Interview with Winston Sutherland

(a) Interview with Winston Sutherland. Interviewed by Abbie Cowan and Samariya Smith on July 5, 2022 at Christ Church Community Soup Kitchen, 84 Broadway, New Haven. (b) Photograph of Winston Sutherland taken at his interview. He was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Historical Society's Community History Project discussing his experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic. At the time of the interview, Winston Sutherland was 46 years old working as the kitchen manager at Community Soup Kitchen in New Haven. Winston described finding information about the pandemic from a variety of sources such as the news, Dr. Fauci, social media, and also by listening to personal opinions. He described skepticism regarding a lot of information coming from the media. He recalled hearing about a “dry run” pandemic before Covid-19 and so when the virus was announced, he thought the circumstances were suspicious. Winston noted that he didn’t believe everything he was told, and he questioned a lot of the information he heard. When asked about masks and vaccines, Winston responded that he didn’t feel masks were very effective. He responded that he did a lot of research about vaccines, and that while he believed that vaccines could work, he felt there were other alternatives that should be explored, such as preventative measures. Winston believed in personal freedom during the pandemic, and that mandates shouldn’t be forced on people. Winston recalled experiencing anxiety during the pandemic after hearing about all the people dying. He caught Covid-19 in 2021 but only experienced minor symptoms. Winston believed that the pandemic brought people closer together and he hoped that people would become more self-aware and think more independently.