I can only tell you what worked for my partner. They were very politically apathetic for most of our relationship. They care deeply about the health of me and their family. They work in public health too. COVID has been a radicalizing force for them. I had already developed a pretty robust sense of class consciousness by 2020, so all I did was just engage them in conversation about public health. They know more about it than I ever will.

I work in education. We talked about the intersection of public health and education a lot that summer. During the protests and uprisings that summer, she remarked on how she appreciated the protestors wearing masks even though the science was undecided about their necessity outdoors. I told her about how it’s also a safety concern for the protestors to protect their identities. When schools in our area resumed with practically no safeguards, they took an interest in the understanding the reactionary forces that would place children in harms way. Independently they read about the successes combatting the virus in places like Vietnam and the devastation withholding vaccines did/continues to do to the global south.

As the pandemic continues they continues to use public health as their loadstone. They understand the connection between capitalism and ignoring public health. They are not a self-described socialist. Political theory does not interest them. But they’re a comrade.