Novel Coronavirus

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I'm not taking it out on you.

It sure seems that way. People have tried to acknowledge your concerns and you've lashed out. You've essentially said that my concerns aren't valid for a variety of reasons, particularly my age and alleged status in life. You've lashed out at others.

Wake up people. I'm out for awhile.

That's good. You seem to need a break.
 
It sure seems that way. People have tried to acknowledge your concerns and you've lashed out. You've essentially said that my concerns aren't valid for a variety of reasons, particularly my age and alleged status in life. You've lashed out at others.



That's good. You seem to need a break.
Nope. It was not personal, I am responding to the ideas expressed. It's the whole mentality of everybody who is just thinking these measures are fine and needed (I am not talking about hand washing, or vaccinating - I am talking about government(s) paralyzing the citizens en masse) with no second thoughts about how it harms more people and society longer term if we make this a normal behaviour. It's not normal behaviour. Certain populations getting sick from viruses that go around every year, is normal. It sucks but it's normal.
 
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This virus isn't normal though. It does scare me that this will have a huge impact on more than our physical health. It will impact our economy and it will impact the most marginalized in our society. Under different circumstances I would volunteer somewhere and help. I can't do that right now so maybe I'll have to find another way and trust (hope) there will be others who can step up. Our local satire paper started a volunteer network which is cool. That's just one thing that's happening. I'm sure there's more.
 
This virus isn't normal though. It does scare me that this will have a huge impact on more than our physical health. It will impact our economy and it will impact the most marginalized in our society. Under different circumstances I would volunteer somewhere and help. I can't do that right now so maybe I'll have to find another way and trust (hope) there will be others who can step up. Our local satire paper started a volunteer network which is cool. That's just one thing that's happening. I'm sure there's more.
I've tried to help with information. I've tried to helped with some of the United Church stuff. I'm trying to increase my activity again a bit as I can but I'm being on the very conservative side as I figure me getting attacks right now isn't good for anyone. It's little, but it's something.
We're also doing food bank monetary donations.
 
This virus isn't normal though. It does scare me that this will have a huge impact on more than our physical health. It will impact our economy and it will impact the most marginalized in our society. Under different circumstances I would volunteer somewhere and help. I can't do that right now so maybe I'll have to find another way and trust (hope) there will be others who can step up. Our local satire paper started a volunteer network which is cool. That's just one thing that's happening. I'm sure there's more.
Time will tell but I don't think it had to be this bad if it weren't for the government overreaction. Trump way under reacted at first (Trump and Xi are the power brokers), so that dems got mad at him (he faked everyone out - sound implausible from him?) and his base would believe him when he way overreacts. I think this might affect the US elections and I wouldn't believe it was coincidental or accidental.
 
This came through FB today.

"These are great words from Dr. Mitch Shiller, Médical Director, MONTREAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. ——————————- Be a superhero today. This is not a fire drill. Imagine you were given a box of Smarties. In the box, 3 of the 100 Smarties are poisonous and could kill you. You would keep the box closed. You wouldn’t eat the Smarties. The Coronavirus is that box of Smarties. We must avoid opening the box. So how do we do that? By practicing social distancing. Not just me and you. But everyone. Avoid human contact wherever possible. Work from home. Go out only for essentials. If you are over 70, don’t go out at all. Kids that are home from school, should NOT be visiting friends. Wash your hands frequently. Keep 3 feet from other people. Actively look for breaks in your protective bubble. Seal them. Your choices today may save your life, a family member, a friend, a friend’s relative. The mathematics of epidemics means that acting today will diminish 2/3 of potential cases a week from now. Those of us in the medical profession are going to be at war for the next month or two. Please help us to prevent having to make horrible choices in the care we provide. What else can you do? Support each other. We are social creatures. Staying home is isolating and lonely. Reach out to friends and relatives. Call them. FaceTime them. Small businesses will be under extreme pressure to stay solvent. Get takeout from your favorite restaurant. Tip generously. Wash your hands immediately upon entering your house or use hand sanitizer before coming back in. Look on social media to see ways you can help vulnerable people locally but always respect social distancing. If you are feeling too stressed, take a break. Put down your tablet or phone. Go for a walk. Meditate. The good news....and yes there is good news. We know from other countries that these actions combined with government solutions such as drive by testing and electronic notification will control this virus. But it will take 1-2 months. We know that social distancing is the most effective tool. Our lives will be different afterward. We will have many limitations on our activities until there is a vaccine and better treatments. But these will come. We live in a wonderful time. The amount of medical papers published on this virus in the last week is staggering. We are learning a lot about it. We have the ability to communicate our successes and failures fighting the virus instantly and across the globe. We have sequenced the genome of the virus. Multiple groups are working on vaccines and treatments. Humans shine when we cooperate. We will see wonderful stories of compassion and resilience. Take strength from them. We are all used to the Hollywood movie where the superhero flies in at the last moment to save the day. In this movie, we are all superheroes. Do you part. Social distance. Mitch Shiller M.D.C.M Medical Director Children’s Care Clinic Associate Chair (Finance) Department of Pediatrics McGill University / Montreal Children’s Hospital"
 
Time will tell but I don't think it had to be this bad if it weren't for the government overreaction. Trump way under reacted at first (Trump and Xi are the power brokers), so that dems got mad at him (he faked everyone out - sound implausible from him?) and his base would believe him when he way overreacts. I think this might affect the US elections and I wouldn't believe it was coincidental or accidental.
And Xi overreacted because he missed the mark and overcompensated. Then he was held up as an example. No way.

