I Refuse to Kill People by Pretending Things Are Fine

Normal life isn’t coming back. To pretend otherwise is deadly.

Patrons wait outside Caffe Dante in New York City on March 19, 2020, days after bars and restaurants were limited to to-go orders by the city. Photo: Victor J. Blue/Getty Images

The few times I’ve gone out to “enjoy” a nonessential service since shelter-in-place began in Chicago, I’ve found it to be an intensely guilt-ridden, hollow experience. Buying a coffee, getting a sandwich, shopping for clothes at Target when I didn’t really need to — I…