The Holiday Time Restrictions Are Needed
In a couple of months, things will be looking up. Be grateful it will not be years.
If the state you live in is adding restrictions on holidays, gatherings, or dining — believe me when I tell you, it’s the last thing they wanted to do. Most are even too late and many will reverse it too early.
Just because something is legal and still allowed doesn’t make it smart. There are no helmet laws where I live. But the government can’t make me not wear a helmet.
Politicians by and large are the worst arbiters here. They want you to like them. So by the time they do this, it’s bad.
I’ve had restaurant owners that they love tell me how careful they are and how good their practices are. And I believe them. They are getting screwed by Mitch McConnell. Want to make a fuss about it, that’s the fuss to make.
They’re fighting for the lives of their businesses. Don’t expect them not to hope you eat there.
I know many plane tickets for Thanksgiving are already purchased (several hundred million). There are 35 million potential super-spreader events. My advice is start planning for next year’s Thanksgiving and Christmas, not this one.
If your state isn’t asking you to dine in your bubble, remember the leaders don’t care about you. If you die or get sick, their life will not change. They were not elected because of their skill at comprehending a crisis.
If in doubt, just call a few nurses in your neighborhood and ask what they want you to do these next few weeks.
Some of this feels like deprivation. But to be blunt about it — we don’t deserve anything. Sometimes stuff sucks and we have to just get through it. So Zoom and call the crap out of people. Anyone you know who’s the least bit lonely. Ask for help if you need it!
In a couple of months, things will be looking up! I wish it were weeks or days or hours, but I’m grateful it will not be years.
One in 10 people getting tested are positive now. In some places it’s five in 10. Several hundred new people getting intubated every day and we are intimating far fewer people than before. If you want to learn more about what’s going on, listen here.
(This is pulled and lightly edited from my Nov. 18 Twitter thread).
