In the Netflix movie Bird Box, people walk outside with blindfolds because of the threat of invisible supernatural creatures that drive people to commit suicide. We find out quickly that some mentally disturbed individuals are immune from the creatures. These characters run around killing people by forcing them to take off their eye-coverings.
This means that Sandra Bullock spends two hours dodging invisible creatures and serial killers.
Although there aren’t serial killers stalking my neighborhood yet, things have taken on a Bird Box-like feel lately.
With stores closed and the vast majority of people staying inside due to Coronavirus, those who are left outside are often those unable to find shelter. Ivy City has a large homeless population, including those with substance abuse and mental health problems. There are also a several open-air drug markets in the neighborhood, which are busier than ever.
Everyone used to have their own little sliver of the neighborhood, but Coronavirus upended things. The city shuttered the park that used to be a sleeping ground and drug-use area. The homeless shelter also no longer allows the regulars to congregate in its alley, and our new security guards expel anyone who looks homeless from our gentrified corner of the neighborhood.
As a result, the small strip mall parking lot at the edge of the neighborhood is now overflowing with people and litter. Police cars and ambulances are there constantly.
Police and ambulances responding in the Ivy City neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Recently, the police briefly kicked out everyone from the parking lot while responding to an apparent medical emergency. As I passed the parking lot with the dogs, the crowd crossed into the neighborhood behind us. A few minutes later, shots rang out and police cars tore past us.
And this isn’t atypical — every single walk involves passing a fight, people high out of their minds, or aggressive panhandling. That a shooting can happen when people are fully aware that there’s a gaggle of cops one street away underscores how ridiculous things are.
Just like Bird Box, the invisible menace isn’t the scariest thing right now. 🚑
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