Maybe this is the way it's going to be.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

I got to thinking about how much I miss some things these days, like going to a restaurant for dinner, or just hanging out in a coffee shop. These businesses are starting to open, but they won't be like they were - servers in masks, people distanced, then you go home and worry for a week or two whether one of the other diners was infected. It won't be much fun, not for a very long time. Many restaurants will go out of business. There might be a way to permanently convert to a pickup/delivery model, or some form of relatively safe home catering for the upscale crowd, but it won't be the same as before. Those who pretend they can re-open and do business like they used to, as well as those who go to re-opened establishments and act like everything is the same are kidding themselves.

And then it occurred to me that there are a lot of things in my life that aren't like they used to be, and I have accepted those changes and adapted. For various reasons (e.g., age, bad knees, expense), I can't do some things anymore that I used to enjoy very much, and I miss those things, but I accept that I can't do them and have found other things to take their place. But we don't like it that so much has changed, and especially so suddenly, and many people are in denial and think that it's all going to be like it was now that we are "re-opening." But we are not really re-opening and we won't re-open, and it won't be the same. So we will have to adapt, like it or not, and move on.

[Karadeniz]

1. Agree!❤

[Yavin4]

2. It doesn't have to be this way. If we had better leadership, we could get back to normal sooner.

Effective leadership matters, esp. in a crisis. For example, we need far more testing in order to track and control the virus. With more rigorous testing.

David Pakman did a great video on this:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. It's too late. At this point the pandemic is too widespread

for us to get back to "normal" for years, if ever. If we'd had competent leadership in January and February maybe it wouldn't have had to be this way, but we didn't, and here we are, and we still have no competent leadership. Of course we need more testing and tracing but we won't be getting it any time soon.

[Horse with no Name]

11. Agreed. One thing that I heard was that it was

Dangerously close to becoming endemic.
At that point, after many more deaths, we will probably see masks as a way of life.

[Blue_true]

21. I believe that if there is a strong cure or vaccine, people will default to

their short-term memory mode and quickly get back to normal. I do believe that there will be a big push from businesses to have some classes of workers work from home, but that will be driven by a desire to save money on buildings and things like utility expenses.

[BComplex]

35. A vaccine would certainly change things for THIS virus; but the AWARENESS of this type of virus

being able to totally devastate our world in a matter of months is not ever going to go away again.

Of course, after seeing how some Americans have reacted, it might take one or two more of these killer viruses jumping the dna barrier for everyone to get a bead on the new reality.

[Blue_true]

36. One feature that I have seen with people is they are predisposed to decisions

that require the least amount of critical thinking. There would be no thought that another killer virus will almost certainly come along. So people will drop precautions and act like nothing happened. We see this now, given all the posts about the crowds people saw this weekend, with most of the people not wearing masks.

If SARS-COV-2 mutates into something much more deadly over the next three months (as the 1918 virus did), then people will be sorry, but being sorry won't prevent them from dying or giving the deadlier virus to a friend or relative.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. This is true-- change happens, and it's for many reasons. And the new changes...

will be clung to in the future as as the natural way of things.

If we are not wiped out, we will adapt, like it or not.

[Atticus]

5. That's some jen-u-wine wisdom right there. Well said. Thanks. nt

[unblock]

6. I saw an analysis here somewhere that said "reopening" won't do much for the economy

A lot of businesses won't reopen until it's safe, a lot of customers won't go back until it's safe, and a lot of "reopened" businesses will be running at half speed or less.

The casinos in Connecticut are reopening in July, but only allowing in 25% of capacity; fewer machines to encourage social distancing, no buffet, etc.

Even those who do go to nail salons and such will probably do it less frequently.

All of which means that many if these businesses will generate revenue and contribute to gdp, but only in small amounts. Moreover, most such businesses (such as restaurants) were designed to make a profit when they pack people in. They'll be struggling to make a profit with fewer customers.

So many might close anyway, sooner or later.

But in the meanwhile, of course, they'll contribute to extending the pandemic.....

