These words are not mine, but I am borrowing from a Facebook friend who borrowed from a friend and while we don’t know how to contact or connect and give attribution to the writer, the words remain true. Should the writer find his or her words and work on my blog, then I defer and gratefully indicate they are the origin, but the words capture the concerns and time of this day and are something worth sharing.
DISCLAIMER: I didn’t write this passage below, and do not know the original source, but it perfectly expresses how I feel. We can be respectful of those making different choices because we don’t know what they’re going through.
“Flattening the curve didn’t mean stop the infection, but spread it out so that the system could handle it. I am seeing so much anxiety about resuming business, and so much anger about continued regulations. People are feeling the need to catapult to one side or the other, then fight the opposition.
Here’s my perspective, from a mainstream medical model. I think a lot of folks have fallen into the idea that social distancing was meant to stop the viral spread. It wasn’t. It was meant to SLOW it while we put medical infrastructure in place. It’s not perfect, but it’s much better than it was seven weeks ago.
A vaccine is a long way off. At some point, people have to be systematically exposed to begin the building of (hopeful) herd immunity. We will likely begin to experience a real increase in cases after reopening. Ideally, that exposure is controlled and calculated, in phases, to allow our medical community to respond adequately, and reduce the number of severe or fatal cases. That’s where we are.
Whether you feel like things will be opening too soon, or not soon enough, we were never going to social distance this thing into nonexistence. You now need to proceed as your health, wallet, and conscience allow.
If you are medically vulnerable, you do not need to be a part of what is about to happen. Stay home if you can. If you’re not, or if your financial vulnerability trumps your health concerns, you need to proceed in ways that continue to protect yourself, and the elderly and medically vulnerable around you.
All of us need to calm down. Quit telling people who are financially struggling that they don’t care about human lives. Quit telling people who are truly at risk of dying from this virus that they are cowering in fear. Remember that until you’ve walked in someone else’s shoes, you should probably be careful in your judgements and subsequent harsh words.
We don’t HAVE to choose an either/or proposition and fight. We could choose other ways to be. Examples include but are not limited to:
“I think this may be too soon, so I will continue to shelter myself, and pray/make masks/check on those who can’t.”
“I really need to go back to work, so I will do so, but I will be careful and try to protect myself, my family, and those around me with healthy strategies.”
See how those positions allow each of us to do what we need to, and also respect those who are choosing differently?
One thing that allows us to do this is humility. I can acknowledge that I am not an epidemiologist/economist/whatever, that I am making decisions based on my understanding of complex subjects and my own personal health and financial situation, that I am not all knowing, always right, and an expert in all fields, and that each person around me is doing their best too. We can make different choices and still be a supportive community. We can learn and evolve in our understanding of these issues.”
(Disclaimer: I didn’t write this, just sharing because it explains how I feel as well.)