Words matter. Now more than ever, in a time of keyboard warriors and social justice shouters, words matter. And the primary words of this global pandemic come, like many major events, in a set of three. Three phrases: stay home, stay inside, and social distancing. The problem with these three phrases is that they are bastardized versions of the actual scientific and medical recommendations during Covid 19. Indeed, in a global pandemic of this scale, amid a virus this mild and this inevitable, the best thing, it seems we can do is ignore these movements entirely. In a follow up to last week’s post on calming the fuck down, my counterpoint to the current Covid narrative is radical. If we really want to beat Covid 19 in the best way possible for everyone, I would say we should be getting out, getting away from home, and socializing.
First: What Is Coronavirus?
Okay, so let’s start with the basics. I am not a doctor, a medical practitioner, or even a scientist. But I’m highly educated, pretty intelligent, and I know how to find basic information on any subject. Before I make decisions, I look at the information we have, I look at the potential agenda(s) behind any information and sources we’re turning to, and I weigh the risks versus the benefits of the decisions I make.
Covid 19 is the latest coronavirus to enter the human population. A coronavirus, named for it’s “crown-like” protrusions on the actual virus itself when observed under a microscope, produce cold or flu like symptoms in humans.
Covid 19 is particularly mild when compared to other coronaviruses like SARS or MERS, though Covid 19 spreads much more rapidly.
Here’s what we know: most people don’t get super sick. The vast majority of people recover. A very small percentage of people die.
According to the WHO, 80% of people infected recover with no intervention at all.
In terms of number of people actually dying from Covid 19, the verdict is still out. It is a brand new virus, we still don’t have anywhere near adequate testing, and many of the deaths attributed to Covid 19 may not in fact be related. They could simply be the flu or pneumonia. Crude numbers, however, show that death rates are likely somewhere between 1% and 3%, and that an overwhelming majority of people who do die from Covid 19 related illness are much older, like over 80 older, or have other underlying severe illnesses.
Bottom line: the chances you’ll get Covid 19 are actually pretty high. Covid is likely going to become a seasonal virus like the flu, and we’ll all either get it, get vaccinated against it, or “luck out” and miss it. The chances you’ll become so ill you have to go to the hospital are very low. The chances you, assuming you are in relative good health, will die are highly unlikely.
Next: How Does It Spread?
So, how are people being infected so quickly? On Brene Brown’s recent podcast grief expert David Kessler said “soon we’ll be talking about ‘life before the pandemic.’ We’ll be saying things like ‘remember when people used to shake hands?'”
Ugh. Suddenly A Brave New World flashed in my head from 12th grade AP English. Aldous Huxley’s imaginings of a highly sanitized, anesthetized society that created babies in tubes and sent all “interesting people” into exile on islands and in Alaska seemed to come to life.
But this is in fact how we transmit Covid, like most viruses and infections. The primary way Covid 19 transmits is through respiratory droplets. Someone coughs or sneezes, or even talks or sings, and you breathe in those droplets. It seems this form of transmission is the most common.
Yes, you can get it from hard surfaces, from touching something that has the virus on it and then touching your mouth or nose, but those types of transmissions, by all accounts, seem to be far less common that the actual exchange of droplets in face to face encounters. It also seems, as of now, that it really requires face to face conversation, or close quarters, meaning inside spaces. You need to ingest someone else’s breathed, coughed, or sneezed out droplets to become infected. That’s not a casual exchange. It is, in other words, highly unlikely you’ll become infected by someone you walk past on the street or jog past on a trail.
Recommendations that Make Sense
Knowing what we know then, some of the measures we have taken as a society make sense. Close non-essential businesses, get grocery delivery or curbside service when you can, avoid indoor spaces and gatherings. Even avoid outdoor gatherings where lots of people are standing around and socializing for long periods of time. All these recommendations will slow the spread of transmission.
Remember, we are merely trying to slow the spread of an inevitable transmission, not trying to make sure as few people as possible get it. We are likely all going to either get it, get vaccinated against it, or prove immune to it. The point is to slow the spread so that we don’t all get infected at once and overwhelm the medical system, thereby putting the most at risk people in our population in greater danger of dying. We want our most vulnerable citizens to be well cared for by a well supplied and resourced medical system (more on that in another post).
So avoiding close contact in indoor spaces or gatherings in outdoor spaces makes perfect sense.
The Covid Counterpoint
Let me tell you what does not make sense: #stayinside.
The recommendation that has become a movement makes no sense whatsoever. Just fucking Google “health benefits of getting outside” and a million articles will pop up with actual scientific evidence that shows the overwhelming benefits to your health of spending time in green space. Being outside is not only good for you physically right now this second, it also contributes to a long term strong immune system, keeps you mentally healthy, and reduces your stress levels, all extremely helpful in the face of a global pandemic. So no, don’t #stayinside.
#getthefuckoutside
And don’t #stayhome either.
#getawayfromyourhamsterwheel
Among all of the annoying and irritating aspects of Covid 19 and our global, national, and local responses to it, the closure of public parks, beaches, and trails tops my list. This move is the absolute most counterintuitive decision made by our representatives I have seen yet.