China is a different, very crowded, place, too, in the cities - especially in ground zero where it started, and easier for viruses to spread. Also, what is the flu rate there?

Authoritarian governments do worse at handling crises because their whole administrations also follow the leader's false narrative - and because the lack of information in the public domain, and crack downs on whistleblowing, means that government workers are also ill informed.
 
This came from a friend of mine:

"My apologies for putting on my psychology-teacher hat... but, there is a very interesting phenomenon that happens when people are in crisis... we panic, we get scared, then we react. At times, those actions, or reactions, don’t make a lot of sense. The behaviour of hoarding materials items in times of shortages, of course, goes against the greater good of humanity, but for people who are panicking, it makes them feel like they may be alright, or at least a bit better than the ones who don’t have materials, bringing about short-term reassurance and sense of control back into their psyches. The idea of ‘imposed isolations’ falls into this same psychology... its the feeling of not having control. And, for those of you and us who have a strong internal locus of control, this external force is nothing short of terrifying. And, even though we’ve all said ‘if only I can get away from it for a while’... when we now finally can, but not of our choices, it is then perceived as uncomfortable. All this loss of power and control falls into something called perception of control... if we ‘feel’ out of control of a situation, we react. If we chose to go camping in the bush away from it all for 2 weeks, with just our books and a few yummy foods, then we perceive the situation as completely our doing, of our control. But, in reality, we have little control over our lives even in calm times. If we change our perceptions of the situation and took stalk of the things in our lives we do have control over, this lessens the anxiety within. For example: “Oh, ok, I guess I can really clean out my house like I have been wanting to do” or “I have a few projects I have been dying to do, and now I can” or “Hmm, this is going to be interesting, I guess I should make a list of things to do”... this shift in perception, not situation, changes how we feel about what is happening, which then changes our behaviour, and our reactions. Nothing changes, but... it does. I have to admit, I have been watching way too much news, and reading too much about the virus, as if by reading, hearing and keeping minute-to-minute up to date, I somehow will be able to stay in control of it all. And this, of course, is a false belief... its magical thinking, as I actually have no control of the situation, beyond my own personal actions. Instead of watching things that are beyond my control, I took stock today, and saw things more clearly. I will do my part, as best I can. I will stay informed and I will be responsible. But, beyond that, I need to see that many many things are out of my control. When we see someone in grocery store, panic-shopping, let’s have a bit of mercy... they are reacting out of fear. When someone is ranting at world leaders who are doing the best they can, remember... it is out of fear. I see a lot of scared people right now, and although I want to cuff them on the side of their head and explain simple math in terms of how much toilet paper one person needs for a month, instead, I am going to try and send them mercy and love, and let’s all focus on the things we can control."
 
This came from a friend of mine:

"My apologies for putting on my psychology-teacher hat... but, there is a very interesting phenomenon that happens when people are in crisis... we panic, we get scared, then we react. At times, those actions, or reactions, don’t make a lot of sense. The behaviour of hoarding materials items in times of shortages, of course, goes against the greater good of humanity, but for people who are panicking, it makes them feel like they may be alright, or at least a bit better than the ones who don’t have materials, bringing about short-term reassurance and sense of control back into their psyches. The idea of ‘imposed isolations’ falls into this same psychology... its the feeling of not having control. And, for those of you and us who have a strong internal locus of control, this external force is nothing short of terrifying. And, even though we’ve all said ‘if only I can get away from it for a while’... when we now finally can, but not of our choices, it is then perceived as uncomfortable. All this loss of power and control falls into something called perception of control... if we ‘feel’ out of control of a situation, we react. If we chose to go camping in the bush away from it all for 2 weeks, with just our books and a few yummy foods, then we perceive the situation as completely our doing, of our control. But, in reality, we have little control over our lives even in calm times. If we change our perceptions of the situation and took stalk of the things in our lives we do have control over, this lessens the anxiety within. For example: “Oh, ok, I guess I can really clean out my house like I have been wanting to do” or “I have a few projects I have been dying to do, and now I can” or “Hmm, this is going to be interesting, I guess I should make a list of things to do”... this shift in perception, not situation, changes how we feel about what is happening, which then changes our behaviour, and our reactions. Nothing changes, but... it does. I have to admit, I have been watching way too much news, and reading too much about the virus, as if by reading, hearing and keeping minute-to-minute up to date, I somehow will be able to stay in control of it all. And this, of course, is a false belief... its magical thinking, as I actually have no control of the situation, beyond my own personal actions. Instead of watching things that are beyond my control, I took stock today, and saw things more clearly. I will do my part, as best I can. I will stay informed and I will be responsible. But, beyond that, I need to see that many many things are out of my control. When we see someone in grocery store, panic-shopping, let’s have a bit of mercy... they are reacting out of fear. When someone is ranting at world leaders who are doing the best they can, remember... it is out of fear. I see a lot of scared people right now, and although I want to cuff them on the side of their head and explain simple math in terms of how much toilet paper one person needs for a month, instead, I am going to try and send them mercy and love, and let’s all focus on the things we can control."

Pat, simplistic answers. It's normal to be wary. It's not normal to think this is normal.

Ok. I really am out of here.
 
And please don't concern troll me as a power trip, anyone, either. Because you're not helping. This is real and I have a right to my feelings and opinions, too, and to get them off my chest - even if you don't like them.
 
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