[Atticus]

7. Maybe the Bellamy Brothers said it best:

"He's an old hippie
And he don't know what to do
Should he hang on to the old
Should he grab on to the new
He's an old hippie
This new life is just a bust
He ain't trying to change nobody
He's just trying real hard to adjust"

[procon]

8. I've been thinking that we are in a state of transition

where everything is going to adapt to meet the new concerns for health and safety. Change usually happens slowly over time and people grow accustomed to it without really being aware of the differences.

Today's changes are happening faster than we can absorb. Even though we think we understand the necessity to adopt to these new norms, we are still struggling to adjust our lives to these new protocols.

The little groups of resisters don't just resent the changes, they are terrified of the disruption to their normal lifestyle. They would have problems coping with any change, but this is a high culture shock to their rigid and narrow world views, so they react with rage and threats, as if the virus can be subdued by their anger.

Nothing will ever be the same again. Not employment or the types of jobs available for low paid positions. Not the way we socially interact with other people. Not the was we shop or look for entertainment. Everything will be new and strange and we'll all have to learn how to adapt or perish.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Yes. This is a liminal period in which we are going to have to figure out

how to accept and adapt to a new environment that changed all of a sudden. The anti-maskers are the ones who are the most freaked out, and they are acting out their disorientation and fear. Conservatism is essentially a fear-based ideology and we are seeing that being acted out every day. We will have to accept this sudden, drastic change and be brave and flexible and imaginative.

[DTomlinson]

14. Agreed. "Be be brave and flexible and imaginative." Yes!

Took the words right out of my mouth. Thank you!

[BamaRefugee]

18. Transition to Greatness!

[Blue_true]

25. I expect AI to become even larger in our lives.

Look for a gigantic new burst of applications software to perform clerical jobs that used to require people in an office. Unfortunately that change will favor deep-pocketed firms that can afford to buy the Apps, have them installed and brought online and pay periodic "maintenance" fees to smooth operation in time.

I see the virus bringing about a world that is more unequal than the world before the virus. It looks like Ayn Rand inspired libertarians like Mark Cuban see the same thing, hence his push for a form of GI for people.

[procon]

30. It's certainly seems that is going to be the trend.

I was poo-pooing the very idea of a universal basic income, but then I started reading about Andrew Yang's proposed policy to pay $1,000 a month to every American adult in response to job displacement by automation and technologies and suddenly it seemed to be a possible solution.

Whatever it is, the future will be a strange place that we won't recognise.

[Blue_true]

31. We won't recognize it, and the changes will require thoughtful leaders, not red-meat tossers. nt

[misanthrope]

47. Life is constant transition

Most of the time, it is at a pace we don't even notice. Other times, it jumps, but transition is the nature of existence.

Look at all the "old normals" we've left behind in a steady arc from the Paleolithic to the current time. How many "new normals" have been created by technology and tragedy just in the last 30 years? Cell phones, smart phones, the internet, 9/11, pandemics, epidemics and their attendant vaccines, medical technology.

We will adjust, absorb and move forward. Culture is humanity's greatest tool of adaptation.

[SoonerPride]

9. The economy we have now will be the economy until there is a vaccine

What you see now is it.
The idiots will flood bars and beaches and get sick or not.
Those who prefer not to roll the dice will avoid crowds.

The economy is and will be in a depression until there is a vaccine that has been administered to 80% of the population.

This is the way it will be.

What we have right now.

You’re looking at it. You’re living it.
It won’t snap back to what it was in January next month or in September or December.

[kimbutgar]

12. Funny, I remember sitting in hotel room in Disneyland and watching the news that night on March 12th

And getting shocked with the realization that our lives would never be the same.

When we drove back to Northern California the traffic Was so light on highway 5. Then they announced our city was locking down on March 16th. It further cemented my uneasiness in knowing things aren't going back to normal in a long time if ever. My adult son with autism who lives in a group home is having a rough time with the quarantine. And his father and I are now concerned about his mental health so we are bringing home next week. Such scary, stressful times and we have no leadership at the federal level. Which makes it even worst.

[DTomlinson]

13. Yeah, it feels like this a new normal and we have no choice but to accept it.. at least, much of it.

[Buns_of_Fire]

15. This is no longer a "new" normal. This IS normal. We will adapt, and adjust.

Or else. We've not been given a lot of wiggle room here.

[DTomlinson]

16. True.

[calimary]

49. Yep. Because we'll have to.

THAT’S the new normal. Or, the just plain old normal.

