Why Take the Risk?

 If you read my blog and still don't take Covid precautions, why not? 

Justin Lee posted a list of his guesses of what people might be feeling when he asks them to take precautions (test, mask, maybe open a window) before in-person meetings. His list is slightly tidied up and numbering fixed - his had two number 6s - below. He adds he's not trying to impose any of these ill-will feelings, but merely trying to increase protections in order to have high-confidence gatherings:

1. They feel attacked. I must be implying that what they are doing now, choices, conduct, are inadequate. I must be implying a better than thou mentality. It's like a put down.
2. They feel threatened. For a brief moment they contemplate they could be at risk, as I must be implying they are at risk to ask them to take additional steps or change behaviors, and I've labeled them a threat to me. 
3. They feel inconvenienced. They're busy doing their thing, and the lifestyle adjustments I'm requesting are going to cramp their style. It's not often they go out of their way; they're not about to start.  
4. They feel controlled. As a grown adult, they decide what they want to do, when, and for what reason, and who am I to suddenly think I'm going to dictate their choices. Maybe I should go pound sand.
5. They feel politically attacked. Trying to avoid covid is a Dem thing (even though it's actually totally not, Biden sucks), and if they acquiesce to this safety request now, who knows what liberal bullshit I'll be selling next. Hard pass.
6. They feel soft and weak. They've largely puffed their chest out and road ableism / healthyism / pride this entire pandemic. Safety has been programmed to be analogous to fear, and fear is not in their cards.
   
7. They feel over it. Been infected 1, 2, 3 times, didn't die yet, are buying in on all sorts of immunity theories, so feel they've read this book already, turned the chapter, and don't want to go back to read it again.
8. They feel resigned to economic imprisonment. The hunt for the dollar requires this inevitable repeat infection scenario, so why bother now. It's so inevitable they're teaching me and others to give up trying to avoid SARS-2. Embrace it.
9. They feel uncomfortable. They've never shielded from covid, wearing masks or getting takeout is not something they're used to doing, their comfort zone is strongly preferred. They really don't have anyone to teach them infection control.
10. They feel like it's the twilight zone. What type of crazy am I to take covid seriously, haven't I been watching the news and reading the paper? It's a cold. Blame the weak. Encourage me to seek help, or talk smack behind my back. 
11. They feel embarrassed. Look, nobody they know practices infection prevention, and they ignore all the people who do. Peer pressure is real, and they don't want to turn into the person they've been denigrating this entire pandemic.
12. They feel disinterested. I'm not that cool, or we're not that tight. When infection control is put on teh scales for an in person meeting with me, personally, the scales measure 'not worth it.' They're happy to do nothing if I'm good with that.
13. They feel creative: Why do what I'm saying they should do when we can use technology to socialize. Although this isn't going to warm the chilly should they lead with because I had to be difficult.
14. They feel scientific: Although broadly ignoring covid, when asked to try to avoid it, they would like to pull out their hand made textbook of covid newspaper clippings and compare notes. Really get into the weeds on how transmission works. 
15. They feel burdened. It's too hard. Life is more of a path of least resistance thing, and they know plenty of people who aren't asking them to do what feels like swimming up a river. 
16. They feel sick. As in, literally sick right now. They can't figure out what's going on but they're sure it's not covid, but since they are indeed showing symptoms from something, now is not a good time to get together. 
17. They feel angry. Covid is fighting words sent from the brach covidians, and mere mention of it is fueling the globalist new world order. Somehow this ties in with chem trails, but regardless, they have to fight back against me, the sheep.

My son just announced that he plans to stop masking soon, about the same time as the WHO announced that 1 in 10 infections (not people, but infections) lead to Long Covid, and to prepare for mass disability (media briefing here). Insurance companies are screaming this into the void as well. He'll keep wearing a seatbelt, of course, because that's a normal thing to do. But no more masks (despite over ten times the risk of death from Covid than a car accident). 

Three years has been enough, and he's going to just live his life again. He assured me he won't stop until after he moves out, likely in September, and he reminded me that most people don't have cognitive decline or long term illness - nobody he knows, for sure. I think he's feeling a bit of Justin Lee's #3, inconvenienced, #4, controlled, #7, over it, #11, embarrassed being the only one, and maybe #15, burdened. And he's right. The fact that one in ten infections leads to longterm issues, means NINE out of ten don't! All the horrific cases I know of are people online or parents of children who have called me as a trustee, but I don't actually know them. I haven't met anyone in person who has had longterm problems. However, I do know that some of those parents are now caring for their children and/or partners in ways they didn't expect at so young an age. 

My mother had to find a way to manage her suspicions that I was getting wasted pretty regularly in my young adult years as a high school drop out living in a broken down house with a bunch of friends. The best time of my life, fodder for my very best stories, was her worst nightmare. Her mantra: You do the best you can and don't have any expectations of how it will all turn out. A little Stoicism, Kant, and/or Buddhism. We do the best we can, then let them go, watching them make questionable choices without comment. Without much comment. 

Okay, I'll try harder to restrain my comments!

Is it horrible that I'm kinda hoping someone he knows gets very ill between now and then to wake him up to the reality of the risk level he's about to accept?? We're nearing the point that if we don't see it with our own eyes, then it feels like it's all been overblown, like the monster has no teeth. And wouldn't it be nice if that were the case!