D&D and the rising pandemic

[Dannyalcatraz]

I went to a mall just the other day- masked*, of course- to pick up some stuff we had left to be serviced at a couple of stores. Strictly a hit it and quit it run, no shopping. (We were prevented from pickup in March due to the lockdown.)

I saw good signs, I saw bad signs.

I have to say that at the least, MOST of the people were wearing masks. Not by a huge margin, let’s call it a simple majority. And both groups were demographically diverse.

BUT the mall as a whole was sparsely populated, so it’s not like there were huge herds of people wandering around. Most stores had some kind of occupancy limits and controlled access. All the employees I saw seemed to be wearing masks...and most of them, correctly.

Some stores were limiting their operating hours- I saw one jewelry store closing up while the mall was hours from closing for the day. And some stores are still not reopened, like Godiva and Victoria’s Secret.









*

 

[Zardnaar]

Great post. I hate this nonsense.

Lives > Money and Objects. Apparently most of America has forgotten this sometime throughout the years.

Not really it's been that way since the Great American Tax Dodge I mean War of Independence.

 

[Zardnaar]

I went to a mall just the other day- masked*, of course- to pick up some stuff we had left to be serviced at a couple of stores. Strictly a hit it and quit it run, no shopping. (We were prevented from pickup in March due to the lockdown.)

I saw good signs, I saw bad signs.

I have to say that at the least, MOST of the people were wearing masks. Not by a huge margin, let’s call it a simple majority. And both groups were demographically diverse.

BUT the mall as a whole was sparsely populated, so it’s not like there were huge herds of people wandering around. Most stores had some kind of occupancy limits and controlled access. All the employees I saw seemed to be wearing masks...and most of them, correctly.

Some stores were limiting their operating hours- I saw one jewelry store closing up while the mall was hours from closing for the day. And some stores are still not reopened, like Godiva and Victoria’s Secret.









*

Supermarkets here had one in one out rule. Staff on door and you spaced out waiting in line. We went shopping early morning or late at night and avoided busy days.

Most people didn't wear masks as you couldn't buy them until mid to late April.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Not really it's been that way since the Great American Tax Dodge I mean War of Independence.

It wasn't about avoiding taxes, but about Taxation without Representation.
This is a bit off topic, but I'm sure something changed after the founding of America that caused this strange way of thinking. (strange is putting it lightly)

 

[Nebulous]

I just have to say I'm very disappointed by how many of my fellow americans reject public mask wearing as a violation of their rights of freedom. The insanity in this country right now is terrifying

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Supermarkets here had one in one out rule. Staff on door and you spaced out waiting in line. We went shopping early morning or late at night and avoided busy days.

Most people didn't wear masks as you couldn't buy them until mid to late April.

Many stores around here have done that. Our hardware stores, for instance, have been doing so for months. Groceries, not so much- they were focusing more on supplying gel and sanitizing wipes for carts & baskets.

Still, neither have been linked to outbreaks here, so far.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It wasn't about avoiding taxes, but about Taxation without Representation.
This is a bit off topic, but I'm sure something changed after the founding of America that caused this strange way of thinking. (strange is putting it lightly)

It shows that, despite what we learned in 1918, some of us are making the same damn stupid decisions. Thus, we prove the adage about repeating history to be true.

 

[Zardnaar]

It wasn't about avoiding taxes, but about Taxation without Representation.
This is a bit off topic, but I'm sure something changed after the founding of America that caused this strange way of thinking. (strange is putting it lightly)

It's always been very plutocratic. Gilded age in the 1800's, outright corrupt presidents etc back then as well. Original sin of slavery, Civil War, reconstruction.

It was one of the few Democracies as such though.

Inertia sets in after a while though in any country (see Rome onwards). Countries that were great powers but are weaker than what they were have similar problems (Russia, UK, USA).

Or option B. Our ancestors fail all sorts of modern morality tests. They didn't invent social media though.

 

[Zardnaar]

Many stores around here have done that. Our hardware stores, for instance, have been doing so for months. Groceries, not so much- they were focusing more on supplying gel and sanitizing wipes for carts & baskets.

Still, neither have been linked to outbreaks here, so far.

I have my suspicions you can't enforce lockdown for more than a few weeks or a couple of months.

It was hyper vigilant here but as soon as the went to level 2 social distancing collapsed.

They wanted two more weeks of level two but pressure/success lead to reopening early and border controls got very lax.


Covid free for a week but reimported it from overseas. It's contained atm but wouldn't be surprised if we get community spread.

We're back to early March rates but it's Quarantined atm. Some who were released from quarantine are refusing to be tested though.

 

[CleverNickName]

We were making excellent progress, and were well on our way to having a handle on this thing.

And then spring break happened. Suddenly everyone just decided the pandemic was over because they were tired of it, and gosh we've been cooped up for so long we just deserve a little break, and I need a haircut or whatever. And our president and governors wouldn't shut up about how quickly they were going to re-open everything, because clearly a healthy stock market is more important than healthy citizens. And masks, amirite? What a drag, they are all itchy and cramp my style...how can I court the court-able members of my preferred sex, when I'm dressed like a medical patient?

Well.

Now all of the spring break destination states: Texas, Florida, California, etc., are seeing massive spikes in cases, the shutdown is going to be even longer and even more financially painful, and our leaders are all wringing their hands saying "gosh, what a strange and random quirk of nature that nobody could have possibly predicted."

EDIT: Sorry for the rant. I'm furious and scared for my immune-compromised mom, who lives in Texas.