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Agree to disagree I suppose. When was the last time the world as a whole faced this sort of thing? Maybe the 50's, except maybe for Asia which seems to have a deep innate sense of mask wearing due in part to density and reoccurrence.
I really don't think that is reason, it is almost entirely cultural. You did say 'maybe' though.
Human behavior will do what it does long term - regardless of government mandates or culture.
And this could basically sum up any of the threads on this subject, and neatly relates to the one I responded to - for the same reasons masks are not conflated with freedoms or shame or fear or whatever some are misguided about there, the same reasons why people are irresponsible in many Western countries including this one. Where there culture is an asset for this, here it is a handicap.
I guess I don't have as much disdain for Americans as others do. This thing was seeded into our country for several months before the news even started picking up on it. Oh, except our illustrious senator Richard Burr, who privately was being given intelligence briefings, selling stock, and advising close donors to go to cash while publicly waiving the all is well flag.
You might not be saying it but I have felt from early on we are comparatively doomed because of this and the denial that followed.
Agree to disagree I suppose. When was the last time the world as a whole faced this sort of thing? Maybe the 50's, except maybe for Asia which seems to have a deep innate sense of mask wearing due in part to density and reoccurrence.
My point wasn't to disagree with your take on masks. I believe you when you say they aren't wearing them in high numbers. You have been there and seen first hand. I certainly haven't. I just took angelkitten's point to be more about the general populace being more accepting of a greater role of government in the life of Britons vs American's view of government in life.
Asia, in my experience there, is the exact inverse of some of the West when it comes to mask. If you don't wear one there, people view you as suspicious or unwilling to do your part as a fellow good citizen. Sure there are historical reasons for it but there is also cultural reasons (i.e. the view of the individual in Asia vs here) that lay the foundation for what we see.
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Originally Posted by wheelsup
Interestingly enough other countries were just as anti-mask as we are if not more, until their numbers starting spiking.
While I don't disagree, my question is as follows. We have some of the worst numbers of any country, why was it so hard to do "what was needed?"
The US is #7 in Cases/1M and #8 in Deaths/1M in the world.
Is it because we are too geographically spread out and thus "lose that connection"?
Is it because impacts weren't evenly distributed across the states? NC still hasn't got as bad as other peak states did? Why? Are Coop's "third most restrictions of any state" keeping that the case?
Are we simply older and way less healthy than other countries and thus at higher risk....risks even money can't save you from?
Or, has some of the West suffered from the Dunning-Kruger effect coming full circle?
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelsup
Human behavior will do what it does long term - regardless of government mandates or culture.
But as we discussed above, not all cultures are the same. The "I'm just going to go back to normal and damn the consequences" is an idea that simply doesn't cross the minds of people in other countries; the presumptuousness is a bridge too far.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelsup
The city did shut down completely, similar to how cities in California did, for a bit (you had to make an appointment to exercise outside your home, allowed only one hour to do so for example) but folks quickly rebounded when let loose. That was more about local government protocols than inbred culture.
Inbred culture? If the ends justify the means, NC, even when "we peaked", didn't come close to as bad as other areas. Even though we are a fairly big state in terms of geography and people. Whatever happened here should have a post event analysis to see how we dodged a bigger impact from this thing. Was it luck, circumstance or policy?
COVID cases and deaths appear to be down everywhere in the US for all of August except schools, especially colleges.
And when there is a mass exodus from college campuses due to on-campus outbreaks, they'll bring the virus back to their communities and expose more people who hadn't been exposed previously.
And when there is a mass exodus from college campuses due to on-campus outbreaks, they'll bring the virus back to their communities and expose more people who hadn't been exposed previously.
Good, close the colleges and get KG-3rd grade at least back into school full-time or at least 50% (not this 1-3 week rotation). Been hearing from many parents of Kindergarteners that things are not going well and worried about a wasted year.
As in younger kids are not learning anything. The brain is not developmentally ready to do all learning on a computer and need in-person teaching.
I agree they need to learn the social aspects of being a human (conflict resolution, general interaction, sharing etc etc etc) but I can say in the week and a half they have been doing the orientation stuff, the kids in my daughter's class are killing it.
Between the apps where they can read and do assignments or the meetings in google meet, they have gotten the hang of it quickly. Trivially, the decrease in awkward silences while a kid comes off mute to answer a question or the hot mic moments are largely gone in what I would consider is a fairly short amount of time.
I mean I work with adults who can't even remember to mute themselves on conference calls and we hear all sorts of random nonsense as a result.
In short, while less than ideal, I am impressed so far.
I think for a lot of kids regardless of age who can't stay engaged/have difficulty with online classes, this is a very real possibility. That, or they'll be perpetually behind in school and possibly beyond.
I know this might be the case for my son who has autism. He's already behind from last spring. I'm hearing the same from friends who have kids with similar issues. Even for my daughter who is very motivated and bright, expectations are low for the year. At least she'll be able to keep up though.
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