Compassion is vital, especially in times of crisis

Of course we applaud the news that experimental drugs remsdesivir and chloroquine are showing some promise in the fight against the coronavirus. They’re undergoing FDA approval and moving expeditiously via what’s called a “compassionate use” track.

The media has been extraordinary in its coverage of this pandemic. Even the president, often a foe of the media, publicly said so. They need to be even more vigilant in covering all aspects of the outbreak, especially this new FDA development. I am all for expediency but want to make sure of the efficacy in curtailing the virus. The public will continue to count on the media to dig deep and to make their opinions known, even if the president doesn’t like them.

The president’s positive turnaround has been a good thing to a degree. Thank God he seems to be listening to the experts, and refraining from publicly shaming folks he doesn’t agree with, as he has many times, even with those in his own administration. He is smart to deem himself a “wartime” president. It’s always difficult to remove a president in time of “war.” To his credit, he has marshaled resources, especially in the private sector. But as of today, hospitals are still waiting for life-saving resources to do their jobs. He needs to move quickly to get hospitals what they need to save lives or this “wartime” president won’t win the battle for re-election in November.

Trump hasn’t always had a way with words, and some of his words have been hurtful and incendiary, especially to folks in communities of color. Calling the coronavirus “the Chinese virus” is downright offensive and continues to be asked about in press briefings. Of course, he wouldn’t see it as racist. But his words matter and are contributing to very negative attitudes about the Asian community. Instead of debating whether it is racist or not, here’s a suggestion: How about using one of his world-famous tweets to acknowledge that his comments were not meant as racist, apologize to folks who took them as such and, most importantly, be emphatic in stating that as a nation we will not tolerate racism.

And speaking of compassionate treatment, a thank you is due to District Attorney Rachael Rollins and DAS across the country who with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley suggested that compassionate action also be applied to inmates in our prisons where the virus is now escalating, and without humane resources and actions could impose its own death sentences.

Just as we are care for our vulnerable seniors in nursing homes and the homeless, we need to think about compassionate treatment for those in our prisons. No one is advocating for the indiscriminate release of all prisoners, as some alarmists are bellowing.

I had a family member who violated his probation for a non-violent crime. While serving time for that, he learned that he had Stage Four pancreatic cancer and only months to a year to live. His family had paid for a lawyer who rarely got back to them. When the lawyer and I finally spoke, his reaction to my request for compassionate release was that this is not Boston, this is the South.

Ultimately my relative was able to live out the last few months of his life outside of prison.

Here in Boston, I cheered when former House Speaker

Sal Dimasi was given a compassionate release as he fought cancer. I even feel elderly white collar swindler Bernie Madoff, who has terminal kidney disease, deserves consideration for compassionate release. We need to start with those geriatric inmates serving time for non-violent crimes. They are in a system that isn’t equipped to continue to care for them, and who, on top of whatever chronic illness they face, now fight an invisible one, most likely brought into their population from the outside.

We cannot allow the virus to compromise our compassion.