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you can be *infuriated* about people gathering in crowds due to quarantine fatigue while simultaneously *filled with rage* about the government's inadequate handling of testing, tracing, sufficient PPE supplies, public health messaging and institutional risks to vulnerable groups
during a pandemic, it's the *government's job* — with all of its resources, powers, and responsibilities — to effectively tell constituents how to be outside safely, DISTRIBUTE FOOD and MASKS, as well as set clear guidelines on safety protocols and occupancy rates for businesses
In addition to inadequate support for members of the public in several areas, governments across many jurisdictions have failed to do all of this for months. Bad policies and population statistics made the crowded situations at parks, pools and beaches pretty much inevitable.
Many people, especially those with small living spaces, are desperate to go outside safely. But many cities failed to safely cordon off roads for pedestrians and cyclists despite severe declines in car traffic! This would have been SO CHEAP TO DO and helped so many people!
This entire situation reminds me of how society gets mad at young women when they get pregnant. It's an individual circumstance filled with a lot of shame and guilt that is the result of a series of specific government policies, cultural ideologies, and public health issues.
Abstinence-only methods often fail. Research shows teen pregnancy rates go down by a lot through:
-well-communicated sex education early and often
-free and easy-to-access birth control and IUDs
-more honest conversations about consent and pregnancy risks
-well-communicated sex education early and often
-free and easy-to-access birth control and IUDs
-more honest conversations about consent and pregnancy risks
There's personal responsibility and there's also remembering how specific political parties and policies that repeatedly put forth abstinence as the only prevention method for *decades* despite the research showing how often it fails and the people it hurts the most.
Many people are deeply confused and tired after trying to do the right thing for two months. Many governments have done a not-great-to-awful job of telling the public why it's important to keep staying away from others, sourcing/distributing/recommending masks, and "re-opening".
Everything I have read says the "re-opening" approaches are going to lead to resurgences of Covid-19 cases even before the first wave is over in many of these areas. This will kill and hurt more people as well as cause further damage to many businesses and the economy.
I even went to a home improvement store today. Several staff and customers did not wear masks. Staff told me they were still hard to get. Why didn't the company source and distribute them? Why haven't federal governments sent out masks to everyone through the postal service?
It's too easy to blame individuals for acting against their own interests after months of deeply inconsistent information, insufficient resources, unfocused leadership, as well as a culture that prioritizes individual desires and happiness over collective safety and well-being.
"deeply inconsistent information" includes political leaders repeatedly denying:
-the seriousness of what was happening in China
-how it quickly it could spread elsewhere
-PPE shortages
-how it could be even worse through inadequate testing, tracing, isolation, and mask usage
-the seriousness of what was happening in China
-how it quickly it could spread elsewhere
-PPE shortages
-how it could be even worse through inadequate testing, tracing, isolation, and mask usage
