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Opening America now is ludicrous.

Yesterday I received an email from the YMCA saying they are now open. "When will you be coming in?" the membership director asked.

In my reply, I paraphrased Leonard Pitts:

"I refuse to workout at the YMCA until I feel I can do so safely. I do not believe political halfwits and MAGA hat-wearing idiots know more than Dr. Fauci.

"Instead I need to hear from serious, credible experts, with RN, MD and Ph.D. after their name, that the COVID-19 virus is no longer a threat. I need to know sufficient testing has been conducted. I will not workout in a crowded gym until I get the all-clear from credible, medical experts.

"You can look for me three weeks after that."

[cnn.com]

LiterateHiker 9 May 5
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21 comments

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7

I'm sorry, I overlooked the word "Opening" when I saw this post in my feed.

I read, "Just posted 'America now is ludicrous'". 🤔

Either version is correct.

Has been so for quite a while in my opinion.

5

Thank you for recognizing that public health isn't all about you. ❤ from an RN.

3

This is truly scary, and we are all guinea pigs. I feel for the people desperate to stay financially afloat, both businesses and individuals. I get that as a whole we can't stay closed indefinitely. Some are already financially in freefall. Some points that seem lost in all the hubub about re-opening is tha pathetic federal response from at least back to January and the lack of emphasis now on aappropriate high caution with how we re-open. Biggest reason that re-opening at this point is still a very dangerous option is the national failure to roll out and ramp us widespread testing in a timely manner. Donald Trump has been deliberately dismantling crucial agencies and installing incompetent political cronies to head what is left of these agencies. He single handedly guaranteed any pandemic response would be inadequate, a disaster. Now he is frantically putting lipstick on a pig, hoping that returning economic activities will distract most people from inconveniences such as mounting numbers of dead people and new confirmed infections.

The testing debacle is perhaps the biggest failure. From early on, the administration's own task force has been spelling out the crucial role of virus tracking through testing and human contact tracing. They have also emphasized the necessity to tracking consecutive weeks of decreasing infection rates. Trump is literally ignoring all that and cheering on Republican governors who are rushing to re-open despite NONE of the necessary safeguards being in place and functional.

As we re-open, we certainly need every possible emphasis on alerting the public to risks and sensible necessary safeguards to personally practice. What we are seeing instead of caution is a massive pep rally for re-opening, with Trump leading the cheers. This is guaranteed to encourage countless people to conclude the worst is behind us (it is not) and to throw caution to the wind.

A lot of this could have been avoided if we had been prepared. But, as you say, we weren't even close. Yet still too many still support our fool-in-chief and trying to reopen now will only reconfirm what a mess we have made of this, not great, nation.

@JackPedigo

I have voted Democrat my entire adult life.

@JackPedigo Agreed! I don't support re-opening now, either, because we haven't met the basic requirements. I am just saying we "should" be closer to ready to re-open than we are, thanks in large part to the orange turd squatter in the White House, and regardeless of when we re-open, the process needs more ernest caution than manny are giving it, and again I blame tRump in part for being the shittiest role model about this. He doesn't concey any concern for anything but his political support and what money he can gain, period.

I also can understand why others are legitimately scared about how long it has taken. Others, however, are just spoiled and unwilling to be inconvenienced any longer.

@MikeInBatonRouge Unfortunately, that decision is not ours to determine. It is up to mother nature and she is pissed as hell at how we have been treating her. We think tRump is bad, just try to mess with her.

@MikeInBatonRouge, @LiterateHiker That can be good especially considering where you live. I have not and did vote republican at one time. Things have changed and so have I and I am not ashamed of admitting my past mistakes. The best way to learn is from one's mistakes. I should be a genius by now lol

3

I will start by saying I agree with everything you say. I am retired and do not need to work, but if I put myself in the shoes of a younger person who has no income coming in, the rent is past do as is the car payment I sympathize about getting back to work. Our government does not do things for its citizens.
I choose to not go to the gym or restaurants at this moment, but I have the privilege of making that choice.
I really feel bad for those who need to work at this moment. Not for the AK-47 toting airheads. They can still make their meth in their barns or garages.

2

Brilliant.

Our local YMCA also sent me a letter announcing:

". . . We can't wait to welcome you back to our buildings. . . " (shorter hours, no showers, no swimming, no sauna, but if you want to walk indoors, or hit the weights or cardio machines, yea, that's possible for a short time during the day.) (face-palm)

mmm let's see if that makes sense:
The Y was closed when the entire state had 8 known cases. (Bravo!)
Two weeks before that time a custodian who had friends who lived in Italy always wore a mask while at work. (A week before their friends became unreachable, they told her stories of dead people in the street. The custodian figured her friends had also died.)

Today this local area had another 18 (known) cases (highest daily increase recorded for this area) so, as of yesterday, the YMCA is now open. . .

Sarcasm Alert But the even better news is, if you want to hang out at the bar, and drink with your MAGA hat wearing tRump sniffing Republicatards, yep, bars are open and from what I hear, crowded with idiots without masks.

Anybody want to wager the outcome for this area in 11 to 14 days?

All bets are off. Reopening while the cases are still climbing is like ringing the dinner bell.

2

Our local gym puts out exercise videos and tips and have now started a Zoom group for the Silver Sneakers program (I'm not 'silver yet (really) and it's boring). All this zeal t open will be followed by a sudden need to close when the illnesses and deaths escalate. Poor tRumpy (not). His valued economy will just have to stay crashed.

