We’ve had to venture out a total of 3 times in the last 24 hours. Two were trips to the vet for a sick cat and the other to an agriculture equipment dealer.
The vet’s office is all “We don’t want to catch the Wuflu” but not to the extent of wearing gloves and masks. I imagine their supply of both are relatively thin and are being reserved for procedures. I get it, my supplies of both aren’t what I’d need if I were going to do proper gloves and making if I did it every time I went out. (That’s why I’m not masking/gloving. I’d be out of gear by now if I had.)
The sad thing is that what they’re doing at the vet’s would likely be enough if the Idiocracy would simply do their part. Unfortunately, signs on the door asking that you call from the parking lot for instructions, yellow caution tape around the front desk and outright orders for the terminally dense on the lines of “I need you to wait outside or else” just aren’t getting through.
Is it statistically possible for more than half the population to be under average intelligence?
The trip to the ag dealer was came about because while mowing the grass yesterday, my lawn tractor tossed off the drive belt for the deck 4 times before I gave up. Off to the equipment dealer today for new belts. I may die, but the yard shall be mowed.
At the dealer, there were signs directing all traffic in a single door. No 6′ lines on the floors at the part department, but there were tables placed so that you couldn’t get within 6′ of the person at the desk. The adults present demonstrated that we didn’t need the stinkin’ lines, because adults. They kept appropriate distance because everyone knows by now that we need to keep our distance. You don’t pick up and handle all the things. Act like you have a working brain. Transaction completed, you follow the arrows on the floor out another door, thank you for your business. Staff did not wear gloves or masks. One customer had on one of the cheapie dust masks and one a bandana.
Adults voluntarily do these things because no one wants Grandma to die. At the same time, everyone is getting tired of being incarcerated because idiots gotta idiot. On my ham club’s net last night, over an hour was devoted to the subject. No one was supporting the stay at home order, and our governor and his staff got well toasted. I get the same thing on the phone from friends I check in on. I hear it in line at the stores that are still open.
I view this attitude as understandable but short-sighted. Unless we reign in the idiots who are demonstrating that they have not the least clue how to keep from transmitting this or any other disease to others, we’re going to be stuck at home until herd immunity is reached, and reining in idiots has not been a big thing in our society for the last 100 years or so.
I heard one person say that “At least the virus is weeding out the stupid ones.” No, it isn’t. Not now, maybe not ever. These idiots are going to be just like the idiots who, after Y2K was over, said it wasn’t a big deal because nothing happened.
Not sure what the answer is. This is serious and people are dying, but at the same time we’re busily engaged in burning down the village to save it while avoiding the actions that would eliminate the need. The idiots are running the Covid-19 response in too many places, it seems.
We don’t need to spend the entire summer at home, nor do we need to have perfect aspetic procedure (I think). Good enough would do. Get masks and information on their proper use in the hands of the public-drop them from helicopters along with the government cash if necessary. Businesses refuse to allow in anyone who is unmasked. Wash properly or properly use hand sanitizer a lot. Gloves and the information on their proper use would help, but probably isn’t necessary. Stay home as much as reasonably possible, but stop it with the arresting folks for bullshit violations of the rules, especially when the rules are unclear to start with.
But that makes some modicum of sense, so I doubt it happens. And that means this is a long way from over.
