Pandemic-era Manhattan was interesting. Social networks formed around a shared skepticism toward institutions and a fear that we were no longer living in an open society. Repressive Covid governance, following years of Trump-era moral panics, produced a moment of ideological uncertainty and openness.
At the heart of the Covid moment were very basic questions: What is the role of the government? What are the rights and duties of the individual? What expectations should state and citizen have of one another? It was at once a depressing and exciting time. Public spaces were shut down. Street life was gone. Because of the insane social pressure to conform and stay home, the stakes for doing things—anything—were higher.
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