How Has COVID19 Effected Your Life

[freshstart]

This is why I find Eastern philosophy (of which I am certainly no expert yet) so attractive.

LOVED the Times article posted by Dave (thank you) and the 2 paragraphs in particular (below).

 

“The Plague” isn’t trying to panic us, because panic suggests a response to a dangerous but short-term condition from which we can eventually find safety. But there can never be safety [from death] — and that is why, for Camus, we need to love our fellow damned humans and work without hope or despair for the amelioration of suffering. Life is a hospice, never a hospital

 

The doctor works tirelessly to lessen the suffering of those around him. But he is no hero. “This whole thing is not about heroism,” Dr. Rieux says. “It may seem a ridiculous idea, but the only way to fight the plague is with decency.” Another character asks what decency is. “Doing my job,” the doctor replies.

[LogicalFallacy]

On 5/4/2020 at 2:14 AM, TheRedneckProfessor said:

On a serious note, though, it has brought my country closer to a civil war than we have ever been since the actual Civil War. 

 

Really? Why is that? Apart from the usual politicking, what is polarizing what I assume is two sides?

[TheRedneckProfessor]

1 hour ago, LogicalFallacy said:

 

Really? Why is that? Apart from the usual politicking, what is polarizing what I assume is two sides?

Essential employees are being shot dead for requesting customers follow safety protocols.  

[Tsathoggua9]

9 hours ago, Weezer said:

 

Very true.  Compared to what people have gone through in the history of the world, we are extremely lucky, spoiled brats.

 

Agreed!

[older]

Thanks, Dave, for posting the link. I'm going to keep it open for a while.

[Guest freedwoman]

21 hours ago, Citsonga said:

A friend's mother just passed away from COVID-19 yesterday. She was already in a nursing home. I didn't really know her myself, having only seen her once, but it's still sad to see my friend go through this. He lost his dad to a stroke a couple years ago.

I am so sorry.   May she rest in peace.

[TruthSeeker0]

7 hours ago, TheRedneckProfessor said:

Essential employees are being shot dead for requesting customers follow safety protocols.  

Only in 'Murica. I saw a fb thread the other day regarding a friends relative, who is mentally ill, whom apparently committed a crime that he has not yet been found guilty of. It contained hundreds of the most vicious comments calling for vigilante justice and for murder. 

[older]

Well, I have come to peace. I want to see my grandchildren and their family. As I wrote above, you cannot understand the pain of separation from loved ones until you experience it for yourself. But I have decided that hugging them, having them over for an overnight, going to a party at their house, will have to wait. I woke up last night thinking about masks, and how wearing a mask in public shows concern for others, while not wearing one is a sign of selfishness. And that led me to think about selfishness and why I want to have the children for an overnight. And the reason is that I want to. It would be for me. For my pleasure. And under the circumstances that is selfishness. 

 

It is selfish because I cannot absolutely, positively, guarantee that I don't have the virus. Neither can they. The last thing I would want to do is to give it to them. And I know that they feel the same about giving it to me. So bringing them here would be selfish. Getting the virus puts everyone else at risk: the rest of the family, those who will have to care for the sick, and the entire system that will suffer, however slight, from one more case. And that would be due to selfishness.

 

Then this afternoon I was reading an advice column wherein a writer was dealing with a similar issue. The columnist ended her advice with a sentence that provided for me the end cap of the issue: "Please don’t take unnecessary risks, no matter how sad it makes you to do the things you need to do to keep safe."

 

Finally my stomach has stopped churning.

[TruthSeeker0]

54 minutes ago, older said:

Well, I have come to peace. I want to see my grandchildren and their family. As I wrote above, you cannot understand the pain of separation from loved ones until you experience it for yourself. But I have decided that hugging them, having them over for an overnight, going to a party at their house, will have to wait. I woke up last night thinking about masks, and how wearing a mask in public shows concern for others, while not wearing one is a sign of selfishness. And that led me to think about selfishness and why I want to have the children for an overnight. And the reason is that I want to. It would be for me. For my pleasure. And under the circumstances that is selfishness. 

 

It is selfish because I cannot absolutely, positively, guarantee that I don't have the virus. Neither can they. The last thing I would want to do is to give it to them. And I know that they feel the same about giving it to me. So bringing them here would be selfish. Getting the virus puts everyone else at risk: the rest of the family, those who will have to care for the sick, and the entire system that will suffer, however slight, from one more case. And that would be due to selfishness.

 

Then this afternoon I was reading an advice column wherein a writer was dealing with a similar issue. The columnist ended her advice with a sentence that provided for me the end cap of the issue: "Please don’t take unnecessary risks, no matter how sad it makes you to do the things you need to do to keep safe."

 

Finally my stomach has stopped churning.

It's so damned difficult, this issue. We're a bit sick of being in an apartment but the hardest part by far is not being able to spend time with any family. However I think we've made the mistake of not Skyping/zooming/whatever you use enough - that can really help if you play games via internet and do things you usually would together, but separately. My partner was saying "well couldn't we go to the park next door and physically separate" but up here in Canada we're being careful and public bathrooms and other amenities are closed so what's the point? We'd all be more comfortable connecting via internet in the comfort of our own homes until it's safe enough to do otherwise. And like you I'd feel terrible if I put others at risk - community spread is still ongoing here and you just cannot guarantee you haven't been exposed. 

[older]

Thanks for your comments, TruthSeeker0. The key phrase for me was the advice columnist writing, "unnecessary risks." While I was agonizing over risk, and how life is full of risk and should I take this one or not, I had not realized that there are necessary risks and unnecessary ones. And there are risks that may not be necessary but are ones for which we have some metric for decision making. But this virus is so different from anything the world has experienced in the last 100 years. There is no matrix for risk analysis for COVID-19. The trip to the pharmacy or the grocery store is a necessary risk but a play date with children is not.