It’s been a while since I posted on this blog, but I’m writing tonight to say that the COVID-19 discourse bothers me. Most of the contentiousness involves vaccines and treatments (namely Ivermectin). Also, I have seen the effect that these discussions have had on people.
I may make a series of posts on the subject, but that would require a lot of research and commitment. However, there is at least one post that I have started working on that is pressing.
What Is Bothering Me About the COVID-19 Discourse?
Off the top of my head, these aspects of the pandemic have bothered me:
- The pandemic response by the United States government
- How people politicized the pandemic from the beginning
- How fear has turned people against each other
- Propaganda (its effectiveness, how blatant it is, how it has contributed to people turning people against each other)
- The effects shutdowns have had on individuals and small businesses
- Other things that the pandemic has exposed about various governments, human nature, and society at large
After more than a year and a half, I have barely taken part in discussions about COVID-19. For the most part, these discussions have been landmines. Talk about vaccines and treatments has been the most contentious from multiple angles. However, I have noticed that people with a specific political outlook have been responsible for most toxicity.
What Would I Like to Talk About Regarding the COVID-19 Discourse?
If I do make some in-depth posts about the pandemic, these are a few of the topics that I would like to talk about:
- This pandemic has shown me the worst of humanity.
- What makes someone an “anti-vaxxer?”
- What should we have done to deal with the pandemic properly?
- Why are we turning on each other?
- Was Joe Biden right in calling this “the pandemic of the unvaccinated”?
If I do get around to making these posts, I will go back to this one and add the links here.
Shmaltz and Menudo 
I can’t work, so I just sort of hunkered down and waited out this pandemic. Always a careful observer, I listened to my police scanner a lot. I was so disheartened as I listened to the calls go out for domestic violence incidents, suicidal people, and overdoses and intoxicated people. People today are not built for such crises as a pandemic. They are pampered from the cradle, overprotective parents have sheltered their children from any distress. I’m not taking a shot at younger generations, but many seem to have weathered this storm poorly.
I am apolitical, so I really can’t comment on any person in particular, but both the right and the left have not helped.
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One thing you mentioned is an overlooked aspect of this pandemic: domestic abuse. I didn’t think about that when the shutdowns started because my situation is relatively stable. However, I realize that some men, women, and children were/are stuck in abusive situations. The situation undoubtedly made things so much worse for them.
The pandemic has also made homelessness worse, also compounded by the general lack of healthcare.
I think that some people struggled with the shutdowns because they are social people. They prefer to be outdoors and among large groups of people. I’m not a psychiatrist, so I cannot say anything about the people who were suicidal. However, I can understand that being locked down can exacerbate feelings of loneliness and isolation when people live by themselves.
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