How COVID-19 is affecting society

[Isabeau]

I live a sheltered life

 

[danielravennest]

Is the entertainment sector going to fork off into an alternate timeline where COVID-19 never happened, where people don't wear masks, where we pretend what was normal 6mos ago is still how we live our lives? Is 2020 a blip that we can ignore without any jarring sense of disconnect, the way we (mostly) ignore Trump and the dismantling of our democracy?

It will be tossed off in a sentence or two the way the Marvel "Defenders" series (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist), which are set in New York City, tossed off the "Incident" (Avengers 2012 alien invasion), which left large parts of Manhattan destroyed. They then proceed to show shots of the city where those buildings are not destroyed. Or the way Agents of Shield basically ignored Thanos' Snap deleting half the world's population.

To the extent that they do location shots in real places with real people (rather than replacing everyone with extras), it will just reflect reality. To the extent we get an effective vaccine this year (which is looking possible), people's behavior will revert to normal, so it won't be an issue unless they are doing a historical story set in 2020.

 

[Free]

Some men don’t wash their asses?

There's a science fiction story in there somewhere.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

There's a science fiction story in there somewhere.

"And in space news, NASA officials have discovered Klingons around Uranus."




Sorry. I'll see my way out.

 

[Romana]

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Here's a depressing photo series featuring closed shops, restaurants and other business ventures in San Francisco due to the pandemic crisis.

Cities aren’t going to die in a vacuum. When you see a vacant office building what you’re really looking at is your pension fund going belly up. Most of these giant buildings could only be constructed and managed with huge pools of institutional money. It doesn’t matter all that much whether you have a government pension or a private 401K. This is the kind of thing your money is sunk in. If these properties stop generating income – as they have – that means your pension isn’t going to perform as expected. See also insurance companies and their ability to deliver on all their obligations. Every dead storefront represents a private loan that will never be repaid, tax revenue that has evaporated, and employment that might not return anytime soon. If these were genuinely superfluous endeavors they should be allowed to fail. But the pain will not be limited to the city itself.

Pyrrhic Victory

I have an old friend back east who applied for CARES Act emergency relief funds for his small business and he received a $30,000 check. Millions of people are currently getting monthly stipends fro…

granolashotgun.com

 

[Beebo Brink]

Here's a depressing photo series featuring closed shops, restaurants and other business ventures in San Francisco due to the pandemic crisis.

And some interesting commentary as well:

I have very clear memories of the political battles of the 1980s and 90s when my parents’ generation were in their prime working age. They demanded two contradictory things from government. First, they wanted their taxes reduced dramatically. Second, they wanted all the perks and services they were already receiving. In theory the gap was to be filled by eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse.” But when reforms were attempted those same voters – many of whom were themselves cops, firefighters, teachers, administrators, and associated employees – pushed back hard. So instead the gap was filled with debt, unrealistic future promises, attrition, and a can that was kicked down the road. Society went way out on the risk curve in search of “growth” that didn’t actually exist anywhere but on paper.

 

[Beebo Brink]

I can't remember how I got to this link, so my apologies if it's been posted before.

A Quiet Genocide: Rural America and the Continuing Plague

A child of rural America, I’m now hearing horror stories of mounting tension and spreading infection. Our rural communities, middle America, the interior of the country, is swimming in coronavirus. Confirmed cases are growing, doubling in some cases, even while testing remains virtually inaccessible in these regions. It’s going to get even worse, especially if we reopen America, or whatever slogan they’ll try next, and, most tragically, these deaths will probably never be known or counted.

And here's another hard-hitting commentary from the same site:
The Republican Death Cult: How A Party Sacrificed The Future For Power

 

[Kalel]

i got nothing to say..

"At the time, the virus was “out of sight, out of mind” since they didn’t know anyone who had contracted it and they heard from their mayor and governor that everything was fine, Erika Crisp said. But within days, they started getting sick."

