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Many of these changes created by the Covid-19 pandemic are erasing our identity as human beings. We cannot send our children to school. We cannot send our preschool children to socializing nursery school. We cannot enjoy the benefits of the arts, including music and museums. The question is, what that distinguishes us from primates from which we emerged?
This is not far-fetched. When our state governors have thoughtlessly closed down businesses with no plan of reopening, they erase much of what distinguishes human being from the animals. From the point of view of appearance, how long can we all go without haircut? We are all going to be very messy look in short order, except of course those that surreptitiously have a “home visit” from a barber or hair stylist.
Much of what has made human society distinct from the animal kingdom comes from the socializing and collective experience of enjoying music and visual art. We don’t know why painting started, but it started on the walls of caves. Doubtless cave people got together to admire those paintings. More recently, artists have created great works of art, by Michelangelo, Picasso and others.. Now we’re stuck with viewing it on a computer
Live performance music is another collectively civilizing experience. From festivals such as Woodstock to the folk coffeehouses, in other venues, music is designed to be enjoyed in groups. The presence of applause or lack of applause shape what musicians do.
Religion is another such shaper of socialization. I cannot imagine the cheerlessness of a world without weddings, Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, confirmations, Christmas Mass, the Hajj in Mecca, and other such events. In s hort, humans are a gregarious species. We need people.
All of this is potentially lost in the mad dash towards “social distancing.” What is most alarming is it the same people who have fought hardest for social distancing fight hard against cures or ameliorative treatment They insist on lengthy testing interval that will make the proposed treatment irrelevant .
All such people are not created equal when it comes to distancing. Does one seriously think that Bill and Melinda Gates are doing their own house cleaning in there probably large house in Kirkland, Washington? Or are they using paid labor? Would Governor Gretchen Witham (sp) of Michigan approve?
Similarly, they can afford to have you musicians and comedians come to entertain them. There is a tradition for this; the royal house of Esterhazy in Vienna had Haydn as an in house composer for much of his life, and accompanying musicians. Do we want people only with the wealth of the House of Esterhazy to be able to afford to be entertained?
I am certainly not advocating a chaotic reopening however, we must have a time frame within which religious institutions, schools come a preschool, concert halls and alike will reopen. I watched the press conference yesterday with six Northeastern governors. All I heard was a vague plan to make a vague plan. Society and the world must open for the non-wealth.
I am left scratching my hirsute head at the sentences I've bolded above. Cave dwellers gathered to admire the works of Picasso? Staunch social distancing advocates are also strongly anti-vaccine? Huh?
"I am certainly not advocating a chaotic reopening however, we must have a time frame within which religious institutions, schools come a preschool, concert halls and alike will reopen. I watched the press conference yesterday with six Northeastern governors. All I heard was a vague plan to make a vague plan. Society and the world must open for the non-wealth".
BECAUSE NO INE KNOWS! How do you expect to have a time frame when we don't know yet how long this virus will continue to spread? The numbers jumped drastically in many States today. If we re-open too soon there could be a second wave. They reported today that The pandemic of 1918's second wave was deadlier than the first. Trust me, I have kids home, vacation canceled, my daughter won't have an 8th grade graduation and her birthday party canceled, but I'd rather have that than catch this virus!
Not sure what culture you proclaim to convey adults are in fetal lockdown positions.
Most homosapiens maintain an upright position in stature. The fact we are proactive in maintaining social distancing and perhaps limiting exposure is an anedote til a new more permanent vaccine can be generated.
That's an eighteen month process. And useless if the strain mutates. Thus you are talking about forever. At some point the ones who are scared can stay in, others should be able to live their lives. Add to it that smoking appears to be a major factor. As do other pre-existing conditions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CGab
"I am certainly not advocating a chaotic reopening however, we must have a time frame within which religious institutions, schools come a preschool, concert halls and alike will reopen. I watched the press conference yesterday with six Northeastern governors. All I heard was a vague plan to make a vague plan. Society and the world must open for the non-wealth".
BECAUSE NO INE KNOWS! How do you expect to have a time frame when we don't know yet how long this virus will continue to spread? The numbers jumped drastically in many States today. If we re-open too soon there could be a second wave. They reported today that The pandemic of 1918's second wave was deadlier than the first. Trust me, I have kids home, vacation canceled, my daughter won't have an 8th grade graduation and her birthday party canceled, but I'd rather have that than catch this virus!
If that's your worry nobody can force you out to a public gathering. And your employer should let you work from home if you can.
It’s a matter of perspective. This situation is making me feel more human. With working from home and only going places for essential needs, I’m more rested than I have been in years and I have time.
I’m getting outside and exercising daily. I’m Zooming with friends and family more than usual.I don’t have to contend with a soul crushing 2.5 hour daily commute to/from work - saves on gas and wear and tear on my vehicle. I can have my morning coffee in the comfort of my home instead of in the car. I’m putting together a jigsaw puzzle for the first time in 25 years. My house is super clean. Laundry is caught up. I’m watching musicians perform on FB live. Museums and art galleries are doing virtual tours (and “field trips” for kids, btw). We’ve dug out board games from storage.
Both my husband and I are fortunate to be allowed to work from home so we’re still getting a paycheck. So we’ve been donating to food banks and local charities, (online) shopping with small businesses, ordering food to be delivered and heavily tipping drivers, and we’re looking for other ways to help those less fortunate.
