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empathy, fear, patience, and understanding.

May 11, 2020 10:27AM
I agree with you overall. In many ways, there's been a plethora of empathy and I really think some good that will emerge long term from all this. Perspectives on what's important in life and on how much so many of us do have. What time with family really can look like. What connecting with friends can mean. Yet in other ways, not nearly enough. Same with fear. Same with patience. Same with understanding. We're paying an awful price for being so behind on taking the threat and data seriously months ago and, like you said, having a more cohesive, strategic plan based on cooperation vs. competition and blame.

The question of "how long can people sustain these restrictions?" I don't know. But longer than 8+ weeks (which is what it's been for us in MA). The economic impact of all this is SO real and felt by SO many. Hopefully economic rebound can happen as quickly as hoped (I'm optimistic). But the human cost is much more. And yes, issues of mental health, domestic violence and all that is and will be an ugly by-product of all this. Our stay-at-home order expires 5/18 and I fully expect it to be extended two, possible three more weeks before (and while) some things do start reopening in phases.

It's all just so amorphous and frustration and fear of the unknown is, I think, really natural. And the goal posts have been pushed back a couple times now. But when the Tiny P**** Brigades start marching on state capitols armed to the gills and intimidating like terrorists, sorry, there's nothing reasonable or remotely intelligent or relevant going on there.

But at the same time part of having empathy is accepting that this is all so unprecedented and there is no blueprint for solving it. There just isn't. People- me included- love deadlines/finish lines. But there is none yet here. And frustration builds and spills over. So when "So and so was wrong!" gets spat out with such venom I think "yeah, and how are they supposed to have all the answers lined up in a neat row?" This is learn-as-we-go to the Nth degree... I suppose I'm simply in the camp that more short-term pain equals greater long-term gain for us all. It's incredibly frustrating to see guidelines set forth about when and how things could get triggered to begin opening up in phases only for states to push to supersede them before remotely hitting those milestones and put people even more in harm's way and give back hard-fought ground.

I was in line outside a grocery store last week and a guy was standing there, mask in hand yet refusing to put his on until he was at the store's door, pronouncing loudly "this is what they want!" and "I can't believe Americans are standing for this!" I was, honestly, really embarrassed for him. I suppose some warped view of it as weakness or subservience or something. The rugged individualism of this country is one of its greatest traits. But so is the collective sense of pride and caring."I gotta get mine" is not the priority in this moment...

If wearing a mask inside stores or in any crowded places for a couple months- or 4, or maybe 8- makes a difference in lives saved and in the time this thing is with us (and it without question does) before bigger treatment breakthroughs are on hand and healthcare capacity is built out further then where is the question? Sorry but civil liberties aren't being harmed here. I'd love to go get a haircut too (and tip my barber 3X normal) than have my wife do it on the front porch. Or have a beer and wings at a bar (same 3X tip to the bartender). Or go see a movie. But opening smartly and cautiously to see scientifically what's working, what isn't and being able to ID and tackle problem areas vs. just reopening out of frustration and cabin fever are just two way different things. Methodically helping more and more companies/workers come back is a HUGE priority. So is getting kids back to schools, elective surgeries and dental treatments restarted, construction sites, and all that. But it's just not an all-or-nothing proposition. Tattoo parlors, nail salons, Vegas casinos, Disneyworld, yeah, sorry, but you have to wait a little longer.. No, not a year or four... But weeks more than some places? Yeah, most likely.

So many have been through so much worse by comparison. My mother was a little girl on the southeastern English coast during WW2, and watching German bombers fly over toward London almost daily, sometimes them dropping their excess cargoes on the town on their way back across the Channel, daily air raid sirens and calls for everyone to put on helmets and take shelter, years of food rationing- that was sacrifice. Can we please just buy more time as a country to further see improvements before filing lawsuits about not having golf carts available on the reopened golf courses?

One man's thinking.



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2020 11:02AM by LMU93.
SubjectAuthorViewsPosted

  Good news pointing to a possible NFL season come September...

Rams432050May 09, 2020 12:39PM

  Re: Good news pointing to a possible NFL season come September...

BigGame81354May 09, 2020 12:43PM

  Re: I don’t know how any thoughtful person

Speed_Kills409May 09, 2020 01:09PM

  I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

ferragamo79543May 09, 2020 01:17PM

  what!!! that’s nuts

Speed_Kills469May 09, 2020 01:43PM

  Re: what!!! that’s nuts

Classicalwit312May 09, 2020 03:36PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

bigjimram21334May 09, 2020 01:53PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

waterfield336May 09, 2020 02:05PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

zn335May 09, 2020 02:05PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

waterfield348May 09, 2020 02:12PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

max409May 09, 2020 03:46PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

zn350May 09, 2020 04:01PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

max304May 09, 2020 04:28PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

zn317May 09, 2020 04:32PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

max342May 09, 2020 04:39PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

AlbaNY_Ram277May 09, 2020 05:28PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

zn323May 09, 2020 05:34PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks Attachments

AlbaNY_Ram436May 09, 2020 06:09PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

k3372May 09, 2020 08:29PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

zn447May 09, 2020 08:55PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

Classicalwit360May 09, 2020 04:28PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

max371May 09, 2020 04:33PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

zn380May 09, 2020 04:57PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

max286May 09, 2020 05:04PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

zn311May 09, 2020 05:21PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

Classicalwit274May 09, 2020 04:58PM

  Just curious

Suh-weet!383May 09, 2020 05:19PM

  Re: Just curious

zn316May 09, 2020 05:24PM

  It's both my experience and intuition that....

