Coronavirus

[Twoapenny]

Exactly the same thing happened here, Skep - lockdowns, masks, distancing and so on are either seen as draconian and another step toward a police state or seen as a civic duty that all should adhere to without question or exception.  Very all or nothing, and depending on which side of the fence you sit you're either a sheep or a psychopath.  We took more precautions than we were told to because I felt, based on what I'd read, that the best thing for us was to just avoid catching it and not take a chance on how ill it may or may not make either one of us.  But not earning money, seeing people, having physical contact and so on has done just as much damage as the virus itself, plus there have been many who died because they couldn't get treatments or surgery they needed for other things.  I agree there still doesn't seem to be a clear consensus on all the different aspects so we'll just keep trying to avoid catching it, which for us we can do by staying home as much as possible.  But my friend called me earlier; it's Mothering Sunday here and she met her daughter at her mum's grave and they had a big, and currently prohibited hug for the first time in a year while they both cried.  My friend now feels guilty because she and her hubby are at risk and she's been very stringent about all the precautions but we're all only human and that hug was very necessary.  I think we've all just got to keep muddling through as best we can and yes, as you say, this could flare up every winter just like flu does and could continue to cause problems so we're all going to have to find a way to keep plodding on, preferably without the media pointing big sticks at people and whipping up rows all the time xx

[Hopalong]

But not earning money, seeing people, having physical contact and so on has done just as much damage as the virus itself

I agree it's done a lot of emotional/psychological/mental health PLUS employment/security/care access/economy damage, and in some cases those forms of damage have led to death. Despair and loneliness can kill too.

Yet since more half a million have died of it directly here (and the toll's still climbing), and by all accounts it's a horrible, painful death by slow drowning, and it has burnt out a generation of health providers, first responders and more....I can't equalize all the forms of damage. Dead is as damaged as one can get and the same is true for those we carry it to (if one's among the 40% of asymptomatic carriers).

I believe that if we'd behaved like people unafraid to work together for the common good, we'd all have had masks on pronto if we'd been educated skillfully from the get-go, even though masking's an unfamiliar practice. All sorts of failure and lack of preparedness and dominant political manipulation contributed to the mess that's been made. As did our national hyper-independent cowboy character, which some confuse with freedom. Saying "no" can be wise and principled. So can saying "yes."

All that said, I have to remember that whether or not someone's attached to a different ideology than mine, my primary practice is (ideally) love. For me the mask expresses love of humanity plus belief in interdependence. And it has also protected me. But masks, no matter how diligent one is, do not provide perfect protection because gaps/leaks, etc. For that you'd need scuba gear, probably.

In the end I am so profoundly grateful for scientists and public servants at every level who've worked incredibly hard to try to save us from ourselves, as well as from the pandemic. The suspicion and disrespect aimed at some pretty selfless experts (and even bureaucrats) are for me, very sad to see.

America is, in comparison to Europe, a juvenile country. We've seldom shown it more, except for our long history of using violence to "solve" so many things that don't need force, but education, cooperation and compassion.

hugs
Hops

[Twoapenny]

I agree, Hopsie, the sensible thing would have been to close the airports everywhere to stop it spreading like it did and for a lot of preventative steps to have been taken.  Sadly, it comes under the same bracket as it being sensible not to allow businesses to destroy the environment, not to leave people living in the streets, not to deny people healthcare, create wars, sell weapons to countries and then complain that the people they're being used on seek refuge somewhere else and all the other mad, destructive practices that happen.  I do think it will take longer to see the fall out from the damage caused by all the lockdowns, though - the impact on mental health likely won't make itself apparent immediately and will take longer to assess along with the the overall effects on health that low incomes, unemployment, homelessness and so on have, all of which it seems (here anyway) are only starting to show now as steps have been taken to prevent things like evictions at the moment.  Once the gloves come off I think that's going to get a lot worse - plus we'll be seeing, I would assume, more huge cuts to public sector services and staff shortages as the government claw back the money that it's all cost and staff leave because they've been treated so badly (plus all the overseas staff who are already choosing to work elsewhere because of Brexit) and I do think long term we'll see more damage from the way it's been handled than we have from the virus directly.  They spent so much time posturing and being 'manly' about it that, whatever they did, that genie was out of the bottle and no way forward was going to be anything other than a nightmare to deal with.  I think a big part of the problem here has been the number of times they backtracked as well - they insisted for months that there was no reason to wear a mask and then mandated it.  So many mixed messages.  They've really made such a pigs ear of it.  I am also very grateful for the science and all of the people who've worked through it and helped one another out.  It's been a truly terrible situation for so many and I know I will be so happy once it really is behind us and things get back to some sort of normal xx

