The Heroic Narrative

I think my friend, the upsettingly talented and disturbingly attractive novelist Arthur Phillips, got the Craig Spencer story just about right: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but Craig Spencer is a hero. He may have sacrificed his life, knowing the risks, to help people. He came home from that work and was careful to monitor himself … Please, do not freak out about what he did, as if he imperiled you or your city. He behaved (as far as I can understand it) with heroism, caution, and grace. I really hope he lives through his ordeal. People should remember his name, as well as all those who are going out of their way to try to stop this (and other) plagues.” Indeed, this is not really just story about New York. Here’s Abby Haglage on why this Ebola case will hurt infected patients everywhere.

+ Buzzfeed’s Jina Moore reporting on a man who lost everything in Liberia: “And even though it had already taken everything else, Ebola went after his home. It took his clothes and his shoes and his bed and his soccer posters, his forks and his knives and his spoons … But Isaac is not a symbol. He is a man with nothing left, and his story is a reminder that at every turn, Ebola resists the heroic narrative arc.”