Quote:
Originally Posted by Adder
Here's the thing, though. Close to everywhere else in the world, aside from the UK and Sweden, has managed to use lockdowns, masks and testing to actually shrink their case count. They aren't racing toward a mislabeled "herd immunity" that is actually just everyone getting sick as soon as possible. Why couldn't we do that? Well, partly do to poor preparation, leadership and messaging. We, like the UK, stumbled before we even got to the starting line.
Meanwhile, I went to the grocery store this morning. In the parking lot, I saw a guy walk out with three items (wasn't wearing a mask but might just taken it off). The first people I saw was a elderly couple shopping together with no mask. Maybe we're just too stupid as a people to grasp the basics of minimizing exposure.
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I don’t think anyone sane here is arguing for everybody to get sick ASAP. I think most people, like me, are wearing masks to try to ensure that as the population gets it, it gets it slowly, in a manageable fashion.
I think some people still thought they were going to outlast it - avoid it until we had a vaccine or treatment.
They seem to be the people most exercised about the situation, as the data coming out indicates it’s not going away in summer, and no treatment or vaccine is going to be around any time soon. They keep arguing in strange absolutes about how reopening will cost lives, and blaming people in the govt. What they’re actually doing is pathetically grasping for control.
I also see a lot of old people disregarding suggested protocols. I think some are just nuts, or dumb, but I think others understand from experience that some stuff is just beyond one’s control. I think they’re wrong, of course. Avoiding this is within one’s control if one is an old retired person. They could and should stay home. But they aren’t as irrational as the younger people framing this as a battle between saving lives and saving an economy.
I also think there’s a lot of people who deeply want to see this change society. And as we attempt to move back toward the normal quickly they see a possible opportunity lost. They want the l-shaped non-recovery so they can engage the big debate about restructuring society. So any effort to get back to what was before enflames them. I think they’re overwrought. Society is going to be restructured in many ways as a result of this even if we magically find a vaccine next week. They’ll get some form of their wish.