2

What was it ever not open?

@Jolanta

The first confirmed case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic was announced by the state of Washington on January 21, 2020. Washington made the first announcement of a death from the disease in the U.S. on February 29 and later announced that two deaths there on February 26 were also due to COVID-19.

Until mid-March, Washington had the highest absolute number of confirmed cases and the highest number per capita of any state in the country, when it was surpassed by New York state. Many of the deceased were residents of a nursing home in Kirkland, an Eastside suburb of Seattle in King County.

Washington had 15,462 confirmed cases and a total of 841 confirmed deaths as of May 4, 2020. Public health experts agree that the true number of cases in the state is much greater than the number that have been confirmed by laboratory tests. It is very difficult to know the true number since most people experience mild illness and testing is not widely available.

Governor Jay Inslee issued a statewide stay-at-home order on March 23 to last at least two weeks.[3] Since then, it has been extended to last at least to May 31.

[en.wikipedia.org]

@LiterateHiker I posted a bit from PBS about the 2 Washington's. It was reported the reason the first virus was here was simply because we had expected this to hit and were prepared to check anyone with symptoms (a hospital in Everett was the first to report). This state is better situated to do something about the virus than many other, poor states.

2

I suspect there are many with a similar mindset. The silent majority does not want businesses to re-open yet. There are few protesters gathering more media coverage than their numbers deserve.
I will follow a plan similar to yours - waiting a month to see what happens. Curbside pick-up and delivery are working just fine. I miss the gym, but it is not worth my life

CS60 Level 7 May 5, 2020
1

This will not end well. I say that as a social scientist. It's my task during my studies to understand this. (It may mean I have to repeat all of part of this year's studies, we don't know yet).
I see the need for Trump to get campaigning as trumping your nations safety. So....
DON'T BE A CHUMP VOTIN' FOR TRUMP, GIVE HIM A HIDIN' VOTE FOR BIDEN!
America can have that for free from me.

1

If this started from one person only about 6 months ago then logically the only way this hideous virus will no longer be a threat is if not one single person on the planet has it and this is never going to happen In the near future .

1

Good response!

1

Who is this youtube talking head, anyway? Is he your authoritative source? Okay. 🙄

1

Safety. Freedom. Opposite ends of a spectrum. Make of that what you will.

1

I'll be honest, I am conflicted.
I understand the need to distance and have been doing a bad Jesse James impression, when outdoors for the last month and a half. I think that we should keep doing these things, as there's no vaccine.
But, can we continue in this manner? This is no the first pandemic, nor will it be the last, this will be the template that is used in the future. I don't advocate whole sale opening, but I do think that we need to have a conversation about what is reasonable and acceptable.
Now open for incoming mail 🙂

Seems like very reasonable concern. I fear our government squandered its chance to be on top of this early and are now trying to merely distract from that failure,vrather than focusing on mitigating the damage to public wellbeing.

Mike. I do agree. There are several strata to this, the noisiest. not unsurprisingly is the political. There are legitimate concenrs for everyone. Compromised groups are afraid, business people are afraid, workers are afraid, some of their fears coincide, others are 180 degrees.
Personally I feel that I would like to know that inversal testing is available, not "1 million" or other tag lines, universal. I walk into a chemist and I can get a test and have the result within 15 minutes, just like my photo's. Of course that's a way away, so I would really like a conversation about what do the people think is acceptable. Yes there will be the polar opposites, but a lot of us will be somewhere near the centre. Then we can really start talking about reality not hyperbole and demagoguery.

1

Wise answer

1

Good for you

1

To date, there has been no credible empirical evidence the the lockdowns have been or will be successful in combating this particular virus.

...in alternative-facts universe.
In the real world the evidence is ample from the examples of cities, states, and countries around the world.

@MikeInBatonRouge You have swallowed the "blue pill". The evidence cited in the video is factual and from official sources.
Social distancing, hand washing, masks, etc. have been proven to be effective. The lockdowns have not.

@PBuck0145 that statement makes me suspect YOUR BIAS. Those "Blue Pill" governments, Seattle, California, Iceland, even not-so-blue-pill Wuhan, managed to flatten their infection curves doing precisely what you derisively dismiss. You need broader sources for your claims. My own search for WHO advocacy on lockdown policy show no such claim as you make. In fact, without widespread TESTING, which you failed to mention, we are blind, and significant restriction of population movement is advocated as one of the few governmental strategies available without accurate widespread testing. WHO urged careful, Slow, steps to any move to ease lockdowns just 2weeks ago. See for yourself.
[who.int]

Politico, btw, though varied in its contributers, is not the be-all-end-all of reliable authorities.

1

"A fool and his money are soon parted" applies to everybody who risks the lives of other people for their own financial gain.

1

Idiots will kill people

0

I am being lazy - I wanted to put of a video and say we are going at "ludicrous speed" from Spaceballs ad well.

0

Not everyone has the economic option of maintaining a quarantine and if you have that option then use it as long as you feel is necessary. If others want to throw themselves into harms way then that's their right, just make sure you avoid them like the plague because they will probably have it.
It's a judgment call and we all have to make our own choices and allow others the same right and privilege.

But if my employer decides to open I have to return or face no income. Those should not be the options

@Iamkratom Yet that is the choice that is being offered, assuming your employer reopens at all, a lot of small businesses are either not going to reopen or will be greatly reduced in size.

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