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The stay at home orders worked because while the government couldn't "lockdown" individual citizens, they could lockdown just about everything else. During that

The stay at home orders worked because while the government couldn't "lockdown" individual citizens, they could lockdown just about everything else. During that initial period I stayed at home for most of the 2 weeks. Sure I could leave at any time but where would I go? The stores are closed, the gyms are closed, all public places are closed. I went out a few times to drive on the empty roads but the only reason I went out was to explicitly drive, I wasn't actually going anywhere because there was nowhere to go.

mindslight 5y ago
Yes, commercial social venues were closed - bars and restaurants. If I were still in my 20's and living the city life I might see this as the majority of the world but it's not. You could still visit friends and family, public parks, or even have private parties. And since you weren't being physically pulled into work, you could visit distant friends/family or even go on vacation and stay in a hotel. I'm not saying you wanted to do any of these things given the pandemic, but it's fallacious to imply that you were only stuck at home due to government fiat. As far as why they worked, I ran into enough people who thought such a recommendation had the force of law (and I wasn't going to correct them). At the time I had a bifurcated living situation and was concerned about doing the commute, but looking into it I could continue going about my routine as usual.
- alisonkisk 5y ago