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> For most living Americans, I think you can make a fair argument that this is the biggest disaster in their lifetime. I'm in my 40ies, and while other things

by davidw 6y ago

> For most living Americans, I think you can make a fair argument that this is the biggest disaster in their lifetime. I'm in my 40ies, and while other things are more easily boiled down to a single image or two that get seared in your brain, like the Challenger exploding or the airplane hitting the second tower, there's simply nothing like it to have happened here in terms of the toll in human lives and myriad other secondary problems. The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 was pretty massive in terms of the death toll, but it was more localized in an area far from anywhere I've lived, and if we're looking at the total number of deaths, COVID-19 is well ahead of it.

irrational 6y ago
I suppose part of it is my view is colored by my own experience. My governor totally shut down our state very early and still hasn’t really started opening it back up. Because of that we have had very very few cases. I don’t know of anyone that got sick, much less died. I very much live in a middle class neighborhood (receptionists, elementary school teachers, paramedics, mail men, etc.) but none of my neighbors or friends have been very affected by this pandemic. For most of us it has been like an extended vacation. I’m still working from home, but it is much different than going into an office. Frankly I’ll probably look back at this time as one of the high points of my life. Now if I lived somewhere like LA or NYC, my view of this time would be very different.
- davidw 6y ago
  It's interesting how much all of this depends on some people's ability - or lack thereof - to look at and contemplate life beyond their bubble. I mean... I'll admit that when it was just something in China, I didn't pay a ton of attention. But when it hit Italy - a modern, wealthy country with great health care, and honest reporting... it was obvious that it was real, and serious. The image of the army trucks carrying away bodies from the hospital will stick with me for a long time. If you haven't been hit hard, you're lucky, and it's likely because things got shut down early.

by davidw 6y ago

irrational 6y ago

I suppose part of it is my view is colored by my own experience. My governor totally shut down our state very early and still hasn’t really started opening it back up. Because of that we have had very very few cases. I don’t know of anyone that got sick, much less died. I very much live in a middle class neighborhood (receptionists, elementary school teachers, paramedics, mail men, etc.) but none of my neighbors or friends have been very affected by this pandemic. For most of us it has been like an extended vacation. I’m still working from home, but it is much different than going into an office. Frankly I’ll probably look back at this time as one of the high points of my life. Now if I lived somewhere like LA or NYC, my view of this time would be very different.

davidw 6y ago
It's interesting how much all of this depends on some people's ability - or lack thereof - to look at and contemplate life beyond their bubble. I mean... I'll admit that when it was just something in China, I didn't pay a ton of attention. But when it hit Italy - a modern, wealthy country with great health care, and honest reporting... it was obvious that it was real, and serious. The image of the army trucks carrying away bodies from the hospital will stick with me for a long time. If you haven't been hit hard, you're lucky, and it's likely because things got shut down early.