If you die, you die, oh well says Senator

[ProfessorDetective]

Then how do we stop this mess?

The best solution was to keep everyone apart untill the disease burnt itself out or we got a vacine made, but that stalled the economy, leaving most folks with rent or food money, and, apperently most importantly, cut into the bottom lines on the one-percenters who could actually afford treatments of they caught the bug and to stay home for months on end, anyway. They tried to give everyone a handout to bridge the gap, but barely willing to give them more than a month's pay (Fed min wage: $7.25 x standard full-time hours per week: 40 * 4 weeks in month = $1160) while dumping BILLIONS into corparate slush funds are random pet projects.

So folks needed to go back to work to not starve/be evicted (and to keep the DOW from falling farther), so we started all the social distancing and mask, trying to at least slow the pace of infection... but those efforts are being actively fought against by genuine sociopaths who'd let the world die just to they'd not have to spend their own cash to fix it or because they take 'Liberty or Death' so damn seriously, they'd rather catch it, die, and potentially spread it than simply follow the protocols and WEAR A DAMN FACE MASK! Nor would they be likely to take any vaccines that are developed, since many of them are likely anti-vaxxers, too and possible think the pandemic is a flipping HOAX.

And, now, the higher-ups are more concerned with hiding any perceived weakness: endangering children by reopening schools too early and having any reports of new cases go straight to the White House and not the CDC. They'd rather have a cheap facade than actually solve the issue.

Anyone with the power to fix this isn't willing to. So, how do we fix it? Any ideas?

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

General strike? Everyone from plumbers to hospital workers just pick a day to not show up to work and watch how fast the lazy bitches get into action to solve this easily soluble problem. Or we could recruit a few locksmiths and go to every one of congress member's houses and upper decker all their toilets?

[ProfessorDetective]

General strike? Everyone from plumbers to hospital workers just pick a day to not show up to work and watch how fast the lazy bitches get into action to solve this easily soluble problem. Or we could recruit a few locksmiths and go to every one of congress member's houses and upper decker all their toilets?

I've heard of a lot of teachers who wanted to strike... but their unions won't let them. Don't ask me why.

Also, really? Are we taking cues from Archer (the only other place I've heard 'upper decker' in this context)?

[McAvoy]

Eh, given that many of us still haven't gotten the first stimulus check, I'm not holding my breath.

If we do, cash it as soon as possible. I hear the guy who signs them writes a lot of bad checks.

My parents finally got theirs. $2400 in a debit card. This in itself wasn't that bad. But since my Mom still is in the hospital for her kidney transplant (went well though it was very very touch and go in the beginning), I have to help my Dad in these sort of things. Who knows nothing of what Mom does, and uses the old land line they haven't had in the past year since they were included on my own plan, makes it so much harder.

[GreyICE]

I wonder why these fuckers never volunteer by killing themselves. It only seems fair.

Maybe make them play a round of Russian Roulette before they make the argument?

[Riedquat]

Death is a part of life but one we shouldn't shrug off. It's the usual question of where to strike the balance, made harder by how so many people seem to get stuck in to one extreme or the other and start bleating about being "inconsistent" if you don't take one simple position and try to blinldy apply it to everything.

So there's a degree of risk we should just have to accept and put up with - we all do anyway, otherwise you'd be in mortal fear of tripping over your shoelaces (that has probably killed people). The safest world does not sound at all like the best one to live in (in many areas I'd already rather take my chances). So who's right and where does the balance lie? In this case both extremes of shut everything down or put things entirely back to normal are bloody stupid.

[GreyICE]

The problem is that if we did shut everything down for like most of Europe, we’d have it under control like most of Europe. That’s why they’re largely reopening, and they’re not allowing travelers from America.

Disease and mathematics don’t believe in your half measures. If the number of people infected per infection is above 1, the growth is exponential. If it’s below 1, the disease is isolated, contained, and wiped out. Being “close to 1, but above” just means “exponential, but small exponent.” Which turns out to really look a lot like exponential growth once the base number gets large enough.

[Darth Wedgius]

I guess I should have been more confident.