16 Friends Test Positive For Coronavirus After Night Out At Florida Bar

A group of 16 friends all tested positive for coronavirus after a night out at a recently reopened Florida bar.

miami.cbslocal.com

 

[Romana]

 

[Pamela]

Thank God, hope this is for real.

Redirect Notice

Could help that they kept moving.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

i got nothing to say..

"At the time, the virus was “out of sight, out of mind” since they didn’t know anyone who had contracted it and they heard from their mayor and governor that everything was fine, Erika Crisp said. But within days, they started getting sick."

16 Friends Test Positive For Coronavirus After Night Out At Florida Bar

A group of 16 friends all tested positive for coronavirus after a night out at a recently reopened Florida bar.

miami.cbslocal.com

And then

Everyone in the group tested positive; and though some had flu like symptoms, none got seriously ill.

The women said they are confident they contracted the virus on that outing. Since then, they said, they have been messaged by strangers who also got sick after visiting the same bar that weekend.

They want others to be more cautious about taking advantage of looser restrictions.

“I feel foolish, it’s too soon,” Crisp said.

At least seven Pub employees also tested people positive for COVID-19 after the owner had them tested as a precaution. The owners says all seven who tested positive worked June 6 but believes a customer was the one who initially brought the virus in.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Speaking of manufactured realities, I'm curious to see how books, TV shows and movies deal with this chapter -- possibly a very long series of chapters -- in global reality.

Is the entertainment sector going to fork off into an alternate timeline where COVID-19 never happened, where people don't wear masks, where we pretend what was normal 6mos ago is still how we live our lives? Is 2020 a blip that we can ignore without any jarring sense of disconnect, the way we (mostly) ignore Trump and the dismantling of our democracy?

At what point are the stories we tell about ourselves going to reflect this episode in American history? How many bodies will have to pile up for this to become so interwoven in our lives that it simply can't be ignored by writers and artists?

All these are, perhaps not unsurprisingly,set in fictional or BC realities

Six movies resuming production after coronavirus

It could be Mission Impossible to get these movies out in time, but they are gonna give it a shot...

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Free]

All you need is the article title...

A GOP sheriff who vowed not to enforce Arizona's lockdown tested positive for COVID-19 during a White House visit

"Three hundred deaths is not a significant enough number to continue to ruin the economy," Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said in May.

www.businessinsider.in

>> A GOP sheriff who vowed not to enforce Arizona's lockdown tested positive for COVID-19 during a White House visit

 

[Innula Zenovka]

All you need is the article title...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/18/arizona-coronavirus-sheriff/

 

[Free]

Could you give me a minute to correct my shit?

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Could you give me a minute to correct my shit?

Sorry.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Wow! While some US evangelists are certainly pretty crazy, Russian Orthodox crazies leave them standing

Russian priest who called coronavirus a 'pseudo-pandemic' seizes convent

Father Sergei Romanov who was banished by church leaders in April says he will only be removed by force

www.theguardian.com

 

[Free]

And it only took a pandemic to kick start it.

Target Makes Extra Coronavirus Pay Permanent, Boosts Hourly Minimum To $15

The company is making permanent a $2 bonus it created during the pandemic, as many retailers have been phasing out "hazard pay." Target previously planned to raise its pay minimum by the end of 2020.

www.npr.org

Target is raising its starting wage to $15 an hour, making permanent a $2 salary bump the company gave its U.S. workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The retailer had previously planned to reach the $15-an-hour minimum by the end of 2020, but on Wednesday said the new pay minimum will kick in on July 5 instead. Target's announcement comes as its "hazard pay" was slated to expire — after several extensions — at a time when many essential retailers have phased out their pandemic bonuses.

 

[Free]

More jobs news, though I'm split on it being good news, or bad news.

McDonald's to hire 260,000 workers as it reopens U.S. dining rooms

McDonald's said Thursday that it would hire 260,000 workers in the United States this summer.

www.cnbc.com