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Coronavirus
Hopalong:
I hear you, Tupp. It IS sad.
Only thing I can bear is my tiny circle, being kind, and staying home.
It'll be harder before it gets easier, and nobody know for how long.
(I saw Tom Hanks explaining that although he's donated plasma twice, he's been told his antibiodies are dropping now too. He did a great brief riff about all the questions we still have about the virus and how the honest scientific answers are: We don't know. Maybe. That could be. We're not sure.)
It's not for lack of scientific trying, and there's certainly hope out there too. I just don't try to personally understand the ramifications of this development or that one. My pea-brain gets what my local health region daily charts are showing, and in our area it's a long original curve that is now rising faster than before. First wave. So that simplifies my choices a lot. (I'm sad I'll no longer be able to go back and forth to M's, because that had been my positive strategy for winter.)
The big picture is just TOO big to take on right now (but I don't have an orderly, logical mind as you do...I can understand why you follow developments so closely and seek more order amid the confusion.)
I just finished Mary Trump's book about the Donald, and her take as a psychologist as well as a family member is so penetrating. What a story. I wasn't very interested in the business bits, but her snaps of family drama, naricissm, sociopathy, traumatized children, dialogues and especially her closing chapter about how his deeply damaged personality has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and exactly WHY: the direct link between his terrible combination of personality flaws and amorality and especially, his running on fear...were amazing. Plus, the bits about his enablers and entire party.
hugs
Hops
Twoapenny:
Gosh that sounds like a scary but interesting book, Hops. I'm astonished that there's a psychologist in the family. I expect she often eats alone. Lol.
Yes, I'm worried that my distrust levels have gone to the paranoid state now. The 'possible herd immunity' article is printed in a paper that's traditionally Conservative and was followed by an article stating that people are not going out and spending, despite the pubs and shops being open now, and if they don't, the economy won't recover. So my immediate thought is that the herd immunity one is to reassure people it's safe to go out and do you know what, however much the papers are doing and whatever is going on online, for the first time in a long time what I'm hearing people talk about in the actual world is different to what the papers are doing and saying. There's a massive distrust in the government from all sides. Those who think the whole thing has been blown out of proportion are angry that they've locked down at all and don't trust them and those of us who think the situation is every bit as bad as it seems to be don't feel we're being given accurate information and so are continuing to take precautions. So they've really caused problems in every sector. They've managed a high death rate and a wrecked economy, whilst at the same time managing to piss off just about everybody. Early on lots of people were still supportive of them and saying, "well, it's a tough call, who could have done better". But as time's gone on it's become apparent that almost every other leader on the planet could have done better, with one or two obvious exceptions.
Sigh. Son and I will continue to stay home, do our short walks and socially distanced coffees, and save our money for moving. The saving grace we do have is that we're pretty far from any major cities where I am so anything that's happening tends to start a good long distance away from us. That at least means you tend to hear about what's happening in advance so I'm grateful for that.
Hopalong:
I hear you, Tupp.
I'd just listen to scientists such as medical experts/epidemiologists right now.
Not political media. Or not pandemic stories IN political media that report mainly about people's emotions and/or political/irrational responses, to sell more media.
If one's doing the rational/right things to avoid infection, which you are....you are pretty much doing all you can do. Maybe time to go back on a news diet? Beware feeding the fear furnace. Paranoia is both reasonable and dangerous. With paranoia or without it, one either gets infected or one doesn't get infected. But paranoia makes it all worse. Or you could go all Heller (if you'd enjoy reading it again):
--- Quote ---“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.”
― Joseph Heller, Catch-22
--- End quote ---
hugs
Hops
Twoapenny:
That's interesting to read, CB, the paper that's just been released here is about a theory (it's unproven yet; as you say, info's coming out fast) but the theory is that some people already have some degree of immunity due to their T cells (and apparently T cells are different to antibodies? So they think that some people aren't catching it and/or are getting it mildly because their T cells are fighting the good fight). And part of the theory around that is that Covid is part of the common cold family so, as you say, most people get colds every year so they're thinking that some people have built up an immunity. Off the back of that they think that the virus can just die out if it runs out of people to infect (I think that was the gist of it; the whole thing is way over my head but Twitter doctors have been deciphering sections). It would be a possible answer to my previous pondering over why we haven't seen big jumps after the BLM protests, huge beach gatherings, busy pubs and so on. On the flip side of that, the Government have announced that the death figures haven't been accurate and they're not releasing daily figures until a review's been carried out. No-one trusts them, god knows what they'll come back with and what their end game is. This is what bothers me so much about the lack of accurate information - we're in an age when it's never been easier to get information and share it, yet there's such a lack of ethics it's impossible to figure out who's doing what and why.
I hear you about the news Hopsie but I'm only reading the Twitter people's stuff (science and medical) and then a quick scroll through the mainstream press to look for good news for son (he likes some sort of positive story each day, even if it's just someone buying someone a sandwich or something). I don't watch or listen to it and I am of the mindset that we're doing all we can personally and we can't do any more of that, but I do find it all interesting? But also sometimes frustrating and scary :) xx
Hopalong:
Completely understand, Tupp. Why not follow along? I know everybody figures out their own "right level" with the news and uncertainty.
Meanwhile, I think this would be Very Helpful (still debating but I just may!):
https://www.afar.com/magazine/iceland-invites-the-world-to-scream-it-out
And this is for your son--I know there are better collections out there but I bookmarked this one and one or more of them do give me a lift every morning:
https://www.inspiremore.com
(My current fav: Seriously, random shoppers--pre virus, it seems--just broke out with this! He heard her humming...and look what happened. Made me MELT:
https://youtu.be/D3XxmO_CJ-M)
Sending him a big auntie-Yank hug and/or smooch, whichever he can manage!
hugs
Hops
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