[Hopalong]

That's what I call PERSPECTIVE.

Outstanding, eloquent and rational rant, CB! You have a way of seeing right through to the cognitive dissonance. This part was especially striking to me:

In that disease, science said most people were safe, but people believed what they wanted to. Now, science is saying we are not safe, but people still believe what they want to.

The rapid devolution of reason and community is really shocking:
From post-9/11 adaptations:

Everybody just takes their shoes off as they go through the security line.

To present chaos and crumbling:

Might just turn out to be the downward spiral of a culture.

You are as clear and cogent as Heather Cox Richardson. I have SO appreciated you turning me on to her. Sad as the facts are and the perspective may be, it does ring clear.

hugs
Hops

[Hopalong]

You are that perceptive too, Tupp:

[about what's sensible]: Sadly, it comes under the same bracket as it being sensible not to allow businesses to destroy the environment, not to leave people living in the streets, not to deny people healthcare, create wars, sell weapons to countries and then complain that the people they're being used on seek refuge somewhere else and all the other mad, destructive practices

It's just SO clear that it was cultural/psychological, and not strategic:

They spent so much time posturing and being 'manly' about it that, whatever they did, that genie was out of the bottle and no way forward was going to be anything other than a nightmare

I think that coarsening of character really is what's wrong. Older ideas and mores may have been conventional (and racist, sexist, colonialist, etc.) but in terms of community -- WWII really did show the courage and grit of ordinary people and they DID band together. Losing that sense of communal obligation and affinity (which I personally believe we lost to entertainment replacing education)...was a slow bleed and now we're waking up to how pale and weak we (Western culture) have become.

Sounds grim and there's hope anyway. But I'm going to have to start digging beyond the click bait for that. If only they'd report the quiet heroes as much as the palaver.

hugs
Hops

[Twoapenny]

Oh gosh, CB, yes, nodding all the way through.  The situation here is very similar and it is so odd that people readily accept certain restrictions as part of their day to day lives (we all drive on the same side of the road, to minimise accidents, we have speed restrictions and traffic lights for the same reason, your car has to meet a certain standard for you to take it on the road, you have to take a test to show you can drive it safely, and so on).  Yet similar measures to try to contain the spread of the virus have been declared human rights abuses and people have protested in the streets about it.  It is very odd that people (and I include myself in this!) can see similar situations in different ways.

I have also been told that if I'm worried about the virus I can just stay home and everyone else can carry on as they wish.  It slightly baffles me that anyone thinks another person can simply not leave their home for a couple of years or have any kind of human contact and still keep themselves fit and healthy?  What about, as a bare minimum, grocery supplies, medical appointments, fresh air, exercise, daily activity to keep the mind healthy, work?!  A lot of people in the UK seem to be oblivious to the fact that a lot of at risk people are employed and have mortgages to pay, and that many work in the voluntary sector, which we depend on very heavily due to a lack of funding for public sector services.  It's very odd, as you say.  We've had a similar thing with the ICU beds - the government made a big deal out of opening these huge temporary hospitals that can house thousands, but neglected to tell anyone that there weren't any staff!  And you can't just plug a person in a coma into a machine and leave them to it, which is something else that didn't seem to filter through to well.  Sigh.  Yes, nodding, and I think it will be a case of hindsight making more sense of it all (although I'm sure there will be claims that history has been rewritten to fill a certain agenda lol ).

