Dear Reader,

Greetings from lockdown, Day 77. Back at the start of the pandemic, when mass death was a grim projection we could root against rather than a stark reality we must grapple with, I made some observations about relationships. Though handshakes and hugs were suddenly forbidden, friends reached out across time and distant geography to check in on other friends. People I hadn’t heard from in ages texted and called, and I did the same. I’ve heard similar stories from many people. We bonded and braced together.

But as days of anxiety turned into weeks and months, with debates about treatment and mitigation and reopening becoming ever more fevered and politicized, I have noticed another phenomenon. Debates have turned into fights. Grief mingles with anger, not just at government officials but also sometimes at friends and neighbors who disagree about masks or social distancing. I’ve seen a number of rifts in friendships over these passionate differences.

Yesterday morning, I saw two normally collegial CNBC anchors scream at each other over the coronavirus death toll. On Squawk Box, Joe Kernen accused Andrew Ross Sorkin of panicking about COVID-19, about PPE, about the market. A visibly angry Sorkin shot back: “One hundred thousand people died. One hundred thousand people died, Joe, and all you did was try to help your friend the President. Every single morning on this show. You abused your position.” I’ve appeared on this show with both anchors; they banter and debate, but this was something different. And increasingly common.