its ignoring of reality. It is probably the nearest thing to the sacking of Troy we’ve ever created/experienced. But rereading the Greek myths has been a very useful exercise; they knew all about dictatorship, violence and misogyny. Which are now embedded in modern civilisation. Not so much history repeating, but the way of humanity it seems. Oy vey!
Thank you for the validation and encouragement, Jessica.
(And apologies to all for this longish post)
As an intelligent and compassionate survivor of CSA, I can’t imagine turning out any different than I did, and I truly appreciate the “Sentinel Intelligence” label as more helpful than “Cassandra” (esp. since the latter implies that we *know* the future, when we just have strong, evidence-based povs on what’s likely or inevitable).
Through my 30 year+ career in information security, putting those SI-related skills to work and pushing back constantly against Pollyanna types, my mental health has suffered greatly at times - seeing a predicted negative outcome come true is very draining, especially if one has compassion for those affected by the preventable outcomes.
Frankly, COVID broke me.
Between managing my PTSD, and dealing with the triggers associated with my work, the lacklustre and selfish responses to C19 - and the predictable state that we’re still in 5 years later - it was all too much.
I’ve been working to repair my broken psyche ever since late 2020, slowly but surely, with several road bumps along the way: the hidden societal effects of our ongoing mass disabling event, the continued erosion of women’s rights and child safeguarding by gender ideology, Trump II (‘nuf said), climate change, Putin/right wing geopolitics and conflict (Trump again!), the accelerated degradation of critical public institutions & services by necrocapitalists and populists, the concretization of left wing identitarianism and the feeling of political homelessness, …
And while it might be “easier” to ignore the news, you likely know that’s neither realistic nor helpful in the long term: reality is what it is, whether we face it head on or bury our heads in the sand.
So again, I am grateful for your writing and that of other “doomers” - while most around me don’t understand, “doomer” is actually an incredibly optimistic pov: acknowledging reality as it is, and seeking/developing/evolving opportunities to minimize the damage to - and maximize the resilience of our societies (and ourselves :) and NOT GIVING UP.
Knowing there are others, and recognizing that while my ability to contribute in the future may differ from that of my past, I can still put my SI to good pro-social use, gives me great comfort as I continue my journey back to better (maybe even good!) mental health.
So thanks once more, for what you have already given me, and for the support that your writing and community interactions will undoubtedly provide me.