It always seems wise to me to know exactly what we are all trying to accomplish.

The first clear mission was:

Flatten the curve so hospitals don’t get overwhelmed.

That made sense and after a probably too late/somewhat rocky start, seems that this part of the mission, at least, was accomplished. Hospitals are not overrun (actually many are near empty now, with staff having their hours cut back) and it seems, by and large, we are ready to handle the cases that are still to come. (The fact that we now realize that 80% of those who went on ventilators actually died, and “science” now recognizes that ventilators might NOT have been what they all needed—well that’s another story).

But can we all agree that the next overriding phase of this mission is:

Get the economy going so that the country does not fall apart.

Many have been saying from the beginning, and I believe now more are starting to see that this “cure” can, in fact, end up being worse than the disease. 36 million newly unemployed (think about that for a minute!). What will these people do, when their jobs don’t come back and millions of others’ jobs don’t come back, with businesses that don’t survive.

And can’t we also agree that we are “adult” enough to have a variable level of fear? If your restaurant does not allow anyone in without a mask, then people who feel everyone should be wearing a mask can eat there, and those who don’t believe in that, and won’t put a mask on, can’t. (To those who say that takes away my freedom, STFU, because even before the pandemic you couldn’t go into lots of places barefoot because of the sign, “No shirt, no shoes, no service”. That is the restaurant owner’s choice.

But if I own a restaurant and don’t feel you need a mask to come in, then those who feel the same will come to my restaurant. This way everyone can be comfortable in their own space, taking/avoiding the risks THEY perceive, without infringing on anyone else’s “rights”. Let people seek their OWN level of safety, comfort, and let society determine when we get back to a new normal, whatever that may turn out to be.

Our political leaders are not gods. They/no one knows for sure how this all turns out. Staying indoors til there is a cure (hell, the common cold has been around for a million years and there is still no cure for that) is NOT a successful solution. Viruses have been and will be with us forever. How we learn to coexist with them should be up to individuals/not to a government mandate that is always (as they say) “based on science and safety” (what jibberish!) when the data is incomplete and changes all the time. (Remember, people used “science” to justify slavery, the extermination of Jews, the dominance of men over women). My radar goes off when anyone hides behind that bullshit :). All the scientists who predicted that “blood would be on the hands of Governor Kemp of Georgia” because he reopened too soon. Where are they now? Have not heard from them lately.

Danger is real. No doubt. Fear is real. No doubt. But lots of Chicken Littles out there as well as big, bad wolves. People should be allowed to make their own determinations of how much risk they choose to take. Let them decide if their restaurant requires everyone wearing masks or not. They’ll be those who won’t go, but those that will. And that creates an economy again.

We flattened the curve. Now let’s get the economy going and society up and running again.

All,

Hard to believe over 30,000,000 (thirty million!) Americans have become unemployed in the past 2 months.

Frigging devastating! And likely will be for a long time. Estimates are that 100,000 US businesses will NEVER come back. That’s unbelievable!

We are very lucky and grateful that we were all able to continue working throughout this. Great job, everyone, and a testament to our tenacity and willingness to do “whatever it takes”.

Thank you.

And not only that, the fact that we were able to provide such vital, essential services to our many good customers, as well as procuring and delivering millions of pieces of PPE all around the country and the world (when it was needed the most) will stand as yet another shining moment in LP’s long history.

Proud! 💪

Thank you all.

-JB

Check this video out:

That’s me on the left 🙂

I admit that I don’t know the difference between shit and Shinola about viruses or medicine. But…

Can’t we all agree that as bad as all this is, it is not what we thought it might be?

Not blaming anyone. No one’s fault. Assuming no one wanted this, and that everyone is trying their best. But…

The initial fears have not STATISTICALLY come to pass. Though every death is tragic (clearly) this is not the pandemic like the one in 1918 that killed FIFTY MILLION PEOPLE. This has killed way too many, but not statistically more than many other things THAT HAVE NOT GONE AWAY.

Think about all the sad stories we heard every day on the news before about the tragic effects of:

Despair
Hopelessness
Obesity
Homelessness
Unemployment
Cancer
Alcoholism
Heart Disease
Domestic Violence
Drug abuse
Suicide

None of these went away when this new Coronavirus suddenly showed up. They are ALL still here with us. And many are exacerbated by living in this new “normal”. And it’s only just beginning. Millions of people out of work, unable to support their families, losing confidence, losing hope will lead to more of the above, I’m pretty sure. And those deaths will be just as tragic as are the 70,000+ Covid-19 deaths.

As with most things, I think there has to be a balance. This virus will be here, like all the other viruses, forever. Sure, good hygiene, common decency, common sense, are all good things that probably should have been here before and may likely be with us going forward. That’s a good thing. But this isolation and fear is NOT healthy and the results of that, though harder to measure perhaps, may very well be worse than the disease itself.

Short term isolation to help “flatten the curve” made sense. The idea being that it gives the various local health systems the time and ability not to get overwhelmed by a surge of critical patients so that anyone who needed it could help proper help. That has worked. Here is NYC’s daily death rate.

Awful. But clearly the surge has died down, and hospitals are now not even close to being overrun. The US Naval hospital ship has left (and was barely used). The “hospital” in Central Park is being taken down. Good. That job got done.

And here in Erie, there have been 2 COVID-19 deaths, both elderly (still sad) this entire time. But…

Does that require this destruction of our economy that will adversely affect (please see above list) in our community?

Can’t we just say, “Well, thank God, the direst estimates were wrong.”

And can’t we now “re-calibrate” and realize that for 99% of people this disease, even if contracted, is not a death sentence—not even close—and get back to the “normal” human job of providing for our family and being Actually connected to our friends?

Facts are facts. They can be interpreted in many ways. But let’s keep them in the proper perspective.

Balance. That is usually the best way.

Just my 2 cents, though I may not know the difference between shit and Shinola.

You should also read this: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-woodstock-pandemic-1968-idUSKBN22J2MJ

Onward!

-JB