Hopsie, I think what you said about entertainment replacing education is spot on.  I think information going out so quickly now is a problem as well, particularly when so much of it is quite poor quality (not evidence based, not contextualised etc).  And there's so much of it.  Difficult to wade your way through the various news outlets and decide which one is giving you the best info.  And yes, that coarsening of character.  I felt really comforted by the volunteers at the vaccine centre; so many people giving up their time to get that done and it's so organised, so efficient.  There have been many unsung heroes, as there are in so many things, and I do hope there comes a point where all those ordinary people can be celebrated in some way.  I do think there's a media focus on the drama of it all and it's easy to lose focus on the good people doing good things (I know I do).  I'm very grateful I've got you guys, that much I do know xx

[Hopalong]

I got a heart-lift from the volunteers too, Tupp. And they also seemed very happy. It would feel so good to be part of a team doing something that's pure positivity. So many people were so thankful and relieved and the nurses and docs and helpers were all so friendly and patient as the long line wound through.

I saw a news item that Yo Yo Ma took his cello to his vaccine place, got his shot, and then during the 15-30 minutes people wait after the shot to be checked, he sat over by the wall and took out the cello and played. Everyone got so quiet, in such a peaceful way together.... He is magic.

hugs
Hops

[Twoapenny]

I got a heart-lift from the volunteers too, Tupp. And they also seemed very happy. It would feel so good to be part of a team doing something that's pure positivity. So many people were so thankful and relieved and the nurses and docs and helpers were all so friendly and patient as the long line wound through.

I saw a news item that Yo Yo Ma took his cello to his vaccine place, got his shot, and then during the 15-30 minutes people wait after the shot to be checked, he sat over by the wall and took out the cello and played. Everyone got so quiet, in such a peaceful way together.... He is magic.

hugs
Hops

Oh, Hopsie, that sounds amazing!  I could have offered to sing - that would have cleared the room quickly lol.  I do think the media have played a very negative role in all of this by failing to provide well contextualised, fact based information and focusing so much on negative examples of what's been going on.  Good quality reporting is hard to come by here and it's really shown itself here over the last year.  Everyone I've spoken to personally is just getting on with it - difficult situations for everyone but people are doing what they can to help.  But when I read the news or scan through social media, every negative event is magnified so it feels like everything is bad.  Yet lots of people are working hard, pulling together and, more importantly, staying home, wearing a mask in the shop and so on, just not putting extra pressure on services.  Perhaps we all need to learn to play the cello and be more Yo Yo Ma xx

[sKePTiKal]

I agree about the massive negativity cycle in the news media Tupp. I'd really like to ask them who they think they're helping - or why they're pushing such negative crap all the time - what's in it for them, that people are mostly turning them off; not reading the news anymore; tuning out...

and finding that life without the media is MUCH more pleasant, and kind, and full of good people.

[Twoapenny]

I agree about the massive negativity cycle in the news media Tupp. I'd really like to ask them who they think they're helping - or why they're pushing such negative crap all the time - what's in it for them, that people are mostly turning them off; not reading the news anymore; tuning out...

and finding that life without the media is MUCH more pleasant, and kind, and full of good people.

Yep, same here.  I don't want to pretend nothing awful is happening, but lots of good things have happened through this as well - people have supported one another, parents have done an amazing job unexpectedly home schooling their kids, lots of kids have loved being at home and thrived on the one to one attention.  Businesses have adapted; I know it's going to be a death knell for some but some have thrived, offered home delivery when they never used to, put in hand wash stations and free face masks for people, a lot of people have coped really well.  I wouldn't want it to be a case of pretending that people haven't suffered, of course they have, but a lot of people I've spoken to have all said the same thing - they've focused on what they have got and what they can do and just got on with it.  One of the mums I see on the way to school in the morning (she walks past with her three when I'm out feeding the birds) and she said she's just been so grateful they've got a garden and they're not stuck in a high rise flat with nowhere for the kids to play.  I don't know what they get out of it, either, maybe they get paid more to write negative articles rather than positive ones now?  It does seem odd xx

[Hopalong]

I'm seriously considering Amber's news diet for a while. Or just getting what really matters from NPR when driving. Or just waiting for M to tell me about the big political stuff.