But yeah...my gray roots are starting to show since I can’t get to the salon.
First of all humans are animals, but I think I know what you mean in that you think humans may be devolving into non-human animals during this crisis. My answer is a definite NO. If anything we're becoming more human. Being concerned about other humans who we've never met, connecting with people hundreds if not thousands of miles away, some of us realizing we shouldn't take things for granted and appreciating what we do have, working together to achieve common goals, the list goes on. No doubt things are very different but that does not mean we are any less human. If a hurricane strikes an area and closes schools for two weeks does that mean we're less human during that time? Of course not.
Times are rough for a lot of us but we should all strive to make the best of it. Ex. Instead of idling at home, try to learn a new skill, do things around the house you've put off, plan for your future, etc. Humanity has gone through much, much rougher patches than we are now and we didn't have sites like Citydata to express ourselves. Consider ourselves lucky.
I think this will get worse and worse, the further we get into summer this year.
Society is still holding on by a thread right now, everyone is still fairly civil towards each other, polite, patient, but eventually I think that will break down over time, as the state of our economy becomes more clear (and especially the state of the GLOBAL economy), many people will devolve rapidly to become people,nothing like their old selves.
I read awhile back, the amount of time it takes for your otherwise friendly next door neighbor, who invites you over for summer barbecues and parties....to reach the point of being ready to kill you and your entire family for the food in the fridge, is about 4-7 days, (without having anything to eat).
Because of cell phones and the internet, people are still socializing, viewing art, listening to music, communicating and being creative. People can still get groceries, household goods, health care and medicine.
Humans are resilient and capable of adapting to survive. Yes, it is inconvenient to stay at home and avoid getting sick and/or causing illness to someone else. Going without a haircut or using a tanning booth is not going to kill anyone, but going out and about can.
The world is a different place right now, and I don't believe it's ever going to be the same as it was. Everyone is going to have to adapt and accept a new "normal" if we are to survive as a species.
I dictated post by pressing the "Windows K" and "H" and dictating to my computer. Obviously I did not do a good job.
That's an eighteen month process. And useless if the strain mutates. Thus you are talking about forever. At some point the ones who are scared can stay in, others should be able to live their lives. Add to it that smoking appears to be a major factor. As do other pre-existing conditions.If that's your worry nobody can force you out to a public gathering. And your employer should let you work from home if you can.
That's not an adequate response.
Those with chronic illnesses and older people are more likely to die from coronavirus than other groups are. The same is holding true for minorities such as African Americans and Hispanics.
We can't just "add up dollars" and make a decision to throw these people under the bus in the name of economic progress or prosperity.
Yes, we can restart this economy, but its going to take a large effective testing program. We are going to have to test not only those with symptoms, but groups that have no symptoms as well. People with coronavirus will have to be quarantined for two weeks or so. We will have to trace the people those with virus have had contact with for more testing as well. If we do these things effectively, most experts say it will be say to reopen the economy. I can't support doing it without these precautions and infrastructure.
Those with chronic illnesses and older people are more likely to die from coronavirus than other groups are. The same is holding true for minorities such as African Americans and Hispanics.
We can't just "add up dollars" and make a decision to throw these people under the bus in the name of economic progress or prosperity.
Yes, we can restart this economy, but its going to take a large effective testing program. We are going to have to test not only those with symptoms, but groups that have no symptoms as well. People with coronavirus will have to be quarantined for two weeks or so. We will have to trace the people those with virus have had contact with for more testing as well. If we do these things effectively, most experts say it will be say to reopen the economy. I can't support doing it without these precautions and infrastructure.
Not simply "minorities", but rather people with at-risk lifestyles. Black Americans don't take care of themselves: obesity and type 2 diabetes, substance abuse, poor nutrition, so their Wuhan virus death rates are a couple of percentage points higher than average. Unfortunate, but pretty clearly linked to culture.
Testing will become pretty widespread. The latest tests take 5 minutes to run on a nose swab. This means, once these things are in mass production, that you can test every employee or student as they come in the door every morning, and (hopefully) send home anyone who's contagious. The workplaces and schools will be sanitized every day or so.
Treatments are being developed; I suspect by June or July, there will be a pretty standard protocol involving zinc, hydroxychloroquine, and an anti-bacterial to stave off pneumonia. There are about 20 other proposed treatments also in the queue. In a couple of months, hospitals and clinics will be getting most people fixed up and sent home pretty quickly.
There are about a dozen different vaccine candidates, some already in human testing. One, out of Oxford, England, might be available as soon as September. Others will be in production probably in a year.
Life will be returning to normal, folks. No need to predict the end of the world quite yet. Unless this virus turns out to have some nasty side effects or mutational capability that we don't yet understand, I think there's light at the end of the tunnel.
The passage toward “becoming animals” isn’t because the opera or the public library are closed, or that handshakes are now regarded as a passé and unseemly intimacy. But it is cowering in our homes, suspecting anyone as being a potential threat, viewing every day as desperate life-and-death struggle for survival, that turns us into animals.
An animal’s life consists of sleeping, eating, mating, and most importantly avoiding threats. Is this not in essence what our lives have become?
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