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Quarantine Tuesday Reading Kaffeeklatsch: 4/21/2020
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Theresa wrote: "I realized just a few minutes ago that what I find most upsetting about these protests about Stay Home orders isn't that they are happening - although being in NYC where we have been under such ord..."Yes, you are right--people like you have it the worst! I am VERY thankful I live in a small city with trees behind my house that are part of a conservation area.
I was driving to buy food and saw a grandfather (no mask) with there grandchildren who were wearing masks and he was giving them a ride in a wagon. So at least he listened to his kids and took care of his grandchildren as they asked. The kids aren't likely to get really ill, but they could spread it. BUT there was NO ONE on the sidewalk but them.
I am OK with the idea of protesting, but you can't protest away a virus, so that makes it fucking stupid and furthermore these are the same people criticizing black NFL players for silently protesting being murdered by the police in astonishing numbers... so seems hypocritical and just completely unnecessary and ineffective. I know, I am making some assumptions, but I'd put good money on it.
Black people protesting is bad, them with fucking assault rifles looking like a damned militia is OK? Fucking baffling.
And also the whole point of these protesters is some will have to die to keep the economy going... uh, do they?? Fuck you!
I'll try to stay off the politics, but this is the shit that gets me majorly fuming.
I do feel for you trapped in a tiny NYC apartment :(
""But to protest during a pandemic without protection -- I don't get it. " It frustrates me that there are so many people in the US who just don't believe what scientists or experts tell them. They don't believe that global warning is happening or that it might have consequences. They don't believe there is anything wrong with withholding vaccinations or shots from their kids. They don't trust
smart or well-educated people
There was a book on my journalism list on the topic : The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science
Those pictures of the Mother's and the kids really burned my biscuits too Theresa-Did you see the one with the Militia guys handing out candy to the kids? UGH WTF
These guys gonna shoot the virus or somethin'?
Johanne wrote: "These guys gonna shoot the virus or somethin'?"😅
Oh I forgot, they don't believe in it. I am glad that's not happening in my country. There's a general sense of taking this seriously and following guidelines. Just some people beginning to question whether it was wise of our prime minister to shot everything down so completely 'because it isn't so bad and the numbers didn't explode'. Probably because of the lockdown morons, otherwise we'd have looked like Northern Italy... We're slowly opening up again this week, about half of the kids back at school and daycares, hairdressers open again etc. But with guidelines like 2 meters space between desks, which also means smaller groups and lots of hygiene regulations. Plus guidelines that you see the same kids after school as is in your group (for my sons it's 9 and 15 kids). My middle son who attends boarding school won't know if they'll open again this year. Libaries still closed, and all concerts, theater etc. cancelled till september but probably longer. Can't see it returning to normal anytime soon. Grateful to live in a welfare state with universal healthcare, unemployment benefits, sick leave, and aid to bussinesses in this time.
Johanne wrote: "Grateful to live in a welfare state with universal healthcare, unemployment benefits, sick leave, and aid to bussinesses in this time."Yeah, that would be magnificent! Basically in the US whenever there is a natural disaster or "act of God" the people who were already suffering the most bear the brunt of the suffering :(
Yeah that's the thing isn't it, it's also the people who have the least who suffer most in times like these. People are also suffering here, but the safety net is there, and losing your job doesn't equal losing your health care (which I think is insane) and thus maybe your life.
Johanne wrote: "Yeah that's the thing isn't it, it's also the people who have the least who suffer most in times like these. People are also suffering here, but the safety net is there, and losing your job doesn't..."Yes, this is what I"m most frustrated about it. People shouldn't have to lose health care to keep others safe. Health care should be something for everyone and not just those with a job that can be lost so easily when the unexpected happens. There needs to be more of a safety net for everyone to be protected in the US. Instead of taking away protections such as stay at home, let's improve health care for all. The drug and insurance industry could probably take the hit.
So sorry to hear about your loss, Karin. It is disturbing when some people dismiss a death because the person was older or had another condition. It probably would make sense for there to be different rules for big cities and rural counties, but there would always be a problem of where to draw the line. My personal political view is that it wouldn't be a choice between people getting sick or losing jobs if our country did as some others did and guaranteed pay and benefits during this time. I'm not surprised that didn't happen here, but I have a feeling we'll end up spending the same amount of money in the long run with worse consequences.
I am so grateful for the simplicity of my life right now. Minimal work, just me and my husband at home, kids are both still employed, county parks are open and I can go for long walks, and my mom is safe in her "bunker" in Florida. I have reduced the amount of news I consume, but should probably cut back more. The amount of inequality, poverty, food insecurity, health disparities and the polarization around these issues is so hard to bare. I do try to focus on the silver lining and connections with family and friends. And I stopped counting the days!
Joanne wrote: "Those pictures of the Mother's and the kids really burned my biscuits too Theresa-Did you see the one with the Militia guys handing out candy to the kids? UGH WTF"Missed that one. Thank goodness.
When I feel my head about to explode from the idiocies ... like today's 'drink disinfectant' suggestion ... I watch and sing along to this.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=s....
What is this 'drink disinfectant'? Did someone overhear my husband and I joking about how we should drink enough alcohol to disinfect ourselves from the inside?
Oh I saw the news now about the disinfectant. I have no words. Except maybe condolences to all US folk.
Johanne wrote: "What is this 'drink disinfectant'? Did someone overhear my husband and I joking about how we should drink enough alcohol to disinfect ourselves from the inside?"The orange man, love that description, suggested in his nightly briefing yesterday that people might be able to inject themselves with disinfectants into their lungs to cure themselves of COVID. The scary thing is now some people will do this and poison themselves.