[PaulRevere08]

17. Sadly, we have enough wealth in this country to deal

With these challenges. Unfortunately, the 1% is more concerned with protecting and expanding their wealth at the expense of the rest of us. We are nothing more than generators of that wealth. Sorta feeling like the human batteries in the Matrix. Except the machines had more empathy.

[misanthrope]

24. The blood, sweat and tears of the middle and lower classes are lubrication

for the gears of American capitalism. Our souls are the grist for their mills.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

46. Maybe not. The Black Death brought about the end of serfdom in Europe.

The plague affected all classes, but the working and peasant classes suffered the greatest losses because of their living conditions. Eventually it killed about one-third or more of the population, and it took 80-100 years to restore Europe to its previous population. But there was such a severe labor shortage as a result of the plague that workers were in high demand and therefore their wages increased. Some historians believe the plague contributed to the development of the Renaissance because of the eventual increased overall standard of living that resulted from the higher wages of the working classes, leading to a rise of the merchant classes as well. Good old Keynesian economics. https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_the_Bubonic_Plague_make_the_Italian_Renaissance_possible%3F

Will something like that happen again? We'll see.

[Blue_true]

19. I simply won't go inside an eating place to even takeout until I am 100%

certain SARS-COV-2 is a thing of the past, and I am an athletic, healthy person. But it simply is not worth the risk of contracting something that can either kill me outright or possibly disable me for the rest of my life.

[Native]

26. I agree 💯!

Fortunately, we don't have any decent, independent restaurants here and our chain restaurants are the same crap that you find everywhere, so while it takes a bit more effort on my part, I can eat meals at home that taste much better, are better for me, and are significantly less expensive. I'm not missing out on much. Now travel on the other hand... dining out in Paris or London or _________, that is something I look forward to doing again.

[world wide wally]

20. The world just ain't as much fun as it was before this hit....

Thanks, Trump

[Blue_true]

27. Trump made our situation worse with his incompetence and arrogance,

and he seems determined to continue unless we remove him from office.

But the fact is, this is a once in a century disease that can kill anyone, even those that are healthy and taking defensive actions. That is what make SARS-COV-2 so troubling and why people won't feel safe resuming "normal" life until there is a cure or vaccine.

[Stuart G]

22. Thank You

[bucolic_frolic]

23. As we age life is just a series of things taken away involuntarily and randomly

You don't have a choice with a lot of things. This is just one more if very large non-choice. Accept it, and move on to something else to enjoy.

[IronLionZion]

28. This Is How Reopening Looks Around The World And It's Different From What We're Seeing In The US

https://www.boredpanda.com/reopening-around-world/

This was a very interesting bunch of photos to see how other countries have done it. Many Asian countries are no stranger to this sort of thing and have shown leadership on this issue.

Here's the US if you want to see what some cities and states have done.
12 Pics That Show ‘The New Normal’ For Many Places Reopening In The US
https://www.boredpanda.com/united-states-reopening/

[Boomer]

29. This won't be the last blow

As the climate continues to heat up, tropical diseases -- really nasty ones -- are going to spread.

[stillcool]

32. if necessity is the mother of invention..

there should be lots of new coming down the pike. It could turn into a renaissance for people all over the world.

[Meowmee]

33. Eventually there will be a vaccine and things will return to some sort of normal whatever that will

be. Most of what happened and will happen including the vast majority of deaths could have been avoided with a proper, early response. A lot of businesses like small restaurants will not return I think. Time will tell what will happen with all of the reopenings which I think are a mistake. I think the best thing is to pay people to stay at home, essential biz do as much shipping as possible to avoid contacts, work from home wherever possible continues until a vaccine is produced and given to as many as possible. The vaccine should be a requirement to attend school, jobs etc. unless you have a medical reason not to.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. There might not be a vaccine. The coronavirus family doesn't do vaccines very well,

which is one reason why there has never been a vaccine for the common cold. Or there might be a vaccine that has to be renewed every year like the flu vaccine, except that everybody in the world will have to get it. I don't think we can count on a vaccine to get everything back to normal, or normal-ish. We aren't likely to see what we knew of as "normal" soon, if ever.

