Since I've taken up this platform I've only put out one post "of my own" and that was really just a test to see if anyone would engage on this strange, new place I was checking out. I prefer to respond to other people and discuss what's on their minds rather than to put my own topics out there. But this has really been bugging me lately, so I'm going to throw it out there and if no one cares then nothing changes and I'll keep kicking it around in my own mind.
If you don't want to hear or think about COVID feel free to tune out now and not follow along with the rest of my thoughts.
I am really interested in what people have to say here, and I welcome any real life thoughts on the subject whether you are having the same experiences or not. What I'm really not interested in is any "COVID isn't real" or "plandemic" nonsense and I'll block accordingly.
@BE I'm so grateful that you posted this thread. Our little family have been extremely careful and haven't been sick--with anything--for nearly three years. We're lucky to have friends who 'indulge' our cautiousness. But we know many people who suffer from lingering symptoms or who have developed serious conditions. Hardly anyone wants to admit they even had Covid. 1/
A sincere thank you for taking the time to respond. Your experience and ours are remarkably similar.
We've discussed it in our house going into 2023 and we're all still 100% on board with the plan, so into the next semester of homeschool we go this week!
@BE Perhaps it's because we homeschooled our kid for many years that we were prepared in some ways? Or perhaps because we all have strong science backgrounds and make evidence-based decisions about our health? Or just dumb luck because dear friends caught it bad in early 2020, so we were cautious right away?
It's so painful to watch friends and family waking up to the reality of the dangers of repeat infections a little late.
Why some people were cautious right away and some weren't and then some have stayed cautious and other's haven't has been something I've spent a lot of time thinking about. The ones that gets me more than anything are the ones who were cautious and then suddenly went "Nah, this is all fine." The triggers for that require some serious cognitive dissonance as far as I can tell.
@BE But those who were cautious, then tossed the masks and boosters were following the crowd. I think it can be explained by peer pressure and mass 'hysteria' / movement.
My personal observation is that when 60 percent of people are wearing masks, others will put them on. When we got boosted, friends ask us which pharmacy to go to and got boosted themselves. 1/
@BE Only when there was an imminent threat (choir Covid outbreak) did the behaviour of singers change: next rehearsal cancelled, following rehearsal on Zoom, following rehearsal with 80 percent of the choir wearing masks voluntarily, performance with 25 percent of the choir wearing masks. People look to those around them for behavioural cues--and at leaders, who are modelling "the pandemic is over."
@BE Bellwethers, including political leaders, CMOHs, celebrities, and 'influencers' modelling "pandemic is over, masks/vax are not neccesary / don't work anyway" behaviour have a domino effect. We ALL long for this to be over, too. So the more people don't mask or vax, the more people don't mask or vax, the more this is seen as 'normal.' Even though virus / case / long Covid data says otherwise. That's my two cents, anyway.
@BE One more observation of human nature: NONE of us want to think we have put our health or our loved ones in danger with our decisions. It's too painful. But the pandemic has put parents with school-aged or daycare-aged kids, for example, in an impossible position. And it's just exhausting to analyze every situation for potential danger (exposure).
You're absolutely right on all of that, too. I never take it for granted that we were able to take precautions that others simply couldn't. That's a very different situation than the people who pretend there's no problem with living like 2019.
In our world I worry about those situations in which there's no avoiding the risk. They eventually come up!
I absolutely see the same, especially with kids that are in daycare. Which makes sense given the germ breeding grounds that they are. It must be so exhausting to be sick all the time.