I understand the enormous political pressure our representatives are under, and I get that governors like Kate Brown here in Oregon see people flocking to beaches for outside time and figure “well people are too stupid to practice good physical distancing, so I will make it impossible for them to gather outside.” I get that line of thinking, flawed as it is.
The covid counterpoint?
Here is the thing: if people want to gather, they will find a way. If people, like me, are determined to get outside and into nature, they will. So all you do by limiting access is funnel those people onto even smaller beaches and fields, fewer trails, and less open space, thereby creating more of a potential public safety hazard. Not less of one.
What we could, and should, be doing, is treating people like grown ass adults and reasoning with them. Tell people to practice good sense. Keep a safe distance. Stay home if you’re symptomatic. Spread out on beaches and parks. And yes, we should be encouraging people to get outside into nature and soak up all those good health benefits, especially as weather improves.
Indeed, a wide array of illnesses have been treated with the “open air regimen,” and ample evidence shows that spending tons of time outdoors is preventative as well as curative.
Get the Fuck Outside.
I say, not on a whim, to find a trail still open in your area, find an open field, find a lake or a beach still available to the public and bask and bask and bask in the sunlight. Move your body, breathe deeply, and free your mind.
Socialize!
I hate the term social distancing. There. I said it. It is the absolute worst. Humans are social creatures. We need each other. We are better together. We have become increasingly isolated from each other as it is, and this pandemic is only encouraging further distancing that is detrimental to our health.
As we have become further isolated by busy work schedules, class systems, race, culture, you name it, we have become increasingly inclined to judge each other. And, as David Kessler on Brene’s podcast, “judgment demands punishment.”
So we are socially distancing, feeling proud of ourselves, but also kind of sorry for ourselves, and we are alone, with no one to empathize with, no close friend or family member to relate to, so we see someone else not social distancing as we do, and we judge. Then we see someone else judging, and we jump on the judgey bandwagon. Now we need to punish. And what better form of punishment in a disconnected society than shame.
Oh shame, that great connector of judgmental assholes.
Get Out of the Shame Game
And you know what makes us even more prone to shaming others? Feeling further disconnected from them. So the more we socially distance, the more we create small social media, Skype, and zoom circles, and the more we drink our wine and plan public executions of those not adhering to the confused #stayathome movement.
In times of crisis, the last thing we should be doing is judging or criticizing our brothers and sisters for the decisions they’re making. Everyone is doing the best they can with what they’ve got. We can have discussions, we can model the behavior we’d like to see, and we can share helpful information.
In the end, it only divides us further to say things like “stay in your fucking house!”
Pointing fingers and shouting each other down, shaming and blaming, is useless, especially when we can be using our time more wisely and productively, socializing over shared joys and successes, supporting each other with encouragement or simply holding space for our friends with deep fears and anxieties.
My covid counterpoint: It is not your neighbor’s fault you can’t go see your grandma. It is not that woman who took her kids to Costco’s fault you can’t get back to work. It is not that group of friends who went to the beach to watch a sunset’s fault you decided to only go to the store once a month and now you’re out of butter. Calm the fuck down.
Stop looking for people to blame for the situation we are in today.
There are real reasons we are where we are, and many of them involve simple human and viral evolution. Others are directly connected to unleashed capitalism and a dying patriarchy. Still other reasons are related to governmental preparation, or lack thereof, for pandemics. Other reasons are connected to governmental response to outbreaks. Media and communications systems are also involved.
If you want to look at systemic problems and open up to ways to fix those problems, by all means, get to work.
Get involved, get engaged, run for office, become a journalist. Begin to build the better world we all want.
But do not shame your fellow citizens. It is the equivalent of drinking poison and expecting it to hurt someone else.
Covid Counterpoint: Build a Better World
The world as we once knew it is over, and a new world is coming, fast. The question is, how involved do we want to be in its creation and construction?It is time to start uniting and coming together to really have these discussions.
Stop shutting down and start opening up.
Let us socialize. Let us talk about why people are getting outside, why you see them walking around, why they are resisting the calls to stay at home.
Let us come together and communicate.
Let us unite and usher in our new normal, whatever that may be.
We are social creatures, by nature. Isolating, blaming, and shaming is mob mentality and group think. If you are participating in one or more of these activities, you are being manipulated to fear and hate.
Hear me say this again: if you are judging, blaming, and shaming, you are not acting out of concern for others. You are not protecting the most vulnerable among us. You are not doing a service to society. You are acting on your fears.
Acting on fear is not good for anyone, especially the person doing it.
And guess how you can break that cycle. Yep. That’s right. Get outside. Get into the fresh air. Move your body. And socialize.
You can follow all the laws, all the WHO recommendations, and adhere to safe physical distancing while getting outside, getting into nature, and finding creative and safe ways to socialize.
Perhaps, if you run counter to the misguided #stayathome movements, you might also be less likely to come out of this pandemic a total asshole.
Talk about making the world a better place.