@coyote. I am intrigued by your analysis that willingness to get vaccinated involves social trust. I think of it instead as high levels of social responsibility.
The conservative pundit Ann Coulter sneered at progressives (in an interview with John Stewart) as being filled with overly serious people driving around listening to National Public Radio while "her" people, the red state people, drive around listening to happy music and also that her people were Christian.
What she was actually seeing was that progressives are more likely not so much to trust the state, but to feel a responsibility to take the right actions to help the whole Collective. To do that, progressives bother to get factual information, especially scientific information and social science, so in the case of the pandemic, they know the science. That's why progressives drive around listening to NPR. (Okay, now someone is going to post that they never drive around listening to NPR but only great music. But I still say that progressives feel more social responsibility.
(Okay, now someone is going to post that they never drive around listening to NPR but only great music. But I still say that progressives feel more social responsibility.
NPR is better in podcast form in the office ?. Note: I didn't say ... THAT exactly ?? (Love you Jeanne!)
@jeanne-mayell. I guess I am a progressive because I always listen to NPR while driving. My favorite is Science Fridays, and I also love the author interviews and book reviews. Weekends it’s “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell,” and favorite host is Meghna-Chakrabarti. She has a great voice with great comments and questions.
I'm always listening to music in the car, tho I do have NPR on the last preset. My friend whom I drive to work with usually has it on as we drive. She always tells me goodies she's heard there.
I just ventured out to Lowes & Wallyworld for the first time since the restriction changes were made. I was one of 3 wearing a mask in Lowes. There were a few more masks in WM, but there were exponenrially more people there. I wasn't surprised at this. Sunday I went to our local produce "stand". It's a small open air tented store, complete with 4 refrigerated units for local dairy & some local seafood or meats. It was packed as always for a weekend & there was no social distancing & I was 1 of 2 masked ahoppers.
As other NC residents have noted here, there are clusters of progressives in some of our cities, but just a stone's throw away you'll hit absolute red.
My sister and I took our first post Covid two day trip and went to Yosemite (3 hours from home). We had a reservation for day use. We were quite surprised at the crowds, given the reservation necessity. We were more disappointed with the road work and controlled burn, than the crowds. So we spent our time in the small town of Groveland. And were quite pleased with the mask use when inside. We met a couple of ladies from South Carolina and they commented on the extended California restrictions, but they didn't seem to mind. I was very cautious all of last year, but felt comfortable being way from home since we are both fully vaccinated. Things seems to be looking up in that regard.
Social trust and responsibility are two sides of the same coin; if your neighbors are being responsible, then you'll trust them. If your neighbors trust you, then you want to act responsibly. I only wrote about social trust because I remember reading an article about how successfully Vermont was managing the pandemic, and the author noted the well-documented culture of social trust in the Green Mountain State.
I had a dream about the societal reopening process on Monday morning. I was in the passenger seat of a minivan and a cousin of mine was at the wheel. We were driving in my hometown to the local high school, where a major football game - something like homecoming - would be taking place. Apparently my extended family would be throwing a tailgate celebration in conjunction with the game, and my and my cousin's job was to stake out a spot before the crowds arrived. I had the phone number of one of the event organizers, and apparently I would call this person once we were on the school grounds so that we would know where to park.
But once we got to the school, we had to navigate a labyrinth of roadways I had never encountered before, and I couldn't reach the event organizer on my phone. Eventually my cousin and I were driving through the hallways of the school, and I realized we were completely lost. The next moment, we were seated in a room in the school with a bunch of other people; the other people had also arrived early for the game. The intercom turned on and a voice announced that we'd have to wait inside because the weather was unsettled; we wouldn't be let out until the organizers decided whether or not the game would go forward as planned.
There wasn't any direct reference to COVID in the dream, but I knew this was a covid dream when I woke up. The family celebration is a metaphor for the collective desire to celebrate and put the hard times behind us. The homecoming football game stands in for the mass social gatherings (like the Olympics) we've been deprived of. But there will be challenges as we emerge from our foxholes (the labyrinth of roads), and unforeseen obstacles could get in the way (unsettled weather). The fact that this dream took place at a school is a symbol of how this entire pandemic is a spiritual learning experience.
@coyote. Okay, two parts to your response. 1. The dream is amazing and I will need more time to respond to it. And (2) You are so right bout the two sides of the same coin of social trust and social responsibility. I wrote that post then hopped in my car and drove off to an appointment thinking, wait, both are correct, it's just facets of the same issue. And the issue is complex.
AND I love these discussions.
New York public schools will be full in-person with no remote learning option. My concern is that it might not be safe.
@jeanne-mayell Why does it not surprise me that Georgia ranks 47th on the list with only 30% ish vaccinated? and illustrious Gov.Kemp in the news today with this screaming headline " Kemp to ban school mask mandates"
Seems that once again a lot of Darwin awards are being passed out.
@journeywithme2. Agree. Florida is the most shameful, though, because they have a second highest percent elderly in the country yet they rank 29th in vaccine rate. Vaccine rates are complex and it is difficult to get certain groups to get vaccinated even when the governor makes it a priority, but states with high elderly populations should not see such extremely low vaccination rankings as with Florida.
States Ranked by Percent Elderly.