Suh-weet!288May 09, 2020 06:30PM

  Re: hell... what about spreading it

Speed_Kills320May 09, 2020 05:29PM

  Re: hell... what about spreading it

Rampage2K-330May 09, 2020 06:37PM

  Re: hell... what about spreading it

zn366May 09, 2020 06:40PM

  Re: hell... what about spreading it

Classicalwit325May 09, 2020 07:35PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

MamaRAMa319May 09, 2020 08:57PM

  Re: I went out to grocery store for first time in 3.5 weeks

bigjimram21349May 10, 2020 08:16AM

  okay...

zn322May 10, 2020 08:22AM

  Re: okay...

bigjimram21283May 10, 2020 04:08PM

  Re: okay...

zn285May 10, 2020 04:38PM

  The bigger question

PHDram313May 09, 2020 06:11PM

  LOL my wife went out

ferragamo79248May 11, 2020 05:36AM

  My answer to that

waterfield331May 09, 2020 02:00PM

  Re: Good one Biggame!!!!

oldschoolramfan355May 09, 2020 03:57PM

  Because everyone doesn’t lives their lives in fear

RockRam437May 10, 2020 10:46AM

  Re: Because everyone doesn’t lives their lives in fear

Rampage2K-328May 10, 2020 11:05AM

  Re: Because everyone doesn’t lives their lives in fear

waterfield317May 10, 2020 11:11AM

  how about living in common sense

zn339May 10, 2020 12:06PM

  4 years

PHDram391May 10, 2020 04:14PM

  Re: 4 years

zn290May 10, 2020 04:42PM

  The fastest time to develop a vaccine

PHDram298May 10, 2020 05:06PM

  Re: The fastest time to develop a vaccine

Rampage2K-284May 10, 2020 05:24PM

  I hope your right but

PHDram398May 10, 2020 05:31PM

  Re: I hope your right but

zn450May 10, 2020 06:31PM

  Re: I hope your right but

PHDram271May 10, 2020 10:28PM

  Re: I hope your right but

zn294May 11, 2020 03:56AM

  You misunderstand

PHDram312May 11, 2020 04:23AM

  Re: I hope your right but

MOBSQUAD99268May 18, 2020 12:57PM

  Re: I hope your right but

zn214May 23, 2020 04:54PM

  Re: I hope your right but

ramBRO287May 11, 2020 05:19AM

  Re: I hope your right but

PHDram281May 11, 2020 05:47AM

  Re: I hope your right but

Rams43257May 11, 2020 07:26AM

  Re: I hope your right but

ramBRO305May 11, 2020 08:43AM

  empathy, fear, patience, and understanding.

LMU93291May 11, 2020 10:27AM

  Re: empathy, fear, patience, and understanding.

Rampage2K-303May 11, 2020 10:38AM

  Re: empathy, fear, patience, and understanding.

AlbaNY_Ram224May 24, 2020 04:23AM

  Re: I hope your right but

PHDram290May 11, 2020 01:24PM

  Re: how about living in common sense

bigjimram21328May 10, 2020 04:15PM

  Re: how about living in common sense

zn309May 10, 2020 04:39PM

  No sir. What you want is for everyone to do what what you want

RockRam360May 11, 2020 11:58AM

  Nope and don't get personal

zn266May 11, 2020 12:30PM

  Re: No sir. What you want is for everyone to do what what you want

AlbaNY_Ram281May 11, 2020 01:13PM

  Re: No sir. What you want is for everyone to do what what you want

Rampage2K-252May 11, 2020 01:28PM

  Re: No sir. What you want is for everyone to do what what you want

RAMbler268May 11, 2020 02:07PM

  ramsrule is great

PHDram272May 11, 2020 07:31PM

  Re: ramsrule is great

zn291May 12, 2020 07:01AM

  thanks for your opinion

PHDram251May 12, 2020 07:27AM

  you too (nm)

zn243May 12, 2020 07:34AM

  Illustration of importance of masks Attachments

waterfield264May 23, 2020 03:31PM

  Re: perhaps

AlbaNY_Ram282May 12, 2020 08:31AM

  Re: perhaps

PHDram280May 12, 2020 08:52AM

  Re: No sir. What you want is for everyone to do what what you want

GroundPounder268May 11, 2020 05:22PM

  Re: hypothetical conversatiom

AlbaNY_Ram280May 11, 2020 07:51PM

  ^^^ This right here! ^^^

RAMbler352May 12, 2020 08:20AM

  Re: No sir. What you want is for everyone to do what what you want

waterfield249May 23, 2020 03:21PM

  Re: Good news pointing to a possible NFL season come September...

Classicalwit314May 09, 2020 03:40PM

  Re: Good news pointing to a possible NFL season come September...

ramBRO276May 09, 2020 04:26PM

  Re: Good news pointing to a possible NFL season come September...

Ramsdude291May 09, 2020 04:34PM

  Re: If everyone does not follow the rules, then it's all a waste of time.....

oldschoolramfan307May 09, 2020 04:08PM

  Re: If everyone does not follow the rules, then it's all a waste of time.....

waterfield282May 09, 2020 08:14PM

  Re: Good news pointing to a possible NFL season come September...

SoCalRAMatic323May 10, 2020 04:58AM

  I really wonder how they are gonna open up schools in September

max321May 10, 2020 05:01AM

  One of my many fears!

Ram Fan Teacher299May 11, 2020 08:48AM

  Re: Good news pointing to a possible NFL season come September...

MOBSQUAD99253May 18, 2020 12:58PM