[Meowmee]

39. There has already been one tesed that has suceeded. There will be one eventually.

Yes it will eventually get things back to some sort of normal imo. Will things be the same? No imo but not like now.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

40. Many vaccines start out looking successful but fail after clinical trials.

Sometimes they fail after they are released to the public. A good example is when one of the earliest runs of the polio vaccine failed in 1955, in the so-called Cutter incident. More than 120,000 children received a vaccine in which the process of inactivating the live virus was defective. Within a month the first mass vaccination program had to be abandoned. The defective vaccine had caused 40,000 cases of polio, paralyzing 51 children and killing 5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/04/14/cutter-polio-vaccine-paralyzed-children-coronavirus/

If a vaccine for covid-19 is rushed into production (and I fear it will be), an incident like that could be repeated. Don't hold your breath waiting for a safe, effective vaccine. We might get one, and we might not.

[Meowmee]

48. I am aware of the polio vaccine

This is a different type of vaccine etc. we have learned a lot since then. I believe we will have a successful one eventually.

[SoonerPride]

44. Maybe. There are no guarantees in science.

We might get a vaccine

We might get a vaccine in a year

Or two

Or never.


That’s reality.

[progree]

37. And for those who don't have a car, the changes are even more wrenching

One doesn't dare take public transit (I'm in the Twin Cities). As for Uber and Lyft, that too is risky -- each trip being with a new driver in a small enclosed space.

And I think even 3 years from now, public transit is going to be even weaker than it was pre-Covid. Which was pretty weak for me to begin with living just 6 miles from the core of downtown Minneapolis, I felt like I was living in the sticks as far as bus service. Plenty good during M-F commute hours, but mid-day, evenings, and weekends very spotty.

Now they've reduced their trips by 40%, eliminating some routes, and reducing the frequency on what's left.

Even pre-Covid, a shopping trip difficult to do, even if M-F commute hours are OK, stores aren't open in the morning that early, so have to restrict it to the afternoon / early evening. Now with the new bus schedules, the early evening is out, so one has only a small window to get there, shop, and get back, and not a lot of choices, meaning wait wait wait.

I had a car until about a year ago, but held off buying another one for a number of reasons, but at least for the time-being to be greener was a motivation. It would be possible pre-Covid to do a mix of public transit and Uber to do everything I want and still save money compared to car ownership and be greener. But now, using public transit and Uber and all that is well, risky to me.

I worry a lot about the collapse of public transit and more and more people having to get cars that formerly managed to do without or at least get to work and back without, and what that's going to do to greenhouse gas emissions.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

38. Public transit isn't the greatest here - if you don't live on a bus line

or the train line it's not always that easy to get around. When I worked downtown I took the bus almost every day and it was a pretty easy commute - but going other places was a little more challenging. When I got a job out in the 'burbs (Eagan) there was no way public transportation would have worked, especially since my hours were irregular. Now that I'm retired I don't worry about it, but I do have a car and as long as the pandemic lasts I'm avoiding public transportation. I get the environmental concerns but a car might be a life-saver these days - literally. And there might be deals to be had.

[Initech]

41. There's no way this way of life is sustainable long term.

No way. We saw what happened to the economy and just how much damage it did in less than a month. The thing is that we need contact with other people. And our economy depends on it.

We can't live the rest of our lives on fucking Zoom chats. We can't live in a bubble afraid of the virus for the rest of our lives. You can't meet new people and start building personal and professional relationships online. Performers also can't perform and we can't go see them.

And quite frankly, IMO, a life lived on Zoom is a life that is not worth living.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

42. We will have to adapt. The economy will have to adapt.

We are in a transition period in which we will have to figure out how to sustain ourselves and our economy in some form, but it will be different from what it was.

[SoonerPride]

45. Each person can decide for themselves the level of exposure they want

If you must go into large gatherings then you won’t be alone.

[eleny]

43. At my age I've given up on things returning to the old normal

I bought a pressure canner a few weeks ago. Today is the day I open the box and read the manual. Tomorrow I start the hands on learning process with a 10 lb sack of potatoes. By the end of the day it should be in jars and on our pantry shelves. Luckily, I grew up around pressure cookers and water bath canning. And it was in New York City. Who would have imagined that?

You're right. ".... adapt, like it or not, and move on."