1. Maine (ranks 2nd in vaccination rate)
2. Florida (ranks 29th in vaccination rate)
3. West VA (ranks 40th in vaccination rate)
4. Vermont (ranks first in vaccination rate)
5. Delaware (ranks 22nd in vaccination rate)
6. Montana (ranks 32 in vaccination rate)
7. Hawaii (ranks 7th in vaccination rate)
8. Pennsylvania (ranks 19th in vaccination rate)
9. New Hampshire (ranks 24th in vaccination rate)
10. South Carolina (ranks 42nd in vaccination rate)
11. Oregon (ranks 17th in vaccination rate)
12 Arizona (ranks 36th in vaccination rates)
- Red color shows high elderly, but low vaccine standing;
- Blue color shows high elderly and high vaccine standing.
I had a strong vision last year that we'd be opening up in September 2021, and I think it's happening, but it doesn't mean we've reached herd immunity.
I don't think it is possible to reach herd immunity with Covid 19 (according to latest data I found) until 60-70% of population are vaccinated.
The highest percentage vaccinated in this country is 53 percent in a small state. Also people are moving across state lines and national borders constantly, so I wonder how we can get herd immunity until the whole country's vaccine rate is higher. We are now at 40%.
My Governor in Virginia, Ralph Northam, just lifted all of the state’s limits on business capacity and social distancing, as well as the requirement to wear masks except on public transit, in health-care facilities or in congregate settings. Today I listened to Biden's speech in Alexandria VA, and I thought I heard him say that Virginia has reached 64% vaccination. If that's true, that can't possibly mean fully vaccinated. I think that number is around 44%. Of course if you look at Virginia broken down by counties, it varies depending on where you live. I live in one of the largest counties in Virginia, and the vaccination rate is currently 57% for 1 dose, 46% fully vaccinated.
@jeanne-mayell, about your vision that we'd be opening up in September 2021 -- during our last RTF night I saw us reaching 70% herd immunity by September 2021, but it looks like we might reach that percentage sooner.
Anyway, I'll still be masking when I go to the stores. My internal jury is out about dining indoors. It might depend on the size and layout of the restaurant. For now, I'm keeping it al fresco.
You know things are normalizing when Costco says free samples will start being available in early June. There will be some changes in how they will be distributed but it has been 14 months folks.
FREE SAMPLES!
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/28/business/costco-food-sampling-coming-back/?hpt=ob_blogfooterold
@lovendures although i haven’t been to a store in over a week , i was initially excited to hear this news because this girl loves a taste here and there from Costco . My next thought was not all of what we did before is how it should be again. I went to Costco and wore a mask. It was alot less crowded. I liked it. Everyone was better about hygiene . I liked that too.
It will be interesting to see how it is now. I think the people who do the sampling will be glad to have their jobs back.
Well, i cant speak for everyone in the UK, but my family are still taking caution. Half of us are fully vaccinated, but we have a new variant circulating and while the protection against it looks promising, we are just being extremely careful still. In the UK we fully open up more in June, so it will be interesting to see what occurs.
I've heard there is a plan to give everyone a booster covid vaccine annually with the flu vaccine, to help keep on top of different variants which sounds promising.
As for the new normal, I just hope people appreciate how precious everything is that we all take for granted and that helps give people a new found perspective and appreciation.
I do feel like there has been lots of spiritual lessons throughout this pandemic, in terms of life lessons, like a collective test. But sadly some people really have not learnt anything, and we are seeing a repeat of the same mistakes and ignorance. How this all translates moving forward I don't know... But it does seem like some people and some ways of living will never be the same again - both good and bad.
I will say - not from me - from another person who is psychic - that there is a new virus from China hitting us this year. Please can we all meditate on this? I really hope it isn't true...
The Chinese government says a 41-year-old man has contracted what might be the world’s first human case of the H10N3 strain of bird flu, but that the risk of large-scale spread is low. China's National Health Commission said the man is in stable condition
I hope this is not it.
Apologies for slight thread derailment.
What does one wear in a re-opened society?
I really enjoyed this WP article about how we are all conflicted about fashion as we begin to re-emerge in society. It is a good read.
I can relate. I went to my first wedding a few weeks ago and had nothing I could or wanted to wear. It had been 2 years since I attended one and things have certainly changed since then.
I also took my first trip clothes shopping in about 18 months. While it was kind exciting, it was also challenging. Only some stores have dressing rooms open, many had long lines to buy items and there are fewer cashiers. Those that have dressing rooms tended to have clothes limits in place.
I liked some of the colors I saw trending, found some needed shirts but it is a work in progress for sure.
I wonder how fashion will adjust moving forward.
What does one wear in a re-opened society?
I really enjoyed this WP article about how we are all conflicted about fashion as we begin to re-emerge in society. It is a good read.
I can relate. I went to my first wedding a few weeks ago and had nothing I could or wanted to wear. It had been 2 years since I attended one and things have certainly changed since then.
I also took my first trip clothes shopping in about 18 months. While it was kind exciting, it was also challenging. Only some stores have dressing rooms open, many had long lines to buy items and there are fewer cashiers. Those that have dressing rooms tended to have clothes limits in place.
I liked some of the colors I saw trending, found some needed shirts but it is a work in progress for sure.
I wonder how fashion will adjust moving forward.
I couldn't read the whole article because it was behind a paywall. We don't have much of a dress code where I work. My favorite uniform is a black shirt and jeans, maybe with a jacket or cardigan to dress it up if I want to look more respectable. I have several classic dresses in a spare room closet that I can drag out on the rare occasion I need something fancier. To me , "fashion" is not fun. It is just an annoyance (What?? I can't wear this shirt anymore because it is "dated"?????). I understand not everyone feels the same, though.