Youth, Stupidity and Collective Responsibility
“Stupidity is far more
dangerous than evil, for evil takes a break from time to time, stupidity does
not.”- Anatole France
The world continues to be on pause. The uncertainty regarding the return of normalcy is driving many of us to act silly. The coronavirus appears to be outsmarting us as many of us continue to engage in silly acts which facilitate the spread of COVID19. It is an interesting time to be alive. To see events unfold before your very eyes cannot be captured by a third person account. The refusal to wear masks by some in public spaces, as well as our indiscipline nature surrounding social distancing serve as fuel for this pandemic which has now entered its seventh month. Too many of us are acting as if the coronavirus has disappeared. Too many of us have abandoned the science and have bought into a growing sense of falsehood and misinformation. The virus is still very much here and scientists have predicted that the virus will be with us for quite some time. A number of countries including Australia, Singapore and Iran are reporting a second wave of COVID19. The government of Australia has announced a six week lock down of Melbourne in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID19. The air of arrogance and stupidity is being driven to a large extent by young people. Unfortunately, many of the youngsters are misinformed and feel a sense of invincibility. The truth is the virus does not discriminate. The virus affects royalty as we saw in Prince Charles, the virus affects Presidents as is the situation with the Brazilian Presidents, Prime Ministers also as we saw with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Our healthcare workers have sacrificed too much for us to throw away all the gains for a few minutes of pleasure. Disturbingly, we have had more than 12 million people infected by the coronavirus globally and more than 550,000 have died. There seems to be a lack of global cooperation regarding best practices in how to contain this pandemic and as such the virus strives in such an atmosphere of confusion and second guessing. Human beings are social creatures and the lock down have taken a toll on many. This has led many to engage in silly and careless acts as pandemic fatigue sets in. It bares thought that leadership at both the national and community levels are needed in terms of how to reopen and restart economies in a safe and smarter way. We must speak on one accord regarding how to address the coronavirus. All branches of government must speak in unison. Regrettably, we are seeing how chaotic things have become in some parts of the world as the pandemic continues to spread creating panic, death and despair. Recently, in Sao Paulo, in Brazil mass graves of Brazilians who have died from COVID19 were shown on television. It’s a very haunting and sober sight. The Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro does not believe in wearing masks; sadly he has tested positive for COVID19. In some countries there are COVID parties, yes, you heard me right. These coronavirus parties are held so that party goers can intentionally catch the deadly virus. It is widely circulated that in many instances party goers gladly sign away their rights in the event they contract the coronavirus. The New York Post reported that Washington State county of Walla Walla commented that a new trend has emerged in which healthy individuals hang out with an infected person in hopes of contracting and then overcoming the infectious disease. “Walla Walla County health officials are receiving reports of COVID-19 parties occurring in our community, where non-infected people mingle with an infected person in an effort to catch the virus,” the county said Tuesday in a press release. Meghan DeBolt, director of the county Department of Community Health, said they learned about the asinine practice while conducting contact tracing. There have been at least 25 people who have come down with the virus after attending these dangerous functions, she said. CNN reported some young people in Alabama are throwing Covid-19 parties, a disturbing competition where people who have coronavirus attend and the first person to get infected receives a payout, local officials said. The parties are being held in Tuscaloosa, and infected people are urged to attend so others can intentionally contract the virus, City Council member Sonya McKinstry told CNN. She said she heard about the trend from fire officials. "We thought that was kind of a rumors at first. We did some research, not only do the doctors' offices confirm it, but the state confirmed they also had the same information," she said. CNN also reported that fraternity parties have been and are being held in Mississippi and as a result have contributed to increases in COVID19 cases. Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs announced 381 new cases and five additional deaths in a press conference on Thursday. Quite a few patients have been linked to fraternity rush parties, said Dobbs, also an associate professor at the University of Mississippi medical school in Oxford. "We recently have identified a cluster of cases and outbreaks in Oxford, Mississippi," Dobbs said. Early information suggests the fraternities have violated State guidelines.
