⏱️ Moving forward, forever - community adaptation
Those staying stuck in denial trying to force normal, longing for a gone pre-pandemic time, that’s who is being left behind, morally sabotaged to endure and inflict unnecessary suffering.
Nobody could take any of these statements seriously:
“We can’t wear seatbelts in cars forever.”
“We can’t wear steel toe boots at the factory forever.”
“We can’t use child car seats forever.”
“We can’t keep brushing our teeth every night forever.”
“We can’t stop people smoking indoors in public forever.”
“We can’t filter water at the sewage treatment plants forever.”
And no sensible person would take these types of comments seriously when it comes to mitigations for a dangerous pandemic. Masks, air filtration, regular testing, monitoring ventilation, isolating when sick, quarantining after exposure or before gatherings - all reasonable measures which should be standard practice all over the place by now. Many of these things are already standard in some places. Places that have moved forward and are moving with the times. The arrow of time points in one direction, like it or not.
If anyone is using the word “forever” as a pathetic attempt at a pejorative reductio ad absurdum, it’s complete nonsense. Meaningless. If someone is saying we should go backwards and stop using innovative strategies and proven technologies to deal with modern and emerging threats, they’re talking gibberish. It’s as ridiculous as saying throw away your clocks and go back to sundials. People refusing to move with the times are the ones being “left behind” in an upside down propaganda haze of pluralistic ignorance.
We got the airbags in our car replaced when they were recalled because they might fail. We put on clothes, brush our teeth, wear seatbelts, and drink filtered water - every day. We don’t stigmatize talking about drunk driving anymore - there are billboards encouraging everyone to take the keys from inebriated friends. Wanting to “go back to normal” is NOT “getting on with your life” - it’s the opposite of going forward. Some people say: "But how long can we keep this up?" What are they even talking about? If you're being bombed do you leave the bomb shelter because hey it's been a few days?... but if the bombs are still being dropped? We didn’t stop using child car seats once fatalities from infants being ejected from cars dipped a bit. We didn’t go back to drinking potentially poo laden water once cholera was under control - we prevent it now.
Those wearing N95 masks in public places, and especially healthcare settings, have moved on to adapt to the times and new realities of living with the existence of a dangerous infectious disease currently circulating. Those trying to live in the past and pretend it's not happening with fingers stuck in their ears humming - they are the “holdouts” - hanging onto the past forcing normal with an angry id.
But how is this happening? Elite panic, ad campaigns, tricky influence, warped science, and repetition. This garbage is of course being pushed by big money - funded by fossil fuel, and far right-wing movements in general - for the usual reasons - profit and power. We're being hammered by a well funded hard sell promoting dubious cures and moral disengagement that works against our natural desire for fairness and the pursuit of ethical community care, and promotes pluralistic ignorance - when most of us do want to cooperate by masking.
We need to reject moral sabotage and actively restore the spirit of public health, saving lives by collective salubrious acts of kindness to others and self-care.
Absurd “Forever” Statements
Let’s not be shy about lambasting remarks about what we can’t do forever.
“We can’t wear seatbelts in cars forever.”
“We can’t have speed limits forever.”
“We can’t use child car seats forever.”
“We can’t stop people smoking indoors in public forever.”
“We can’t have a weekly garbage collection day forever.”
“We can’t keep brushing our teeth every night forever.”
“We can’t wear steel toe boots at the factory forever.”
“We can’t wear visors while welding forever.”
“You can’t keep trying to stop drunk driving forever.”
“We can’t keep treating cancer forever.”
“We can’t have a fire department fighting fires forever.”
“You can’t fully cook chicken forever.”
“We can’t filter water at the sewage treatment plants forever.”
“You can’t refrain from pooping in the swimming pool forever”
“You can’t fully douse your campfire forever”
“You can’t wear oven mitts to grab hot cookware forever”
“You can’t refrain from running with scissors forever”
“You can’t remove used contact lenses from your eyes every night forever”
“You can’t apply sunscreen at the beach forever”
“You can’t bundle up in cold weather forever”
“You can’t refrain from wiping back to front forever”
“We can’t keep putting kids through school forever.”
“We can’t keep screening for cancers forever.”
“We can’t use life preservers on boats forever.”
“We can’t use mosquito nets every night forever.”
“We can’t wear life jackets on kayaks forever.”
“We can’t replace the batteries in the smoke detector forever.”
“We can’t use a carbon monoxide detector forever.”
“We can’t pasteurize milk forever.”
“Nurses can’t just put syringes in a sharps box forever.”
“You can’t administer a correct dosage of Tylenol for your kids forever”
“You can’t wash your hands before dinner forever”