I have not only talked this out with my partner - who is a very intelligent woman in her own right - but yes, I've done a lot of thinking on this. Overeating and other maladaptive coping strategies are likely to go on the rise, if they haven't already. Sleep will be an issue for some, and those who suffer from non-24 might be even more affected than normal because whatever routine they might have had has been shot to hell.
Basically, we as a planet are essentially going to come to a crossroads where we choose either some sort of socialism or some sort of barbarism. Any bets on which way we're gonna jump? I hope for one, fear for the other.
Honestly, I am far less concerned with the virus itself, and far more worried about how people are reacting. A "me first" mentality makes me feel sick, but honestly, it's hard to blame folks for it because capitalism has essentially primed them for it. Look out for you and yours; don't concern yourself with the system. But now that the system is failing, or at the very least flagging a bit, suddenly the stakes are different.
Ethin, I know you weren't trying to imply the conclusions I drew, and if you got the idea that I was attacking you or your country, I'm sorry. I'm sure Canadians do similarly; Americans may be worse, but I'd be a fool to say that Canada is without blame here. But here's the bigger thing. You know that bit about how I said that choice is an illusion, and balking at the right thing is bad? Those things are true...but yet again, the system has been very cleverly designed to preclude tampering from individuals, and to encourage docility and compliance. If the onslaught of information is shiny enough, relentless enough and spun the right way, it really does become difficult to keep things straight. I'm absolutely not trying to sit here on high and judge the rest of you, but something Nocturnis said did and does resonate for me. I really have been thinking about this a lot, from a sociological and psychological and cultural perspective. This, after all, is right up my alley. So it's possible that I've come to conclusions that some of you haven't got to yet. Again, not lording over you here, but this is kind of what I do.
I want to reiterate that there may be bad people, even bad groups of people, but there are no bad countries. I am frustrated with the way Americans have been primed to respond to crisis with firearms. I am frustrated that the initial reaction of the Chinese government was slow, and that one element of that slowness was probably a hesitancy to accept blame. I am frustrated that some European leaders have been far too lax about social distancing suggestions and the like. I'm frustrated that Amazon and Whole Foods, who turn enormous profits every year, are currently most known for the fact that the CEO, who owns his own freaking island and is worth several billion on his own, is asking his employees to take unpaid sick leave. In fact, I'm frustrated by anyone who is exploiting this crisis, in any way, to improve their bottom line, or to minimize damage to their billion-dollar company at the expense of workers. I'm frustrated by a lot of things. But I am absolutely not trying to impugn any one of you for your citizenship. If you are proud to be an American, there are many things worth being proud about; we may differ on specifics, but that's all right. Ditto if you're proud to be Chinese, Italian, British, whatever else. I am absolutely not trying to trash your country. At worst, I am discussing trends and such that tend to relate to your country; some of them may not be positive, but that does not translate into a negative opinion of you as individuals. Please just keep that in mind. The reason I jumped on the anti-China rhetoric is because I felt that was wandering pretty far afield.
Check out my Manamon text walkthrough at the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z8ls3rc3f4mkb … n.txt?dl=1
