Have we lost our collective minds?

amother

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:05 pm

The parks in my town are closed. Not just the playgrounds, but the walking parks too. I'm all for social distancing, but what we are doing is going to have MAJOR psychological and economic impacts on people that will reverberate for generations.
There are so many things we can do to encourage people to stay healthy without closing everything, including the parks. Wash your hands, don't sneeze in someone's face, stay home if you're sick, don't congregate in large groups.
I mean seriously, what am I supposed to do? Are my toddler and baby going to grow up for the next two years thinking the world begins and ends in my house? Does that sound healthy? IMO, closing everything down is going to make people less likely to be able to social distance for a longer period of time. It's going to drive people absolutely insane.
I already know the response is going to be "well when your relatives are in the hospital, you won't be singing the same tune". And "no amount of economic and mental anguish is worth even one life". But we do this ALL THE TIME. We'd have over 1 million less deaths if we stopped driving, but we've decided that the cure for that (not driving) is worse than the disease (over 1 million dying in traffic accidents). So when are we, as a collective community, decide that closing our parks is just not worth it??

amother

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:10 pm

tigerwife wrote:

Walk around the block.
I hear about frum people dying or in critical condition several times a day. Let’s do what we can to stop this.
And daven.

When you hear about a frum person in critical condition or dead from a car accident do you stop driving? Even for one day? I'm seriously wondering because if not, then I fail to see the difference.

amother

Forestgreen

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:11 pm

tigerwife wrote:

Walk around the block.
I hear about frum people dying or in critical condition several times a day. Let’s do what we can to stop this.
And daven.

Being outside in the sunshine and seeing greenery is therapeutic. I'm not going to underestimate the importance of keeping parks open as much as practical.

amother

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:11 pm

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

I think playgrounds should be closed. It's too hard to keep equipment sanitized and kids apart from each other.

Parks with walking trails should be open as long as trails are wide enough that ppl can socially distance.

I completely agree with you. Unfortunately that's not what's happening. The panic has literally made people not be able to think straight.

thunderstorm

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:12 pm

I just texted my father to see how he’s doing. He mentioned that he went to take a walk in the park and it’s impossible to keep 6ft between people because the park was so crowded. Rather be safe than sorry. Walk outside for some fresh air in front of your house .

amother

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:13 pm

thunderstorm wrote:

So by that logic, we shouldn't drive because we'd rather be safe than sorry.

Chayalle

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:13 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

When you hear about a frum person in critical condition or dead from a car accident do you stop driving? Even for one day? I'm seriously wondering because if not, then I fail to see the difference.

When one person dies from a car accident, it doesn't set off a domino effect such that all other drivers then die of car accidents.

But one person on the playground with COVID-19 is a different story.

I'm sorry, OP, but your analogy doesn't cut it.

amother

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:16 pm

Chayalle wrote:

But the exponentially more cars there are on the road, the exponential amount of more deaths there are. So by driving and putting additional cars on the ride, you're increasing the amount of potential deaths.

amother

Babyblue

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:16 pm

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

Love your color

thunderstorm

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:17 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

So by that logic, we shouldn't drive because we'd rather be safe than sorry.

The virus has a domino effect and harms multiple people who then give it to others and there is a continuous chain. This has nothing to do with car accidents. We need to care about OTHERS not only ourselves.

chicco

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:18 pm

Someone driving a car does not automatically cause a death. Someone touching something someone else did, most likely spreads germs. Germs are deadly right now. Honestly, I think this whole shelter in place and social distancing is a complete waste unless it is followed scrupulously.

Do you understand that bodies in NY are being stored in refrigerated trucks because the morgues are full? When is the last time there were that many car accidents?

People need fresh air. They need socialization. They need money. Go outside, call or facetime people. Do what you can in terms of being thrifty and resourceful. It completely stinks, but this is much bigger than you seem to appreciate.

groovy1224

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:19 pm

First of all, people can make the choice to not drive if they aren't comfortable with the risk. So it's not a good corollary.
Second, your child is not going to have long term psychological effects from staying inside for 2 months. Come on. I don't know where you got 2 years from.
Third, people are morons. No one should need to be told not to sneeze in someone's face, or to wash their hands. But thus is humanity. If the parks are open, people WILL congregate there. And this will go on even longer.
Lastly, it's in YOUR best interest to keep less people sick and the hospitals clear. Even if you don't care about the people who are sick and dying, think about what would happen if you broke a leg, or needed your appendix out, or chv one of your kids swallowed a magnet. And there were no doctors available to take care of you. no intubation tray available for you to have emergency surgery, no x ray machines available. The death toll is NOT the only factor here. And even if it were, you should not be so quick to discount it.

amother

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:22 pm

groovy1224 wrote:

So people should be able to make the choice to go outside if they are comfortable with the risk. I am comfortable with the risk of walking in the park, so I should be allowed to do so. Someone who is uncomfortable with said risk, can bubble wrap themselves inside, spray it with lysol, and stay there for the next 18 years if they so choose. I don't live in NY, I don't even live in a particularly dense area. When the parks were open a few days ago, people were definitely maintaining their distance.

amother

Thu, Mar 26 2020, 3:23 pm

chicco wrote:

The insinuation that by spreading a disease you are automatically causing a death is faulty. You can't prove that. No one can. I could spread it to 20 people and its entirely possible none of them would die.