Originally Posted by
LondonElite
I'm really saddened by the selfishness of people who defy common sense advisories and put themselves and others at risk justifying it with some notion of liberty and freedom. Give me a break and try to come together on this.
Coming together is not happening in certain political cultures. This is the fifth giant crisis the US has faced in the past 100 years (the first four being the crash of 1929, World War II, the murder of President Kennedy, and 9/11). In each prior case the country came together and unified around common values and goals; in the current crisis the country is falling further apart and arguing over what's true and what's not. We are a changed people.
Originally Posted by
pgh234
A soft reopening as we control the "fresh eruptions and deaths" is what we need to do. Deaths will occur.
Whenever I hear the argument that more deaths are a fair price to pay for being able to go out to dinner again, I wonder which of the proponent's family members or friends they would be OK with sacrificing. "More deaths" is always put in abstract, distant terms. We see a steady flow of news stories about COVID-19 cynics / deniers who were pretty cavalier about "a few deaths" until they themselves caught it and died. Any ICU nurse will tell you the strutting, cock, imma-live-my-life individualist sings a little different tune as they die with a ventilator tube down their throat.
Originally Posted by
pgh234
It is shame you can't understand that those hotel and airline employees also observing distancing and hygiene rules also need to provide for their family.
I know people in the airline business and they are terrified of coming to work. (They do not "choose to work"; they have groceries to buy and rent is due.) At each major carrier dozens of front-liners have contracted COVID-19 and some have died. The employees still out there are particularly terrified of members of the public determined to travel for kicks on cheap tickets because imma do what I want / freedom and liberty / a little extra death is fair payment for a sped-up reopening / etc.
For the love of God don't make things any riskier for them.