281–290 of 470 posts
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The "two weeks to flatten the curve" feels like gaslghting in retrospect.
We did flatten the curve. You just don't get to see the alternate reality where we didn't.
I'm saying the 2 weeks part was gaslighting. What they should have said is "one year or greater to flatten the curve." That would have been honest
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> You know what's even less of a joke than COVID-19? Our histrionic, insane, and completely violent overreaction to it. Quick question: how would you propose dealing with a global pandemic? Social isolation seems like the most common sense solution, since in 2021 we know how disease is transmitted and how to deal with that.
Social isolation may be the best solution. Fine. Don't force it on us. If it's the right solution, then it will be followed. I am not going to entertain further the notion that we have locked people into their homes, given trillions of dollars to multinational corporations, and restricted the lives of everyday people, just because of a pandemic that kills less than 1% of the people infected. This is such an obvious c…
Yet 3000 people in the U.S. are dying each day from COVID.
Does that not indicate that this virus is a particularly nasty virus worthy of special measures? That it’s still spreading widely when the flu can’t?
I think the psychological toll of the lockdowns in different countries is highly underestimated. I myself have no real economical shortcomings due to the lockdown, but even as a person who is normaly a total loner and who can spend weeks completely alone on a excessive hiking trip i am slowly going crazy... For my wife, who is a highly social character, its even worse. And i am not the only one in this mindset... wha…
Lockdown has allowed me to properly realize how much I really do not care about going out. I may enjoy social outings, and for a while I used to have weekly scheduled social outings having much fun in them. In spite of that, I've always been "homey", and I've always been very affected by going out multiple times -- especially weekends. It just drains me and physically exhausts me. Weekends should be sacred. I absolut…
When relatives ask how I’m doing, I immediately say, “Great!” But then I realize - oops, I should probably give a less selfish response, and acknowledge that the grandma I’m speaking to is perpetually bummed because she can’t see her daughter (which I absolutely believe sucks).
On the original topic: I’ve always thought that Baldur’s Gate did a good job with their atmospheric music. That’s usually my go-to when I want to listen to “tavern sounds.” It basically sounds like the Prancing Pony from Fellowship. And there are lots of similar options on YouTube. It’s fun background music!
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I think we're turning the corner. I was firmly in the "doomer" camp before, but there are strong reasons for optimism now. New cases, daily deaths, and hospitalizations have all been falling rapidly for weeks now. The current estimate is for 50% of the US population to have received their first shot of vaccine by June 28: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-19-vaccine... That's at the current pace. The…
IMO Summer is a bit optimistic to be calling anything "normal," but I broadly agree we're near the end. Maybe by Fall or Winter we can hang out in bars again without feeling like we're killing somebody. In either case, now is not the time to give up. A few more months and we'll start seeing things ease up, I think. But we won't get there if we make things worse now. It sucks. Stay strong. Do what you can.
But, truth be told, come late spring especially younger people are going to be out and about and restrictions are going to start to be widely ignored even if they're still officially in place.
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If you are fantasising, daily, about committing violence against people in favour of public health measures, as you said you were, please seek some sort of mental health support. I'm calling for less locking down, but done earlier so that it can be shorter, and I'm largely talking about how it could have been done better last year. If that's enough for you to want to physically harm me, I really think you need to get…
It's a no from me. I'd rather we go back in time and not normalize draconian, authoritarian restrictions on everyday life.
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> while COVID mostly (not entirely, but mostly) advances the Grim Reaper for the old and sick who likely only had a few years anyway. The average years lost is 10 years of life in the US and 16 world wide[1] - and I think you need to reconsider how callous your comment comes across (to me at least, and I would guess others too). [edited: added detail] I also feel your comment entirely disregards the point made by the…
That's not how anyone should assess risk. You can't take an average and assume that it applies to everyone. The elderly hare far more likely of losing 10 years off their lives than young people who are very unlikely to lose 40+ years off their lives. For instance, the chance that I will die from COVID at my age and health are, for all intents and purposes, 0% , according to the CDC. It would be ridiculous for me to t…
Yes there is evidence that 10-30% of covid infections have not resolved at 6 months
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.16.21249950v...
which is roughly what SARS 1 looks like (and those people are still sick). But we still can't definitely say that 35 year olds who catch covid will lose 10 years off the end of their life so it's disregarded in our decision making.
I miss quarterly visits with a friend in a town midway between us. Just us in a hotel room, watching movies, going out to dinner, looking for new places or revisiting the old, chit-chatting away. We still communicate now but it lacks the spontaneity of our usual routine. On a weekly basis, I miss "camping out" at my Starbucks and reading, growing slowly more wired on caffeine. This is the lack that seems to have put…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> You know what's even less of a joke than COVID-19? Our histrionic, insane, and completely violent overreaction to it. Quick question: how would you propose dealing with a global pandemic? Social isolation seems like the most common sense solution, since in 2021 we know how disease is transmitted and how to deal with that.
Social isolation may be the best solution. Fine. Don't force it on us. If it's the right solution, then it will be followed. I am not going to entertain further the notion that we have locked people into their homes, given trillions of dollars to multinational corporations, and restricted the lives of everyday people, just because of a pandemic that kills less than 1% of the people infected. This is such an obvious c…
Do you actually, really believe this? Do you really believe that if that the research studies come out and say “hey stay inside” that everyone will read the studies front-to-back and go “oh, it’s in the public interest for everyone to stay inside”? Is this a thing that you think will happen in America?
> impose further fascism
What is fascism?
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Are the young as at big a risk as older folks? No. CAN THEY COMMUNICATE IT TO OLDER FOLKS? Yes. Yes they can. This kinda falls into the 'social obligation' column. Just because it doesn't affect you personally, doesn't mean you shouldn't be part of the solution. Sooner or later something WILL happen to you and you'll benefit from being a member.
I understand that aspect. Vaccinations, social distancing, mask wearing, mass testing, self isolating with symptoms or while vulnerable - these are all tools designed to get society running again, while minimising risk. The OP said they felt unsafe about going into restaurants which were open in their region. My opinion is that is incumbent on all of us to get back to normality as swiftly as possible within the guide…
Your local government may not care about you. I'd look to respected civilian experts or at least government agencies staffed by respected experts.
I'm basing this on Texas' Lt. Governor Dan Patrick being willing to tolerate a lot of death for the sake of the economy:
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/21/texas-dan-patrick-ec...
I don't miss my bar - because me and all my friends never stopped going. What people who 'Listened' don't realise is that people still go out... in every city. Most sheriff's in California have flat out refused to comply with the lockdown regulations. Since when did America get the ability to shutdown business'? Never.... During this Pandemic i've lost three 'Friends' (Social Media acquaintances I knew from HS) to su…
Do you not count spreading a virus & possibly infecting others as causing direct harm?