If Mary Poppins sang about the COVID-19 situation we're facing as a nation, the song would likely be titled "Panichaostupidiocity". I have already acknowledge, respectfully, that taking drastic measures now, and quickly, including the announcement today of a 3wk "shelter in place" order across the Bay Area counties, is likely a wise and proactive safeguard. I get it. Slam on the breaks. Nip it in the bud. But when I took a break this afternoon to just run to the local grocery store in order to just get a carton or two of eggs, I witnessed the crowds and insanity due to this mandate from the county, and it left me stupefied. "Stupified", btw, would be the ideal title for the sequel to "Idiocracy".
I believe, in hindsight, this is going to end up being one massive self-inflicted wound as far as the level of economic disruption people's unwarranted panic introduce into an already difficult situation.
The orders specifically state that you have the freedom to leave the house to attend to things like walking your dog, hiking, getting fresh air and physical activity, attending to "essential businesses" and getting gas and groceries. It appears that nobody who was scrambling for those last 2 cartons of partially cracked eggs even read the order, but they likely just skimmed a headline or they were alerted by an "end of the world" social media post, and promptly followed the other lemmings right off the cliff.
My company is definitely going to feel the impacts and we're doing all we can to calmly manage the business as proactively as possible. Only, if people didn't freak out so broadly, sell all their stocks, run to Costco to buy a years worth of toilet paper and water, as if water was suddenly going to be poisoned or toxic, and if people didn't loose their shit and assume this is on par with an impending nuclear strike, all this economic chaos could have been avoided. Or at least dramatically lessened.
Why don't people understand that the manufacturing of paper goods, the production of food, the deliveries to grocery stores and the availability of all of these items is not coming to a sudden stop?
I feel really bad for the workers and business that are going to be drastically impacted. People who work in retail shopping centers, theaters, sporting complexes, bars and the like are going to be in a world of hurt as it is, and that's where we should be putting our focus and not on clearing every bag of rice off the shelves of every grocery store within a 5 mile span of our homes.
All of what people have been scrambling to hoard will be restocked in a day or two, maximum. And the few of us that actually read the orders and actually understand that we are allowed to go buy groceries without being shot, and that grocery stores have been deemed 'essential business' which will be staffed and open, well, we will have ample parking options and first pick of the freshest goods.
To close this post, I thought I would share a really funny corona virus joke with you, but then I realized there's a very high probably you'll not get it.
Ooh, see the fire is sweepin'
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way
- Rolling Stones, Gimme Shelter