I just saw this on the morning news my husband was watching-someone needs to put on straight jacket on this guy and pour a gallon of bleach down his throat
Theresa wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Those pictures of the Mother's and the kids really burned my biscuits too Theresa-Did you see the one with the Militia guys handing out candy to the kids? UGH WTF"Missed that one. ..."
Love that one Theresa
Theresa wrote: "Rachel N. wrote: "One good news story this week is that a friend of a friend's husband had COVID and was in the hospital for 24 days, 20 of those on a ventilator, and he was released to go home thi..."Thanks for the link! I will listen to it later and am keeping that page open.
I came here to correct my migraine math mistake yesterday by a significant amount. As of April 21 it was 0.24 percent of the population that are part of the over 800,000 cases and that is one hundred times more than I said. This is not good, but it's better than if it had been one percent, which would put the cases in the millions. I am talking about the cases bad enough to be noted.So social distancing, etc, has definitely slowed the curve and saved lives, but I still stand by my point that every area needs to think about what they need to do in their set up--places like NYC have to be much more shut down than some other areas.
I had an interesting call on Wednesday with someone who believes that in Sweden people tend to be rule followers (so are more likely to listen to precautions without shutting down) and that even though they didn't shut down the way other countries have, they might not be hit as hard. I don't know, but the latest covid stats I have put the case rate at 0.17 percent of their population (and this time I didn't make that mistake of significant digits). It remains to be seen how this will go.
From another thread... "the Orange Thing lurking in the White House."I think that was Theresa... right? 😂🤣
Drink disinfectant! Of course, why didn't we think of that sooner?
So lucky that we have a medical professional in the white house.
Meli wrote: "From another thread... "the Orange Thing lurking in the White House."I think that was Theresa... right? 😂🤣
Drink disinfectant! Of course, why didn't we think of that sooner?
So lucky that we ha..."
Yup. That was me.
My family and I have a running text to keep tabs on each other across various time zones and geographical locations. It tends to be funny with shared videos and stuff. One sister in reporting the various event cancellations in our home town and elsewhere referred to 2020 as the year of cancellations. My response was 'let's hope that on November 3 the Giant Orange Toad gets a cancellation notice of his latest reality series set in the White House.' My sis said to stop insulting toads. So I changed it to the Orange Thing lurking....
@Meli - I wanted to mention to you that the subject of feeling a loss of control adding to everyone's stress was part of Gov. Andy's press conference on Sunday.
So, a couple of hours ago it was announced that my favourite bookstores went bankrupt partially due to the C... It was a small family owned chain including 1 my local one next to work, 2 the Children's Bookstore with staff with specialed knowledge, and 3 the main original store in central Copenhagen a 3-storey beautiful, beautiful bookstore that dates back to 1896. Sort of like if the Strand bookstore in New York went bankrupt. I KNOW this is not a big thing in the big picture, it was just somehow the last drop for me and my mood is below the floorboards (does that expression exist in English?).
Theresa wrote: "@Meli - I wanted to mention to you that the subject of feeling a loss of control adding to everyone's stress was part of Gov. Andy's press conference on Sunday."I'll have to look that up! As a control freak, identifying what is causing me stress or anxiety gives me more sense of calm. I am feeling much better this Monday than I was last Monday.
Johanne wrote: "So, a couple of hours ago it was announced that my favourite bookstores went bankrupt partially due to the C... It was a small family owned chain including 1 my local one next to work, 2 the Childr..."I'm sorry to hear that, Johanne. If my local indie went out of business I would be devastated.
I think we would say "my mood is in the dumps" in English.
I feel like there is another expression closer to what you said, but can't recall off the top of my head right now.
Oh no, that’s sad news Johanne. I always visit the number 3 on your list (at least I think it must be that one) when I’m in Copenhagen. We had plans to go there in May for a Nick Cave concert, but that is of course cancelled now. Sad, I always love my weekends trips in Copenhagen and we were really excited about the concert.
So sad Johanne! SO many of them are not going to make it, it just breaks my heart
Thanks all, I knew you would understand. I am in an fb group of Danish children's librarians and there's a lot of mourning there as well. The children's bookstore is the only one of its kind in Denmark.
@Hilde, missing concerts is also getting to me... It's this one, and it's the country's oldest bookstore. https://www.google.com/search?q=arnol...
Yeah, that’s the one. It’s so nice, hope someone will take over, it so deserves to live on. I also like this other one which I think is called Paludan and the french one that I don’t remember the name of, fingers crossed they’ll manage through it. I’m guessing it’s bound to happen with some of my favourites here in Oslo as well 😥
Johanne wrote: "So, a couple of hours ago it was announced that my favourite bookstores went bankrupt partially due to the C... It was a small family owned chain including 1 my local one next to work, 2 the Childr..."That is so sad. Losing a beloved bookstore is bad enougb, but using a one of its kind in the country and an historic location as well...serious blows.
In normal times, white knights appear more often than not. We will all keep positive bookstore vibes.
What upsets me is the way they are doing it - mostly without masks, without social distancing, without any sense of needing to protect others or even themselves. That is the ultimate sin, so to speak. Not that they are speaking out, but that they are being so incredibly irresponsible and stupid about how they are doing it! There was a photo that upset me far more than the one of the guys with their guns in the front -- several women with their kids standing with protest signs, the kids eating a picnic on the blanket on the ground next to them. Not one mask, no protection of any kind. Not one of those kids was over 10 yo. How as a parent do you risk your children's health like that? Or yours as the adult responsible for caring for them?
Of courese the guys with their guns is another whole issue. Frankly, I just don't get that need to go places showing off your gun - and yes I know it is in part a pathetic attempt to show power and control. I grew up in a household with guns for hunting. They were kept locked up and brought out only during hunting season. There was never a suggestion that they be put on display at any other time or for any reason.
But to protest during a pandemic without protection -- I don't get it.