Local COVID-19 reactions (zaibatsu), 03/13/2020
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For whatever reason, a marker has been created with COVID-19 such that
this point in time will stand out in my memory for the rest of my
life. That's not to ascribe any particular importance to the events
(I have many memories[1] that are markers, both important and
unimportant,) but rather to point out that something is happening.
Perhaps you feel the same way. To read the "news"[2], everyone is
getting a marker collectively.
Locally, I've observed two general reactions over the past several
weeks. In friends that self-identify as liberal or libertarian
or anarcho-capitalist, there has been concern, and even public
commentary about COVID-19; in friends that self-identify as
conservative, there has been silence. Socially- that is to say, in
public- I've noticed that people have not modified their behavior
until the past two days. Their buying habits (I've been going to the
stores daily just to observe, which is perhaps odd, but whatever)
remained the same until recently, and their demeanor as well (if you
like to people watch and have lived in multiple places, you may have
noticed that people in a region tend to have social patterns
collectively; I'm not an expert in it, but I have noticed it.)
Two days ago, people started to panic buy. Toilet paper went first.
Macaroni and cheese went second. I noticed the beer case looked
sparse, but I don't pay much attention there generally, so that could
be confirmation bias. The dried beans and rice were sparse too, and I
do purchase those regularly. This is just based on a few local stores.
Now, this novel coronovirus has been on the loose for a few months.
The first reported death was on Jan 11, and it started to consume the
news cycle on notfox reports in the week of Mar 2[3]. In other words,
unless you were living under a rock, you had ample time to prepare. If
you were very interested, you might have had a full 2.5 months. If you
were only marginally interested, maybe only a few weeks.
So, why the collective panic buying? Mass hysteria, I suppose. News
stories about people raiding Costco, buying cartloads of toilet paper,
leads to other people raiding their local stores for toilet paper, so
they can get to it before their insane neighbors do. Maybe we just
don't know our neighbors well enough. Maybe we're too swayed by what
other people might do.
Beyond that, I'm really more interested in why whole groups seemed to
put more stock in the issue sooner. I suspect that many viewed the
whole thing as a political issue, at least for a while, designed to
upset elections or some such thing. Who knows. I guess I'll have to
talk to my friends about it, and see what they say. Maybe there will
be some research into the question by someone with more method.
Hopefully life for my fellow gopher travelers is going along smoothly
through all of this. Perhaps you're making memories right now. Maybe
you're having interesting conversations with your kids, which you'll
look back on a few decades from now and talk about together; if we're
lucky, you'll laugh about them together. Maybe you're getting more
time with family, or a chance to view your life from a new
perspective. Perhaps you're gaining an appreciation for preparedness.
My bet is that a marker is being placed or formed in your mind, so
that you'll remember life in this moment more clearly than the blur,
more distinctly than the norm. Enjoy it for what it is, and good luck!
[1] To name a few of my markers: the moment the space
shuttle Challenger crashed; a mock primary in school where I voted for
Michael Dukakis; the cement statues/bridge in Expo 86; my first and
only campout with my dad; finishing second to last in a race; 9/11.
There are many, many more. For whatever reason, the memories stand out
brightly.
[2] I say "news" with the context of an essay that user
cmccabe sent, here:
https://tinyurl.com/yh67l7tm
[3]
http://notfox.com/keywords_weekly.html?wkst=2020-03-02
