Lockdown IV - Namecalling needs a vaccine

Today's rant:

Can we PLEASE STOP with the name calling???

Y'all.  Seriously.  Bring back the #begentle memes.  Everyone is affected by this virus - EVERYONE.  And everyone has their opinions on reopening, on staying home, on whether or not we should do this or that.  On what people should be allowed to do, and on what people should do even if they are "allowed."  It is more than a little bit complicated.  I change my mind daily!

But can we please refrain from calling people STUPID because they have a different opinion?  {And can we also please stop literally wishing death on those people you are calling stupid?  I am so sick of seeing that whole Darwin thing - "let's weed out the stupid people who want to go back to work because then the world will be a better place."  REALLY??}  Maybe they don't have a choice about going out and about.  Maybe keeping their homes depend on them getting back to work.  Maybe their mental health depends on getting out of the house.  Maybe their mental health depends on NOT leaving the house.  Maybe, just maybe, they have different problems than you do.  This year, it is the virus.  Next year, it could be suicide rates or homeless rates or real estate crises or yes, unemployment rates which can lead to both of the former and more!  Extremely complicated, and we don't even KNOW all the ramifications yet!

I am a stay at home mom with two teenagers.  I got nothing to worry about.  The part time job I had was unpaid because we owned the company.  Now, we don't.  And I don't really miss the job even if I miss connecting with the people. I don't mind staying home, I can craft and read and "piddle" in my house all day long.  Yesterday I enjoyed an unplanned hour or so sitting in our living room with my two kids, just chatting and laughing.  I really had a Be Still My Heart moment.  And did I mention they are teenagers???  It was the biggest blessing.

HOWEVER COMMA (as one of my teenagers says), not everyone can stay home.  Not every business owner or worker can literally AFFORD to just stay home.  The domino effect is going to be devastating.  And far reaching - so far that we cannot even see down that rabbit hole yet.  And business owners are in the same place as their workers - it is no different for Landlords or bosses or workers - we have all lost income.  Unless you work at Home Depot, are a Landscaper, or work for one of those yard sign companies, they are killing it!!!

And listen, we all know the truth, right?  We are not on Lockdown to avoid getting sick - the only reason we are on lockdown right now is to make room in the hospital for when we DO get this virus.  Or else we are waiting on a vaccine which won't come until next year.  2021.  Or 2022.  We do not know.  And more to the point, even when we do start reopening, it is UP TO YOU whether you choose to leave your house.  The law is not going to force you outside!  Stay home if you feel you should - no problem!  I probably will stay home for a while.  This is not about one person.  Which means there is not one solution.  Not everyone has to do the same as their neighbor.  Will we spike cases once people venture out?  Probably.  Can we avoid it forever?  Probably not.  Some will try, and that is fine.  People like my dad, immunocompromised,  should still not leave the house (sorry, Mom).  What about those hundreds of people who have already recovered?  Do they still need to quarantine?  We are getting reports now that you actually can get it twice.  Or can you?  Again, we do not know.

What we DO know is that we need each other.  It is bad enough that this is an election year; do we have to spill over along party lines into how to handle COVID-19 too??  Perhaps that is the lesson here.  All of us are facing getting sick.  Everyone has a different physical reaction to it - that is what makes us individuals I guess. The one reaction we need to avoid is the one where we react with spite, hate, disgust, and name calling while we wait.  It is not helpful.  We need a vaccine for name calling!  Stop it!!!  It is not stupid to go outside anymore than it is stupid to isolate indefinitely.  Both can have negative, even sometimes fatal, effects. Most current cases are from people who are actually "staying home."  So if you do go out, take precautions, of course. Wash your hands, wipe your steering wheels and doorknobs, wear your mask. That is not my point here. My point is that we should focus on what we can do, not what others should do.

And eventually, even I will need something else to do.  But don't worry, I will NOT run out of craft supplies or books to read.  As if.