Muh Muh Muh My Corona (virus)

The number of people who think it all goes away Wednesday is truly mind boggling.
People honestly believe that.

 

It is harder to avoid contacts with multiple people when you live in a major metro, like say, Boston.

 

It didn't get much attention because of Trump's meltdown, but in that 60 Minutes last Sunday, Pence advised senior citizens (such as moi) not to have/attend family gatherings this Thanksgiving.

 

Why do you need to go to Joe's Shoe Repair in the middle of a pandemic? How much wear and tear are you putting on your slippers walking from your bedroom to your home office?

 

It's OK.

Joe got $1200 in March.

He's fine.

 

I need new pants badly. But I'm putting up with fraying cuffs because I don't need a respiratory disease right now, thanks. That's the kind of consumer decision I'm talking about.

 

Understood. But my city is the state's most populous (900,000), so it's not exactly Hooterville. I just don't go to popular "hangout" places.

I believe Deskgrunt described 6 feet of distance as impossible at his grocery stores. Sounds like utter hell to me.

Dog walking.
Kicking things when Gitmo throws another Pick-6.

 

Instead of masking up, staying home and social distancing, people spent more time trying to figure out how to get around the regulations. It's the Trumpian Way.

 

Honestly as much as people return to "but we're not shoulder to shoulder" or "why is it OK to go to the supermarket but not get a haircut with everyone masked up" it isn't about those anecdotes. We may be safe getting a haircut if both sides take precautions, but it's the complacency and the feeling of if one is fine, why not something else or that other thing. This is about limiting community spread and limiting how often the community is together.

Having people stay home except for necessary tasks limits how often we breathe on each other. Does it suck? Yes. Is everything going to be a "super spreader event?" No. But we have to draw the line and take drastic steps to slow this down. Honestly, that's what this is about. Can we slow this down by limiting how often we get together. This isn't Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot negotiated with God to save the cities if he could find 10,000 righteous people or 1,000 righteous people or 100 or 10 or 1. There is always a whatabout. What about this place where we stay outside? What about the place where there's only five people inside? Again we need to limit contacts. Whatabout forcing people to stay in the house and spread it to their housemates? Don't they already live with their housemates? How does letting people go out not spread it to housemates?

Limit how often you go out so you don't breathe on others and others don't breathe on you. Mask the fuck up. And how about we start rethinking how we conduct business? Do you need to do everything in a storefront? Shoe repair? OK you are walking your dog and your shoe falls apart, fine. But do you have to go inside or can the shoe repair have a drop box and you do business through a kiosk? Bait shop? Sidewalk store front? Other shops. Why not have people order online and businesses hire their own people deliver instead of relying on Doordash or like services that gouge businesses?

Why is this pandemic still going? Because our top leaders couldn't be bothered to get a national plan. Because individuals couldn't be bothered to do what was required. Because the country that used to innovate better than any other country is so stuck in "this is how we always do it." We can't do it that way, so what are we going to do? How are you going to save American lives and make money in the process?

 

Was at a Sprouts that just opened in our area. My county rescinded its mask mandate, but many businesses have a policy that you have to wear one. Sprouts policy is to wear one. And pretty much everyone was, but there was one lady without and she was confronted. she said 'well I don't wear it anymore since the mask mandate expired.' And she was told in no uncertain terms that it was store policy and they handed her a mask and she put it on.