School Year Fears
Schools are starting back up and kids are trying to figure out what supplies they need or don’t need. Unfortunately some fears are more overwhelming than others.
More children have died from COVID in the past 2 1/2 years than school shootings in the past 50 years.
But shootings bring a visceral reaction and will get a lot more funding and attention, just likely not in the right ways.
Both are complex, scary, low likelihood, and high consequence issues. No easy answers. But we shouldn’t let unfounded fears dominate our actions. We need data and science and research to show us how best to address these issues and make our kids feel safe and secure in school.
And remind ourselves and our kids that for both issues, the overwhelming percentages say they’ll be ok.
Nostalgia
Man, sometimes you’ve just got to avoid the news.
Summer Movie Sequels
Ah, Summer. When the weather heats up and the movie cineplex is filled with bad sequels we never really needed. Sigh.
Return to the Office?
More companies are trying to coax workers back into the office, but many are not looking forward to it. Who here has gone back to the office?
Get Back to Normal?
Not everyone is ready to “get back to normal,” but many are. And the calls for normal are creating some strange bedfellows.
Nuance
There appears to be no room for nuance in politics. Or, where people attempt it, they get backlash. Everything must be good or bad, for or against, all or nothing.
Done with COVID?
As the Omicron wave winds down, most places are rightfully easing COVID restrictions. That’s a good thing and supported by data. Yet I’m still conflicted as we have a rolling 7-day average of more than 2,500 Americans dying from COVID each day. Yesterday we lost more Americans to COVID (3,261) than people killed in the 9/11 attacks (2,977).
We’ll start to move on, get back to normal or some new normal. But since a sizable post of the US won’t take preventative measures against the virus, it’s not entirely up to us when this is all over. We’ll still be living with COVID for some time.
Maybe not time to throw away all the masks, but time to start getting more things back to life out in the world. Just protect yourself as you do.
Get it right
It amazes me how frequently I still see people wearing a mask with their nose hanging out. The masks are not fun and not perfect protection but they help slow the spread somewhat, and work with other preventive measures to provide layers of protection.
And we’ve been doing this a while.
I almost understand more the people who refuse masks altogether. These who leave their nose hanging out are not making a statement or resisting the rules. Just being a jackass.
The Cost of “Freedom”?
Someday, Americans who refused to follow simple preventative steps to slow the spread of COVID and reduce the death toll will be forced to look at the price of their actions.
Currently, the US is seeing over 2,000 people die from COVID each day. The cartoon below does around 2,000 stick figures. Each of those represents an American person who died from COVID yesterday. The vast majority of these deaths would have been prevented with simple and readily available protective measures (vaccines, boosters, and masks).
The share of Americans who have been killed by the coronavirus is at least 63% higher than in any of the other large, wealthy nations. Estimates show that 45% of Americans aged 65 and older have not received a booster shot.
Neil Young or Joe Rogan
Neil Young told Spotify to either remove Joe Rogan and his vaccine misinformation or to remove Neil Young’s music. Spotify said they’ll remove Neil Young’s music at his request.
So now millions of users are left with no Neil Young but lots of Joe Rogan.
And that seems so fitting for the world in the past couple of years. Sigh.
Substitute Teachers
Thanks to Omicron, many schools have been struggling to fill their classes with substitute teachers. Hopefully this improves as the Omicron wave subsides.
Beware of Wordle
There’s a new infection spreading like wildfire. It’s symptoms are the sharing of strangely-colored squares and random fractions in sixths. It’s infected so many people in my social media timelines and I fear it’s becoming a new epidemic.
Beware of Wordle.
Buncha Jackasses
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch refused to wear a mask in court to protect another Justice he sits next to. Unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic thinks the rules shouldn’t apply to him, and when he says he tested positive for COVID he was out about in town, in violation of local laws on quarantine. Unvaccinated Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers thinks he knows better than epidemiologists and medical professionals about when he has to wear a mask or not, so misled folks about being “immunized” and wouldn’t wear a mask at press conferences, in violation of rules established by his union.
Buncha jackasses.
And these are just a few examples of the toxic individualism and disregard for their role in protecting others in society that helps drag out this pandemic.
Jackasses.
Stay Home from School
I’m frankly amazed the kids haven’t played this card more.
Reality is stranger than fiction
Yes, there’s a real story about people who think drinking urine can cure COVID. Yes, people can be even more stupid than we think.
COVID Tests
One of the richest countries on Earth, and people are struggling to find adequate tests to help fight the pandemic. I see people talking online about finding test kits for sale like they’ve hit the jackpot. I wouldn’t be surprised if people turn to back alley deals.
