Maggie
Whittum
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
“We’re in this as a world population. And I hope that the kind of segregation that has happened between people in society – Black and white, and also rich and poor – is going to lessen. Because the key thing to learn about this, I think, is that you are not invincible.”
Ryan Roach: What has your experience been like during the pandemic?
Maggie Whittum: So, it’s been eye-opening and made me a little sad honestly because, especially at the beginning of the pandemic when people were just saying, “Oh, this disease isn’t a very big deal because it only kills elderly people and people with chronic health conditions.” So, kind of like, “Who cares?” And that kind of attitude is really destructive. It just dismisses the value of certain people’s lives, and then, as the pandemic continued, it was like, “Well, who cares?” Ya know? “It kills elderly people and people with chronic conditions, and you know Black and brown people more than white people so who cares.” And that was disheartening honestly to see that kind of attitude so clearly displayed by some people in this country. As it’s gone on, the battle about the masks just seems ridiculous because it’s like, this is a very simple, only slightly inconvenient thing you have to do to help protect everyone around you. And it’s patriotic to protect your fellow Americans, right? I can’t serve in the military, but I can protect my fellow Americans by wearing a mask. And I just do not get it, the mask issue. And it’s really sad, now that we’re six months into it, to see that 200,000 American people have died so far. You know the numbers are going to grow significantly and that a lot of those deaths were preventable if there was the right leadership. It’s just sad to think about all those people who didn’t have to die. I know that in a pandemic, a certain amount of people are going to die but not all of those people had to die. And thinking about people in the ICU makes me extra sad because COVID puts you in the hospital and then it puts you in the ICU and then if it kills you, you’re dying in the ICU by yourself because your family can’t be with you because the hospitals can’t have visitors. I spent 16 days in the ICU when I had my stroke, and nine of those days were on a ventilator. And it was just horrifying and very traumatic and so scary. In that situation I had people around me: I had people in my room all the time, even overnight, to be with me as emotional support. And it was still such a scary experience. I needed those people, you know, for my sanity and for my ability to try and recover and put as much energy as I could into my recovery. I needed that kind of family support, especially in the darkest, darkest days in the ICU. And to think about these people in the ICU now by themselves... it’s just heartbreaking.
RR: What has your day-to-day been like during the pandemic?
MW: So, because I had a stroke, my life is pretty isolated and pretty quiet already. I wasn’t out at the bars all the time or going out to dinner all the time. I would do that on a very limited basis, and losing that opportunity has not been a huge deal for me. Although I really feel for the people in the restaurant industry right now. It’s so hard for this to happen to them. I’m friends with a lot of restaurant people, and they are important people in my life. It’s not just a health crisis, it’s an economic crisis, and it’s a lot of crises on top of each other.
So, my day to day is pretty quiet. I am sad that I can’t be with this theater company because live theater – where we gather a bunch of people in the same room, we all listen to someone on stage, breathe the same air, feel each other around us, and are all a part of one single experience – that’s exactly what we can’t do right now. We can’t gather and breathe the same air and witness the same thing because we can’t be in groups. And that is sad because this theater company is not only a great theater company, but it’s also a way for this group of disabled people to come together, feel empowered, and feel like what they have to contribute to society is something beautiful and valuable and artistic. And right now, we can’t put on our shows, so we’re doing what we can digitally. But theater, in particular, is a very unique, in-person experience. And I miss that..
RR: What has your experience been like coping during the pandemic?
MW: Well, I’ve definitely put a lot more work into my film. I think my documentary film is more important than ever. When I started it, I really just wanted to communicate to people – you know, have them empathize and understand a little more about what it was like to have a stroke and that kind of traumatic life change. And that was super important to me and still continues to be very important to me. But on top of that, there is this attitude out there that disabled lives are not worth living. And that if you’re disabled or chronically ill in the pandemic, it’s, “Ok, you’re an acceptable loss.” So that kind of attitude about disabled people strengthens my resolve to complete this film project and go out there and say, “Hey world, you need to change your mindset a bit about how you think about these people and try to understand them more.”
RR: During the pandemic, the government and media have deemed the chronically ill, disabled, and immunocompromised communities as “vulnerable.” What are your thoughts on the terminology of “vulnerable”?
MW: Well, we are all vulnerable. All of us. Perhaps some people have a certain health condition, but human beings are vulnerable creatures, you know? We don’t have claws and scales and, you know, planks on our backs to protect us. We have our brains, and that’s it. And our bodies are very fragile. And I think this pandemic is a wake-up call that we are all in this together as human beings, not just as Americans and French people and Senegalese people and Australians. We’re in this as a world population. And I hope that the kind of segregation that has happened between people in society – Black and white, and also rich and poor – is going to lessen. Because the key thing to learn about this, I think, is that you are not invincible. And that you – despite your privilege, or whatever things you may have – you’re as vulnerable as the poorest and least insured person around you.
RR: What are your thoughts on how the government and the media have been treating these populations they have deemed “vulnerable”?
MW: I mean, it seems like some of these people don’t care, you know, about these populations. Especially people in nursing homes. Like, “Meh, they are in nursing homes, they’re going to die anyway.” It’s just horrible to be that dismissive about someone, you know? That person is someone’s grandparent and someone’s friend, and someone’s mentor.