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That's where my theory goes about people in Raleigh comes into play. I personally do not know anybody here who has gotten sick from COVID-19 so that plays into how I assess risk on a daily basis. I suspect the majority of people who don't care at the moment are at that point too.
If you are on Staten Island, chances are that you probably do (especially if you are a medical professional or in public safety). Once you see loved ones and friends dying, you'll probably take this more seriously. It suck that it's what it takes but it's human nature to ignore things that are happening until you directly are affected by it (this is why it sucks even more that there is not consistent messaging across the country about certain key issues).
Thing is, it's not unlikely that an acquaintance of yours ('you' meaning any of us) has had it, or that an employee or customer of a store you shop at has had it. You wouldn't be told unless that person made a point of telling you directly, or unless your workplace or the local store made an announcement that someone who works there tested positive. That isn't an argument for being paranoid, just for being careful.
The data released is still so vague that I don't feel terribly confident with my own risk assessments, which is why I don't understand the confidence coming from people who scoff at masks and insist this is a big deal about nothing. Nobody knows how big a deal this will be in the end, and still you've got people not only insisting the crisis is over but that there never was a crisis to begin with.
George Carlin summed it up pretty well. "Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."
That gets us started. I think another part of the problem is some folks don't have the emotional development required to cope with this type of phenomena. Their minds simply won't allow them to absorb and adjust what what is happening, so instead they carry on by pretending it isn't.
Now let's add in the nature of scientific discovery all the new information we're hearing about this virus. How it spreads. Who is affected. How long it survives on surfaces. Where is came from. So many folks don't understand that science changes all the time, and when they hear contrary information that may be only 2 weeks old, they begin to distrust science because it may be contradictory to what they've been told.
It's a mess.
An All time line from an All Time standup. His whole "politicians" bit (available on youtube) should be mandatory viewing.
Thing is, it's not unlikely that an acquaintance of yours ('you' meaning any of us) has had it, or that an employee or customer of a store you shop at has had it. You wouldn't be told unless that person made a point of telling you directly, or unless your workplace or the local store made an announcement that someone who works there tested positive. That isn't an argument for being paranoid, just for being careful.
The data released is still so vague that I don't feel terribly confident with my own risk assessments, which is why I don't understand the confidence coming from people who scoff at masks and insist this is a big deal about nothing. Nobody knows how big a deal this will be in the end, and still you've got people not only insisting the crisis is over but that there never was a crisis to begin with.
But does it really matter how many people have had it? Isn't it hospitalizations and deaths that are what really matter? Both of which have been very low in NC thus far.
I'd like to think that the data behind hospitalizations and deaths aren't as vague as cases themselves.
I said that to the guy in my golf story I shared above. "You know SI is by far the most Conservative part of NYC and is home to many first responders" and he was like "ya, no. Its NYC. Liberal Bastion".
Some people are simply beyond reach.
The people of Tottenville, Staten Island, do not approve of that guy's statement! Heavily, heavily trumpy. But as Twingles said, filled with first responders who are not having it.
I would say do whatever you're most comfortable with, but don't judge others that do otherwise.
If other people's behavior didn't create the possibility of making me extremely sick, or even killing me, then you might have have a point. However, thats not the reality of this virus.
I said that to the guy in my golf story I shared above. "You know SI is by far the most Conservative part of NYC and is home to many first responders" and he was like "ya, no. Its NYC. Liberal Bastion".
It could be (making numbers up, obviously) 10% dems, 80% pubs and 10% other and a person who can't be bothered with facts will continue to cling to whatever their inner story is. Real info be damned.
But does it really matter how many people have had it? Isn't it hospitalizations and deaths that are what really matter?
No, of course not. Do you want to get extremely sick for 2 weeks? Do you want to have permanent lung damage? Do you want to spread the virus to many other people? Its not a cold, and its not the flu.
The people of Tottenville, Staten Island, do not approve of that guy's statement! Heavily, heavily trumpy. But as Twingles said, filled with first responders who are not having it.
Ya its one of those things that leads me to shut down a lot of people when "in depth conversations" take place.
I will grant that I have my own positions on subjects and that other people can have differing positions on subjects . I have no desire to "create atheists out of believers" if you will. We can disagree without being disagreeable.
But if you just flat out deny undeniable aspects of a conversation with me, then I relegate the remainder of your entire position to where it should be, the dust bin. Like with the guy in my anecdote. I don't shut him down because we disagree politically. I disregard him because his position ignores key facts of reality.
It could be (making numbers up, obviously) 10% dems, 80% pubs and 10% other and a person who can't be bothered with facts will continue to cling to whatever their inner story is. Real info be damned.
Agreed. It is by no means a cornered market on this phenomena.
As someone said a few pages back in so many words; there are lots of people who don't like the feeling in their belly when something they hold dear is turned on its head by facts.
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