April 27, 2021--Yankee Stadiums

 At the height of the Vietnam War when hundreds of American soldiers each week were being killed in action, there were a variety of ways that the media reported the numbers. To honor the dead and make their deaths more vivid. 

I remember the tallies that were presented at the end of each week. On Fridays, the newspapers of record and the nightly news shows (famously including Walter Cronkite's) published lists of the deaths, including the hometowns and photos of the fallen. 

A picture indeed was worth many more than a thousand words.

Needless to say, this unleashed a swell of sadness and anger and took a toll on the political course of the war. Over time, as the slaughter became increasing personal, as more were wounded, killed and reported about support evaporated. 

I was reminded of this the other day when checking in with how the Yankees were doing while it's still early in the season (not good).

A memory flashed through my mind of yet another way the war was represented. Surrealistically, by using Yankee Stadium itself as a form of measurement.

With 58,000 as the ultimate number killed in Vietnam and with the stadium having a 55,000 seating capacity, the total number of American casualties in Vietnam was 3,000 more than a sold out house. 

Vivid enough. Especially when the field cameras panned the tiers and tiers of seats and one could see how many 55,000 people really is.

So, with 578,000 COVID deaths in America alone, to apply this crude measurement, this means the dead could fill up more than10 Yankee Stadiums.

The differences between a war and a pandemic are obviously many. But this still is not a bad way to honor and show respect for those who have already died.