Posted on 03/22/2020 12:42:50 PM PDT by Kaslin
Like most people, I had initial deep concerns regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, I think some perspective and proportion are overdue.
Let's start with something provocative: aside from high-risk populations, does the entire American population really need to "social distance" itself into isolation and depression? Do large numbers of Americans really need to be forced into underemployment and unemployment? Do large numbers of businesses really need to shut their doors and face bankruptcy? Unrecoverability?
For people over 65 or with underlying health issues, such as emphysema, asthma, congestive heart issues, cancer, and other identified vulnerabilities, social distancing and even self-quarantine may be wise. But even here, it should be a personal choice: if you're 70, 74, 82, 99, and wish to visit your grandchildren, you should be able to. After all, your time is especially limited and precious, and why live as if dead to avoid death? The irony is supreme.
Come to think of it, my time is precious.
Meantime, for the vast majority of the population, we're acting as if we're facing something with a 100% mortality rate — that if you catch it, you're dead. Yet virtually everyone recovers. There are 155 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. thus far. So what? Approximately 7,452 people die every day in the U.S. — without help from COVID-19. In the time it took you to read this paragraph, two people died. COVID-19 deaths thus far are two one hundredths of one percent of all average yearly deaths. With self-quarantine of the elderly and at-risk groups, and the heightened alerts for use of hand-sanitizer, cleaning of surfaces, etc., we should be able to survive this without closing schools and killing simple entertainment pursuits. In other words, give us our lives back!
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
pearl clutchers should take heed
I have been using a new tagline for about a week, now.
Totally agree. Or instead, why not kill the economy, force people into bankruptcy and despair (a man jumped out of his window in NY today over the stress, and I doubt he’ll be the only one) for a hypothetical. And not even that disastrous a scenario, either. If we lost 100,000 people, which the overheated Fauci claimed at the start, we’d be better able to recover than from what we’re doing now. And nobody seriously thinks it would be anywhere near that.
Also, there’s already a treatment that has proved 100% effective in France and Japan and of which millions of doses are being made available here. And there will be a vaccine by the end of the summer (when the next flu season starts up on the fall).
Good article. But an important factor is voluntary vs involuntary/mandatory.
GA and TX suggest and recommend voluntary social distance.
NY, CA and WA mandate it.
My wife wanted to go to the bank on Friday. The branch manager made the choice to only let 2 customers in the bank at a time. There was a long line outside. Their choice was to stand very close to each other in line. My wife made the choice to stay in the car. Maybe the line would be shorter Saturday.
Knowing the line would be long Saturday I drove to a branch farther out in the boonies. There were a large number of cars in the parking lot People were walking in and out of the bank normally. It was obvious there were many customers inside. That branch manager had chosen to not have a line outside but to allow customers to choose to come in if they wanted.
My wife did not get out of the car. Maybe there will be less people Monday. Meanwhile I’m trying to convince my daughters to get my wife comfortable with online banking.
The point is it is all free choice.
6 months and a year from now we will look back and say:
There is an upside and a downside to everything.
Was the downside of freedom to choose so bad?
Was the downside of WA, CA and NY authoritarian behavior so bad?
The author is somewhat typical; don’t disrupt my jollies just for a silly disease.
Disgusting piece of crap! Same garbage as the “draft somebody else” crowd when we have a war to fight.
People are dying and will die - and a lot more if we don’t do our part. You don’t care? Great - go lick a door knob - but keep you imbecilities to yourself.
‘pearl clutchers should take heed’
clutchers gonna clutch...
Back in the day, you might visit your doctor with a cough, sniffles, maybe a little fever. He would check you out and usually remark, “Well, this has been going around...”
“You don’t care? Great - go lick a door knob - but keep you imbecilities to yourself.”
Careful, your outbursts are getting spittle on my computer screen.
We’re giving up our liberty for safety. As a vet, I’d have thought something like that would matter to you. SMDH.
Back in the day, you might visit your doctor with a cough, sniffles, maybe a little fever. He would check you out and usually remark, “Well, this has been going around...”
I’ll tell you how old I am.
Back in the day the Dr came to us.
Recently my grand daughter called my wife in a panic because her child of 5 yrs old had swallowed a nickel. That reminded me of when I was about 10 yrs old and dared my brother (8 yrs old) to swallow a dime sitting on the kitchen counter. He did and when I told him he would be poisoned by it he ran to Mom. She asked him where he got the dime from and when he said it was on the counter she said it was coming out of his allowance.
Things have sure changed
‘People are dying and will die - and a lot more if we don’t do our part.’
I agree; so next autumn when the new influenza strain hits, and even more people die, we should shut everything down again, just like we’ve been doing for years and years...oh wait...
Great article. Thanks for posting.
Offered for a perspective:
In the United States … “CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.”
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html
Worldwide …. currently a total 14,376 people have died from COVID-19.
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
Key words: shelter in place, scaremongering, panic buying, coronavirus, Chinese virus, COVID-19, deep state pandemic
At latest count over 32 MILLION Americans have come down with the latest annual strain to come around and about 20 THOUSAND of us have DIED.
Get back to me when the numbers get close. When that happens I’ll consider this China Virus equal to a flu but no more.
We have had flu seasons where almost 60 THOUSAND Americans have died including young children. Where you running around then like a chicken with its head cut off?
Go take a Xanax and clutch some pearls.
Thanks for posting that.
We live remotely and rural - we don’t have much daily interaction with others. Not much has changed for our ‘lifestyle.’ We haven’t had ANY cases in our County.
But Geeze Louise! From my perch, it looks like the whole country has gone mad!
This is the first time in my lifetime that measures like these have been taken! Why weren’t we doing this last year when 60K people died of the flu? It makes a hulluvalot more sense to isolate those that have a chance of being killed by this, than shutting down our economy, ruining small business owners and just generally panicking people when it’s not necessary. Of course, the Enemy Media is greatly to blame, as always. Jackals.
I pray that President Trump puts a quick end to this and makes some changes. Like this coming week.
I’m not even the least little bit inconvenienced, and I’ve had enough already!
Oops! Not 60K dead - that’s since 2010. Still, MUCH larger numbers than with what we’re dealing with, today.
You’ve chosen to be part of the chicken-little crowd I see.
No...you were closer the first time. Anywhere between 22-55,000 die in US every year from the flu. Hard to pinpoint because it’s not reported the way this thing is. Not saying this virus isn’t terrible...it certainly is...but we need to keep our head about us.
Thanks for a thread to vent on. These decisions are 90% political. Hardly based on reality. This virus is being treated like an alien invasion from space. They figure if the aliens can’t see us (stay in the house) they cannot shoot us. Destroying our economy over insanity!!!!!!!!!!!
The next two weeks (months/years)are going to be a nightmare. There,,, let me exaggerate too just a small/tiny bit. Wait, I was stationed for 2 years in a far remote compound in northern Japan. About all we could do there was socialize to keep our sanity. Now were not allowed to.
For all intents and purposes there is no end in sight.
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