What was it they told us, 14 days to slow the spread?
Now we are being told not to celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional sense. What does that even mean? Maybe I should ask Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot. Or maybe I should not give a rat's ass what these people say anymore. What's more, I wholeheartedly agree with @samanthamartika here.
The boring, technical, and alarming answer is the people of Chicago. And anywhere where this rhetoric is being echoed, we the people are to blame. What's even more alarming is that we the people—some of us, to be more accurate—are perfectly okay with these absurd restrictions. Just like we were okay with the restrictions on our freedoms when the Patriot Act was passed after 9-11. Over and over again, we fall for the same tactics.
I can't imagine that the people who were old enough to travel before 9-11 think, even now, almost 20 years later, that measuring how much toothpaste and shampoo you're packing is doing anything to stop terrorism.
Many probably agree that travel restrictions are absurd. Many have even stated so much, but were willing to sacrifice these "inconveniences" for more of what the government called security.
With COVID-19, we have to put up with even more restrictions. And these restrictions are even more invasive. Have you traveled lately? Have you spent the 2+ hours in the airport, then another handful of hours on the plane, and another batch of hours getting out of the arrival airport and to your final destination all while wearing these god-forsaken masks? It is utter torture.
I can't even imagine what these front-line workers and first responders have to put up with. They are much stronger than me, that's for sure. Or even the folks working in fast food or grocery stores. It's enough for an empathetic person like me to want to start a ranting blog about it.
But for those who may have a hard time understanding my point of view, let me try to explain it in a way everyone might be able to understand...
See, I have this friend who will remain unnamed. This friend is very very afraid of the Chinese virus. I don't blame him, or anyone who is in the same mindset. They all watch the news and what I see as fear tactics and manipulation, they just see as news. 200,000+ people dead sounds like a shitton of people. 3 million + coronavirus cases sounds like everyone and their mother is infected. Now, they're spewing, "the hospitals are running out of ICU beds," again. How can you not be scared?
So when an event came up, I asked my friend if he'd be attending. He explained to me that he wasn't comfortable going because of the spike in virus numbers. I said I totally understood and hoped to see him again soon. And that was that.
He didn't even suggest that I stay home too, let alone force me to stay home. He knows I am a responsible adult who can make my own decisions pragmatically and with everyone's best interest in mind. Kind of like getting into a car and driving on the road with thousands of other drivers who time and again obey the law and get from point-A to point-B rather uneventfully.
Is there the occasional idiot? Sure. Are there accidents? Unfortunately. Do people die at the hands of other drivers. Yes, they do. Have we stopped driving? Put mass restrictions on driving? I actually, think there should be more restrictions on driving. But have we seen any over the past 40 years? I think the last major law change was implementing seat belts.
The point is, if you're afraid of getting into an accident, don't drive. If you're afraid of the plane crashing, don't fly. If you're afraid of contracting the coronavirus, don't go out. But please—and this is vitally important—don't tell other people what to do with their lives. That is what makes America great. We can literally do what we want as long as we don't deliberately bring harm upon others. I don't think anyone deliberately spreads the virus. But it's a chance we take when we go out, when we decide not to wear a mask, or wash our hands, or avoid physical contact... the latter being one of the joys of life.
Don't lecture. Don't virtue signal. Don't try to make other people feel bad for wanting to enjoy life just because you are afraid and under culture's hypnotic spell. You have no right to do so, just as my friend has no right to tell me to stay home. If he did, I would cease to be his friend. It really should be that simple.
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