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"What I am interested in, dearest of readers, are stories of how this current moment, of upheaval, of plague, of depression, has affected your specific locale."

Making a person sized story is easier when your dealing with a story shaped person. Some people can be summed up in some accidental facts on the corner of an index card. For me, now more than ever, everything seems to be happening elsewhere, and I'm oblivious to it unless I tune in or look it up.

"Have these events energized anarchism in your town?"

It would seem to me that it has taken energy away out of everything. Everyone is either readjusting to new work (or unemployment) conditions, telework or in different stages of getting sick of/from it. If before people had to resort to some excuse to stay at home instead of hanging out, fear of contagion becomes easy implicit excuse, so no need to say anything, and it doesn't even come across as insincere, specially when someone in your circle/neighborhood already manged to get covid-19 in spite of precautions. Some people are resorting to more regular phone calls as a way to vent and stay in touch, and sometimes I get to overhear the same side of these conversations from those nearby.

"Changed it? Changed your view of the possible? Are you merely bracing for a perhaps inevitable wave of repression?"

More like inevitable wave of electoral fervor, and eventual activist backlash when the new elected representatives disappoint once again, or new leaks or scandals lead to new waves of indignation. Right now, for months now, party politics had fallen to a second plane due to covid talk, now they're trying to get to the spotlight once again nearing elections. Though the way things are, i think most people are more afraid of recurrent natural disasters, or coming evictions, or coming(or ongoing) recession, the deterioration of their quality of life, than repression. And I think the people here at least in my proximity are feeling like these elections have little or no immediate bearing on their quality of life, still many vote out of principles or thinking of a future.

These protests elsewhere all around seem to be fearless in the face of repression. But repression has struck permanently scarring or even ending the lives of many, and it will keep striking. It might not be as an effective deterrent if everything seems to be going to shit. The state has the stick but it has seemed to run out of carrots. People are given money for unemployment and covid stimulus package, but this seemed like life-support to people, not as a gift or incentive to play nicely. Government printed a lot of money and doesn't seem willing or capable to keep on giving these checks.

"Is this merely a blip when the boot hovers over our face for a few moments more? Have you found ways to break through the increased isolation of screens?"

It's funny because being shut-in before was a like a failure to keep up with the expectation of going out and having fun, mingling in public places. Now it's seen as an expectation or a civic duty. So before it had an anti-social flavor, now it tastes more like boot-licking. Screens, now as they did then, maintain a simulation of liveliness, seeing activity elsewhere, chatting with people. Fun to see people living story-shaped lives. Everyone is responsible for their own liberation, complicity (passive or active, makes no difference) makes governance run smoothly.