This post has been brought into the world because I went scrolling through Twitter & Facebook and kept coming across ridiculous criticisms about the way the U.S. is shutting down to slow and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic spread.
This is what all those complaints sound like to me:
- My house didn’t burn down. Boy, I sure overreacted by putting out that grease fire on the stove before it spread!
- The basement didn’t flood when it rained. Well, heck, now I feel foolish for spending all that money on a sump pump and improved drainage.
- My car’s engine just never seizes up or overheats. The hassle of regular oil changes and maintenance visits sure feels pointless.
- Didn’t get sepsis or tetanus even though I gouged myself on a sharp piece of metal. Why did I bother washing out the cut and keeping it clean until it healed?
- Totally got through that intersection on the green light without hitting anyone else’s car. HA! WHO NEEDS TRAFFIC SIGNALS ANYWAY?
I am a starry-eyed optimist. I still hope our societal seawalls will hold against the rising viral tide. If we have separated fast enough, we’ll stay below the terrifying threshold beyond which doctors & nurses have to decide who dies for lack of an ICU bed. If we keep the infection curve low and slow, we won’t see non-pandemic patients dying from a sheer lack of hands & supplies to treat their injuries & illnesses.
But if all these painful, terrifying, difficult, potentially-ruinous measures WORK, then as sure as stink follows shit, I’ll hear many more comments like, “Gee, that COVID-19 thing wasn’t so bad. All those precautions were pointless.”
And then I’ll want to punch someone. People’s inability to recognize connections between process & outcome just blows my mind sometimes.
Final note: Nothing about this post should leave the impression I’m asking for explanations or want to argue this point. If you think I’m wrong, go away and say so in your own virtual space, far, far from here. I don’t have a ban hammer. I have a ban phaser set on vaporize.
I’ll try to post something more cheerful next time.
Until later!