D&D and the rising pandemic

[tomBitonti]

On the lighter side: Organizers of Portland's Naked Bike Ride encourage participants to carry on by themselves

"The World Naked Bike Ride usually sees thousands of nude cyclists baring it all as they ride through cities around the world. But of course, with the coronavirus pandemic, this year's event will be a little bit different.

While canceled in other cities -- including in St. Louis, London and San Francisco -- the Portland, Oregon, chapter has instead announced that the show must go on, just with a little more social distancing than usual.

Instead of gathering at a set location and time, anyone who wishes to participate are simply encouraged to strip down, hop on, and ride wherever and whenever they'd like, event organizers announced Tuesday."

That's 27-Jun, folks.

Be safe, be well,
Tom Bitonti

 

[UngainlyTitan]

How much do you figure most of our current issues are caused by people who read more than the back of a cereal box?

Not all dystopian fiction is written

 

[Istbor]

Realistic.

I got called doom and gloom when I predicted 9/11 casualties every 1-3 days for a month or two. And yet here we are.

I can give you some doom and gloom possibilities if you want.

Sigh. I was just joking Zard. I fully understand the gravity of all this, but chuckled as it just seems to keep rolling out the bad.

 

[Zardnaar]

You know that you cannot kill more people than exist, right?

Yeah I didn't format that right. Meant to say there's 8 billion on planet. Even if you multiply Covid deaths by ten it's probably going to kill less people than starvation due to Covid.


We're slowly coming out of lockdown. Can now get takeaways buy not allowed in the shop. They put the eftpos machine on a table outside the door no cash. They hand you a box through a gap in the door.

Two months of no takeaways. Tried a new spot fish and chip shop that does Malaysian of all things.

Hot grease approx $18 USD. Fish was Hoki, sweet and sour chicken, chicken fried rice.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I know, it is kind of baffling. People yell about their freedoms because they have to spend a few months socially isolating, when the alternative is death.

To be 100% fair, the alternative includes the possibility of death.

...plus lung damage

...possible developmental issues

...organ failure

...loss of digits

..stroke and other neurological issues

...and the latest, long-lasting symptoms of unknown duration

Another cruel COVID-19 trick: Symptoms that won't go away

"I think I'm in the clear, but I'm not sure," said a patient with a persistent fever. "It feels never-ending. I am at a loss."

www.yahoo.com

 

[Deset Gled]

But, this flat out distrust of the government, when the government says, "Hey, the doctors are telling us to stay at home, so, folks, stay at home" and people just refuse to believe. ...

One woman actually talked about how wearing a mask had negative health effects because of restrictions of oxygen. ... If your mask is so fine that it restricts oxygen, it's not a mask, it's a plastic bag. Please don't put that on your head.

Can you really call it distrust of the government when the government is creating the mistrust?

It was bizarre to me to learn that Operation Gridlock (the anti-stay-at-home protest) in Michigan was orchestrated by members of the government. It was started and funded by the Michigan Freedom Fund and the Michigan Conservative Coalition. The MFF is funded by the DeVos family - that's Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education. The MCC was founded by Matt Maddock, a Michigan state Representative.

And our vice president literally walked around the Mayo Clinic last week without a mask. He said he wanted to be able to talk to people and "look them in the eye and say thank you". Edit: And it appears that as I am writing this, the president is doing a tour of a plant that makes face masks, without wearing a face mask. He's is wearing safety glasses, though.

In conclusion, I would have to say that this isn't really a "distrust of government" thing. My guess is that it's some mix of an "anti-intellectualism" thing and a "it can't happen here" thing.

 

[MarkB]

Regarding air travel costs, how does travel insurance factor in? I can only assume it's going to be a lot higher, and remain so, while the possibilities of further outbreaks remain high - either that, or policies will specifically exclude many of the expected travel disruptions.

 

[Istbor]

Can you really call it distrust of the government when the government is creating the mistrust?

It was bizarre to me to learn that Operation Gridlock (the anti-stay-at-home protest) in Michigan was orchestrated by members of the government. It was started and funded by the Michigan Freedom Fund and the Michigan Conservative Coalition. The MFF is funded by the DeVos family - that's Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education. The MCC was founded by Matt Maddock, a Michigan state Representative.

And our vice president literally walked around the Mayo Clinic last week without a mask. He said he wanted to be able to talk to people and "look them in the eye and say thank you". Edit: And it appears that as I am writing this, the president is doing a tour of a plant that makes face masks, without wearing a face mask. He's is wearing safety glasses, though.

In conclusion, I would have to say that this isn't really a "distrust of government" thing. My guess is that it's some mix of an "anti-intellectualism" thing and a "it can't happen here" thing.

It definitely hurts messaging when leaders aren't following the suggestions their administration puts out there. It hurts even more then they are not consistent about it.

Upside gaming wise, I have had a lot of time to think and world build a new setting while my in person group is on break. I am hoping we pick up where we left off, but I would rather be prepared in the event the decision is to start something new.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

The fact that people aren't staying inside isn't a "mistrust in the government" issue, though that may be part of the reason for a smaller group of people. The reason that people aren't staying inside (the main one at least) is because humans are a bunch of selfish jerks that hate being told to do something they don't like, no matter the cost.

People evolved to be selfish, evolved to let the old and weak die. We eventually developed empathy along the evolutionary tree, but that came later than selfishness. Both help us survive, but people are also lazy and tend to do whatever option takes less effort from them.

The people who are violating stay at home orders and protesting the lockdown aren't patriots or heroes, like they say they are. It's that they're bored and selfish, and would rather go to work and eat out at restaurants than save tens of thousands of lives.

 

[ad_hoc]

The fact that people aren't staying inside isn't a "mistrust in the government" issue, though that may be part of the reason for a smaller group of people. The reason that people aren't staying inside (the main one at least) is because humans are a bunch of selfish jerks that hate being told to do something they don't like, no matter the cost.

People evolved to be selfish, evolved to let the old and weak die. We eventually developed empathy along the evolutionary tree, but that came later than selfishness. Both help us survive, but people are also lazy and tend to do whatever option takes less effort from them.

The people who are violating stay at home orders and protesting the lockdown aren't patriots or heroes, like they say they are. It's that they're bored and selfish, and would rather go to work and eat out at restaurants than save tens of thousands of lives.

I don't think this is true.

We are seeing a wide display of behaviours from different cultures.

South Korea is doing a great job of social distancing and wearing masks.

People in Canada are mostly following recommendations and I think more would wear masks if they were more readily available. There are a few who are causing problems.

A lot of people in the USA are being problematic. That said there are areas that are better than others. Most people in New York are being reasonable.

I also disagree with your statement regarding evolution. We humans are very social creatures. What is good for our community is good for us. We can't survive without our community.

The vast majority of people experience a large amount of empathy. Some more than others and unfortunately some less than others. Those tend to be troublesome. Problematic behaviours also arise from other factors from the environment and socio-economic conditions, etc.

Back to the topic of empathy I think a lot of it comes down to who the person views as being part of their community. Who they relate to and who they have learned (whether mistakenly or not) is an enemy or potential one.

I think this in part has a lot to do with culture. I believe a society is only as strong as how the more vulnerable are treated.

Culture also shapes our goals in the world. The accumulation of power is more prevalant in the USA than it is in other wealthy countries whose chief differences are a robust social safety net. That keeps the powerful in check and allows for others to pursue other goals in life such as bettering oneself and supporting others.