Why the hell is my gym closed?

It finally happened. I’m pissed.

The other day they shut down the gyms. Again. The first time they did it, I understood. I was unhappy, but I saw where they were coming from.

My life was about to get considerably more uncomfortable, but I saw that it was for the greater good, and went home to do my mediocre home workouts.

Starting the World Once Again

But then things started getting better, and finally the gyms could reopen, and life started to have an aura of normality once again.

But the numbers started climbing… and here we are.

And it stings a whole lot more than the first time. And I’ve been in a cruddy mood ever since.

So why am I so damn angry?

Chin Strap and Cigarette

I’m angry because I’ve been watching the people around me for months now. My joke (that’s not a joke at all) is the average Israeli walks around with a face mask on their chin and a cigarette dangling out of their mouth.

It’s funny because it’s so easy to picture. It’s not funny because it’s true. It’s everywhere. And they are screwing up everything for everybody else.

I walk around the street and I see about 10% wearing their face mask correctly. I might be being generous. Another 20% have no mask at all. Still, another 20% have the mask over their mouth but not their nose. But that remaining 50% just have that bad boy resting on their chin, doing nothing but creating a really unimpressive fashion trend.

And this is all their fault!

The Gym is Not the Problem

My gym is not the problem. That place has been fantastic. They require masks for all those arriving. They take people’s temperature upon arrival. These amazing people staggered machines so folk would be next to one another less often, and they closed off every other treadmill so two people wouldn’t run next to one another for prolonged periods. Then they purchased barriers to place between each machine.

There is hand sanitizer everywhere. And, like in most gyms, people are rarely next to one another for long periods. And possibly more important than anything else, everyone is either in excellent shape or is striving to be. None of us want to get sick. In fact, one of our reasons for going to the gym is to be the pinnacles of health. We are building up powerful immune systems and in general doing what we can to lead healthy lives.

The Fat Dumbass

My gym has hurt no one. Not one recorded Coronavirus case. Few from gyms in general. But the fat dumbass with the chin strap and cigarette gets to walk around, stand too close to people, and cough next to me in the grocery store.

We’re in this mess because of him. Not because of me. Not because of my gym. Because there are morons who refuse to observe the regulations. And rather than enforce them where it’s needed, the government would prefer to harass children, change the rules willy-nilly every 15 minutes, and pretend like they’ve done a bang-up job keeping us safe.

They have not. Not now. Not since the beginning.

What has been done?

They have done a lot of things. They have successfully instilled fear. They have succeeded in creating mass confusion. They have disrupted the economy in ways that will inevitably destroy the lives of tens of thousands of people.

But they have absolutely not kept us safe.

I walked home from the gym the other day wondering if it would be my last day there for a while (it was). On my way home I saw a gathering of a group of women outside a restaurant, easily 30 of them. No one was wearing a mask, no temperature was taken, and everyone was right next to one other. No space, none at all. And that’s how they’d be for who knows how long.

If just one of these ladies had Corona, she could easily pass it on to several if not all of these women. They’d bring it home and infect their families, their coworkers, their neighbors. Someone might pass it along to their brother with asthma. And someone might not wake up the next morning because of their irresponsible gathering.

But no police were breaking up the event. No fines were issued. They were able to behave as if life were normal.

Randomly Closing Things

But my gym is now closed. People’s livelihoods are being ruined. People’s outlets are being snatched out from under them. And one of the few ways citizens can actually improve their health is stolen. Once again.

And if you try and explain the logic behind why one thing is allowed and another is not, I guarantee you’ll fail. Usually attempts to do so come from those who cannot see any wrong in the behavior or decision-making abilities of the government of the Holy Land.

But there is no logic. Randomly closing some things and not others will not keep the country safe. Ikea is jam-packed with people scrambling to buy mediocre furniture. Why the hell can I not go do some squats at the gym?

Everything is Just a Little Worse… with Corona

And here I am. I’ve struggled from day one of my arrival to Israel. Under the best of circumstances, I am not doing so great here. And the way I look at Corona is it inherently emphasizes whatever complications you may be experiencing in life.

If work was hard before, it’s now all that much harder because of Corona. If you struggled with relationships beforehand, now you are suffering through the same ordeal just a tad more. Thanks to the wonderful world of Corona.

And my real and present Israel struggles have now taken a turn for the worse. The government’s frustrating ineptitude stands out like a sore thumb. The general population’s careless attitude and disregard for rules and authority are ruining people’s lives, and are actually resulting in people’s deaths. And waking up here every morning is getting harder every day.

And that was before the one outlet that keeps me sane was mindlessly ripped away from me.

Again.

And so I’m pissed.

Again.

But more so this time…