Otherwise, I'm soaking my brain in negative, alarming or tragic headlines/articles day after day after day...to what end? What I can do something about locally, I am. And the rest serves either to frighten or depress me or even break my heart.

I CANNOT help/fix/rescue people who themselves (or their problems) are out of my reach (either personally or financially). So why do I start my day with soaking in tragedy?

I've actually turned to those "Restoring Faith in Humanity" or "Dudes Being Bros" or "Acts of Kindness" or animal-rescue videos on YouTube to correct the balance. But now I'm feeling that a more-extreme step might be appropriate. News diet, full tilt.

hugs
Hops

[Hopalong]

And he just got a jab in that bowing arm!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWWzmha1_jE

love love love

[especially at the end where you see the folks sitting and their bodies look SO relaxed....}

hugs
Hops

[Twoapenny]

How amazing, Hopsie, he makes it look so effortless as well

Well we have good news here.  Deaths in the over 70s have dropped 97% in the last ten weeks.  That is genuinely the best thing I've read in the last year   They are easing lockdown restrictions slowly and carefully and have made it clear it will be straight back into lockdown if there's any sign of hospital and/or death rates rising significantly, or if the vaccine programme gets derailed in any way.  I don't think they're going to worry too much about infection rates if the infections don't result in lots more hospital admissions or deaths.  It still seems to be that young, fit and healthy people aren't likely to be seriously affected - it does happen, of course, but on the whole it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for them, and I'd hope they're taking care to avoid anyone who might still be affected seriously.

We'll still continue to stay home as much as possible, particularly over the upcoming school holidays as it's going to be mobbed here with holiday makers.  But that's okay, I'm happy to let everyone else mingle while we get on with things at home.  Fingers crossed that by September/October time we'll be in a much better place than we were that time last year.  It does feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel now xx

[Twoapenny]

I was reading an interesting article earlier; apparently the overall death rate here (deaths from all possible causes) is much lower than usual.  They think we've more or less missed flu season (as everyone's been inside and/or masked and keeping distance) and road traffic fatalaties have been a lot lower (again, because people have had to stay home).  There doesn't seem to have been an increase in cancer deaths despite a lot of people not being able to have treatment but they didn't seem to have an idea why that would be.  They do think that a lot of people who would have died by now from other causes died earlier because they caught Covid (5 - 15% of the total deaths, apparently).  I just think it's so sad that people couldn't die with their loved ones by their side and having spent time with their families before hand.  I know lots of doctors, nurses and care home staff have sat with people but it just isn't the same.  I think that's sad.

Johnson is apparently talking about vaccine passports for large events and public places; I have to say I'm confused about that.  I'm not sure if I've missed something but I thought the vaccines aren't known to prevent transmission?  So I'd assume anyone who's worried about catching it would have the jab and anyone who isn't worried is presumably healthy enough to cope with catching it?  So I don't quite get the need to have it enforced for access to public spaces.  But maybe I've missed some info along the way.  Anyway, overall things are looking better, not out of the woods yet but I think it's looking promising now.

[Hopalong]

I'm glad it's looking better over there, Tupp!

We're looking at a 4th surge here, and the variants have just arrived. Fairly scary article about those in the Post today...more unknown than known, although they seem confident that vaccines are protective against some of them. The big danger with the political stupidities is that the virus will keep on mutating the longer people don't take the precautions (vaccinated or not). At some point, a mutation may be impervious to the present vaccines, which could throw us back to square one.

My understanding is that the reason even fully vaccinated people now are asked to continue social distancing and masks is that it's as yet unknown whether, even though you may be mostly safe from contracting it yourself once vaccinated, they don't yet know whether you still might be/become an asymptomatic carrier to someone else.

I'm avoiding all crowds for a lot longer. Look forward to eating at outdoor cafes though, as it warms up.

hugs
Hops
PS I agree about how sad Covid deaths apart from family must be.