How do you feel about society starting to open up?

[petra]

Whether or not you're planning on going out in it this week, the lockdown is beginning to ease in many places. How does that feel from your vantage point?

Comments

[lilysea]

I think it's too soon;

I think people will die needlessly from opening up too soon;

and I think it's entirely driven by profit...

[petra]

I can't argue with any of that. Profit is a huge motivation in this instance.

[minoanmiss]

I am deeply irritated. Especially as I've been learning that the funding and push behind the supposedly-grassroots 'open up' movement is the DeVos family and the oil industry. Ugh.

I'm really deeply irritated by the US formulation of "the economy vs lives". Maybe if we as a society provided more of a safety net people wouldn't have to choose between a low wage job and utter penury?! It's possible, after all!

[petra]

The DeVos family keeps finding new ways to be DeVilish, don't they? What a bunch of awful wastes of carbon.

I agree, the formulation of "But the economy!" as if the economy doesn't run on people is disgusting, and it underlines some of the basic problems with American society. I don't know how much other countries are weighing economy vs. people not dying; I don't have the attention span to encompass other places' decisions, for good or ill.

But if we provide a safety net, some people will choose to use the safety net instead of working, like that's a wholly bad thing under the circumstances.

[duskpeterson]

Nervous. I understand that it was done because our economy is in tatters, but I would have preferred a more cautious approach. Maryland's coronavirus cases were plateauing, not declining, when the stay-at-home order was lifted.

[petra]

Yes, I can't say I am as invested in the economy as politicians are. We need it, but surely we need people to stay healthy, too.

[duskpeterson]

I should clarify that I'm using the word "economy" broadly, to mean not only "company health" but "Will anyone still have a job by the time this is all over?"

But I agree with everyone who says that prioritizing health helps the economy. I mean, if the concern is wanting people to buy goods, killing them won't assist in that goal.

(That said, I wouldn't want to be my governor. He gives every appearance of having tried during this crisis to prioritize Marylanders' health, and now he's having to make some really tough decisions about when to re-open various places. He's bound to be attacked, no matter what he decides.)

[petra]

I agree that I would not want to be any of the governor's or even mayor, no thank you.

[jadelennox]

even in my incredibly-conservative-about-this-region (we were one of the earliest outbreaks in the country, and even though we're now following the same heartbreaking demographics as the rest of this fucked up country, our early outbreak was among scientists, which is to say, privileged people who matter to politicians), I'm still adding 2 weeks to every opening date. If we open beaches, then if there hasn't been a spike in two weeks, I'll go to the beach. Ditto hair dressers. Etc.

In the heart of the city around here, where the outbreak is still bad, I see almost nobody without a mask. Apparently that was even true at the urban beaches -- though not down on the Cape.

That being said I am very grateful I've been allowed to have non-essential medical procedures. Crossed fingers that my next migraine botox appointment happens.

[petra]

Putting things off an extra 2 weeks seems very prudent and I'm glad you're in a position to be able to make that decision.

It's reassuring to hear that in the city people are wearing masks. I just took my SO to a non-essential medical procedure that was originally scheduled for April, and we saw scads of people enjoying a park without protection. We took a walk with our masks mostly on, taking them off to smell the flowers, but keeping them always to hand.

My fingers are crossed that you can get botox on schedule. I sympathize deeply with needing that kind of procedure in something like the time it was supposed to happen.

[sorchasilver]

I'm in Scotland, where the lockdown has not yet eased at all. We may get some small changes from Friday, hopefully, but it'll be very small and slow. Our government is being very cautious about it all, somewhat in contrast to the UK government approach. I'm very relieved by that, but anxious about my friends and family members living in places which are reopening much more quickly.

[petra]

I am jealous of your small changes. We are getting bigger ones than are maybe a good idea, and it's hard to figure out what thte right answers are. I share your anxiety for friends & family put at risk by rushing.

[daegaer]

It's barely eased here, only one or two sectors can go to work if safe to do so (mostly if working outdoors - and opticians, for some reason). People are beginning to act as if they can just gambol around foolishly, though. I'm staying holed up.

[petra]

I'm glad you can stay holed up if people are taking the opportunity to go gallivanting all over the place.

Opticians sort of fall into the category below doctors for me of "necessary service, but can be postponed for a while." My SO had a pair of glasses on order when the lockdown hit and we haven't heard when they'll be finished. Fortunately he didn't need a big Rx adjustment.

[mesotablar]

I'm happy things are starting to open up again, and luckily it is fairly assumed there are no active cases in my state of Australia so even with my chronic illness I feel fairly safe going out and about a bit now, though I haven't gone to an enclosed space to eat yet.

I feel so sorry for all the other people trapped in economy driven forced opening when there is clearly still community transmission.

[petra]

Waiting until there are no active cases makes *so much sense.* I wish the people in charge of my area had the luxury and the ability to push things off that long. I'm glad you feel relatively safe going out, given the givens.

[mesotablar]

There is a fairly strong push to open to states that still have community transmission cases but our Premier (I guess you'd say Governor?) really wants to be re-elected and this is his only chance, by keeping us at the pinnacle of safety, because it is commonly understood that he is corrupt and had managed to anger his constituent stronghold.

[petra]

I'm sorry that the person making a good decision in this instance has made a bunch of terrible decisions. My state's head executive has made both a lot of mistakes and a lot of hard choices recently; the latter do not make me inclined to forget the former.

[j00j]

We are planning to mostly stay in; we see that no one has really met the public health guidelines and do not feel safe. We'll start seeing a very few people who are also able to isolate and that's the only thing that will really change for us.