Topic: Is the Corona virus the elephant in the room?

[smokester]

I’m extraordinarily irritated by this (not your actions, but the lunacy of “clap for careers“). We let CEOs pay themselves millions of pounds, while they pay the medical cannon fodder peanuts. We then make up the difference by giving them applause. As if these people weren’t heroes and heroines before coronavirus and won’t be afterwards, but they were ignored (and complained about, and sued) before the plague, and they will be again after the plague.

Clapping may make the public feel good, but kind words butter no parsnips. If we had any decency as a society we would reward them and value them all the time, not just when we are bored during lockdown; and we would show them that they are valued with money, not clapping.

I was never really onboard with it but probably more through disinterest than any particular stance. However, this evening I believe what I saw were people immensely grateful for the fact that there are people out there that they can rely on in the tidal wave of extinction level news we are fed every day. It was more relief and a feeling of solidarity with a side helping of thanks. It was unavoidably emotional.

[6pairsofshoes]

I think that doctors are better compensated in the U.S. than in the U.K.  Here, I think it was an effort to bring people together by allowing them to express positive feelings as a way to let off steam after being stuck in the house for so long.  At least we got the chance to say hi to the neighbors from the front porch.

I'm totally agreed that those who really keep society running should be better compensated and that there should be a radical pruning of executive salaries and benefits.  The skewed income disparities that have only grown in the past half century have had disastrous effects on our society.  This epidemic has only emphasized how inequitable compensation has become. 

[8ullfrog]

Prayer hands on facebook have me stabby.

[8ullfrog]

Ael isn't speaking of ancient sleights.

[6pairsofshoes]

Health care in the U.S. is a f**king nightmare.  The U.K. would be well advised to run as fast as they can in the opposite direction.  The only model we present to the world is what NOT to do.

We have a gullible undereducated populace who largely remains ignorant of the true cost of keeping all these middlemen in their designer suits.  I'd be gratified to see the end of private health insurance companies.  They suck off all this money to run gigantic bureaucracies that are ostensibly intended to contain costs when they actually do the opposite.

My only hope is that now so many people have been thrown out of work and will lose their employer provided health insurance, they'll finally wake up to how much these private companies are costing us.  We've been buying insurance on the open marketplace for years, as my husband is self employed and my own employers have skillfully avoided paying me any benefits as I've worked entirely on short term contracts.  It was only due to the grace of Obama's Affordable Care Act that we are not complete slaves to working in order to pay for health insurance with food being a secondary luxury.

When I think that a more enlightened society like that of the UK is considering gutting or discarding the NHS it fills me with despair.

[smokester]

Personally I am always of the opinion that you have to make the best of a bad situation. Sure there are problems with how governments tackle this crisis but, to date, it appears that those problems are mirrored in countries across the board regardless of which political administration is running things. Slagging them off is just a waste of breath and intentionally makes matters worse. Best to keep calm and carry on, I say.

Who knows, after we get over this very large bump, we might find ourselves in a much better world.

[6pairsofshoes]

I baked cookies.  Better to chop chocolate than to curse the darkness.

I can only hope this debacle ends up improving things.

[8ullfrog]

Wisconsin is suing patients if they don't pay on checkout.

VA - I think that's Virginia? Is placing liens on houses if you don't pay on checkout.

The one facebook group I've been using to lift my spirits through this either unpersoned me or they buttoned the group - you don't actually get such messages on facebook, but I got in two arguments today.

The first was against a quack pushing colloidal silver - I linked to the mayo clinic information on how it's quackery, and the Oprah guest who turned himself into a smurf.

Another member suggested TAKING albuterol sulfate inhalers from family with asthma, because they "felt better" after using it.

I was chained to one of those stinky inhalers through most of my teen years, thankfully my lung function is fine these years, but if someone had snatched my rescue inhaler then, I might have died, or reacted badly.

I also pointed out that shared inhalers would be a fast way to spread the virus.

Those both make the group sound like poo, but it really wasn't bad. I found it interesting seeing what measures grocery stores across the country are taking to protect workers and customers, and some of the memes have been funny.

The group had been getting pretty nasty lately, I mentioned here that facebook pray hands can golly right off, and the poo emoji... I don't think I can describe how much I hate it.

I've been TRYING to educate an aunt on the various game clients available, and I have mentioned to her the sims 4 sale prices will end soon, but radio silence.

Like, I get it, the games clients actively bless'ed suck, but if you want EA games, you HAVE to have an origin account. Aside from outright Piracy, which I tend to avoid now that I'm an adult, it's the only option for later titles.

[Beatrix]

Hi 8ully. 
Everything you say is an interesting read, I know I've said it.  Doesn't sound like the fb I know, haha.  But yes, no one really wants to hear the truth, they just want to be right. 
Six, chocolate chip cookies~ sounds delightful, and are also the only cookie I've ever successfully made from scratch, once.
I've actually had to go two days without electricity when that storm hit the midwest here, ripped up a bit of the town, I live in a good location for the storms to roll downhill, lucky me.
Glad to see you both well. 
I'm actually getting a leg falling asleep, like I need to be for this easter day tomorrow, and working tomorrow night. 
Be well.

[6pairsofshoes]

I'm sorry to hear you have to work on Easter, Bea.  Most of the grocers around here have decided to close for the day.  Giving the employees the day off with pay.  I remember when I lived in S. IL. how bad the storms could be, particularly the tornadoes.

8ully, I despise the poo emoji so much that when I see it on FB, I hide the posts.  Praying hands are juvenile.  They're like some kind of index or pointer.  I'd like to develop a game where you use that instead of a cursor.  Zipping around the screen pointing at stuff with the praying hands would be fun.  Kind of like Space Invaders, but with the triangular hands instead.  The people on your FB group sound ridiculous.  Someone on FB posted this youtube link of Jim Bakker the disgraced fundamentalist televangelist and his new scams to sell buckets of prepared food for the end times.

[8ullfrog]

every time I see pray hands I want to explain kancho, but those gits would never believe me.

I'm watching through the elm street series right now, and freddy is quite a poo. I don't think I'll review the films as I did with F13. Aside from that last shitty one, "Jason goes to hell" I consider it the superior series.

Freddy is just such a bless'ed piece of poo mixed with bugs bunny that I can't enjoy it. I guess I'm hate watching.

[smokester]

This morning for breakfast I decided to have fried green-ish tomatoes cooked in extra, extra virgin olive oil (should really only be used for dressing), rock salt (plenty of it), lashings of ground black pepper and all served atop of 2 slices of wholemeal toast, washed down with a glass of Carménère (Chilean).

Bit indulgent but it is the apocalypse and perhaps way too early for

Spoiler (hover to show)

that much black pepper.

[6pairsofshoes]

It sounds like a good dinner. My dad used to make us fried green tomatoes.  And they were really delicious.

8ully, I get the hate watching.  I think that's the explanation for my viewing of "Girls."  It's late and I've been reading the NY Times.  Probably not a good way to get back to sleep given the current news cycle.

Oh well.  Maybe I can find some cute videos about kittens or something to lull me back to sleep.

[kayos0826]

Who knows, after we get over this very large bump, we might find ourselves in a much better world.

water is clean in Venice, smog levels are the lowest in decades. we found out that most meetings could just be an email.

now if we learn from this... that is the true question

[goldshirt*9]

water is clean in Venice, smog levels are the lowest in decades. we found out that most meetings could just be an email.

now if we learn from this... that is the true question

Hope so, but Humans being Humans