It is clearly business as per usual for some folks regardless of the harm and hurt they cause in their pursuit of fun and pleasure. Scientific data suggest that individuals who test positive for the novel coronavirus will have long term lung and neurological damage. Youth does not make you immune to COVID19. In some jurisdictions people have demonstrated to bring to an end to stay- at- home orders in light of COVID19. It appears that stupidity is contagious. Those of us who are logical and are guided by science have a civic responsibility to share our knowledge. The coronavirus cannot infect the public without us being complicit. We have the intelligence to outsmart this pandemic but only if we work together. In the words of Charles Bukowski, the problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
©
The world continues to be on pause. The uncertainty regarding the return of normalcy is driving many of us to act silly. The coronavirus appears to be outsmarting us as many of us continue to engage in silly acts which facilitate the spread of COVID19. It is an interesting time to be alive. To see events unfold before your very eyes cannot be captured by a third person account. The refusal to wear masks by some in public spaces, as well as our indiscipline nature surrounding social distancing serve as fuel for this pandemic which has now entered its seventh month. Too many of us are acting as if the coronavirus has disappeared. Too many of us have abandoned the science and have bought into a growing sense of falsehood and misinformation. The virus is still very much here and scientists have predicted that the virus will be with us for quite some time. A number of countries including Australia, Singapore and Iran are reporting a second wave of COVID19. The government of Australia has announced a six week lock down of Melbourne in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID19. The air of arrogance and stupidity is being driven to a large extent by young people. Unfortunately, many of the youngsters are misinformed and feel a sense of invincibility. The truth is the virus does not discriminate. The virus affects royalty as we saw in Prince Charles, the virus affects Presidents as is the situation with the Brazilian Presidents, Prime Ministers also as we saw with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Our healthcare workers have sacrificed too much for us to throw away all the gains for a few minutes of pleasure. Disturbingly, we have had more than 12 million people infected by the coronavirus globally and more than 550,000 have died. There seems to be a lack of global cooperation regarding best practices in how to contain this pandemic and as such the virus strives in such an atmosphere of confusion and second guessing. Human beings are social creatures and the lock down have taken a toll on many. This has led many to engage in silly and careless acts as pandemic fatigue sets in. It bares thought that leadership at both the national and community levels are needed in terms of how to reopen and restart economies in a safe and smarter way. We must speak on one accord regarding how to address the coronavirus. All branches of government must speak in unison. Regrettably, we are seeing how chaotic things have become in some parts of the world as the pandemic continues to spread creating panic, death and despair. Recently, in Sao Paulo, in Brazil mass graves of Brazilians who have died from COVID19 were shown on television. It’s a very haunting and sober sight. The Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro does not believe in wearing masks; sadly he has tested positive for COVID19. In some countries there are COVID parties, yes, you heard me right. These coronavirus parties are held so that party goers can intentionally catch the deadly virus. It is widely circulated that in many instances party goers gladly sign away their rights in the event they contract the coronavirus. The New York Post reported that Washington State county of Walla Walla commented that a new trend has emerged in which healthy individuals hang out with an infected person in hopes of contracting and then overcoming the infectious disease. “Walla Walla County health officials are receiving reports of COVID-19 parties occurring in our community, where non-infected people mingle with an infected person in an effort to catch the virus,” the county said Tuesday in a press release. Meghan DeBolt, director of the county Department of Community Health, said they learned about the asinine practice while conducting contact tracing. There have been at least 25 people who have come down with the virus after attending these dangerous functions, she said. CNN reported some young people in Alabama are throwing Covid-19 parties, a disturbing competition where people who have coronavirus attend and the first person to get infected receives a payout, local officials said. The parties are being held in Tuscaloosa, and infected people are urged to attend so others can intentionally contract the virus, City Council member Sonya McKinstry told CNN. She said she heard about the trend from fire officials. "We thought that was kind of a rumors at first. We did some research, not only do the doctors' offices confirm it, but the state confirmed they also had the same information," she said. CNN also reported that fraternity parties have been and are being held in Mississippi and as a result have contributed to increases in COVID19 cases. Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs announced 381 new cases and five additional deaths in a press conference on Thursday. Quite a few patients have been linked to fraternity rush parties, said Dobbs, also an associate professor at the University of Mississippi medical school in Oxford. "We recently have identified a cluster of cases and outbreaks in Oxford, Mississippi," Dobbs said. Early information suggests the fraternities have violated State guidelines.
It is clearly business as per usual for some folks regardless of the harm and hurt they cause in their pursuit of fun and pleasure. Scientific data suggest that individuals who test positive for the novel coronavirus will have long term lung and neurological damage. Youth does not make you immune to COVID19. In some jurisdictions people have demonstrated to bring to an end to stay- at- home orders in light of COVID19. It appears that stupidity is contagious. Those of us who are logical and are guided by science have a civic responsibility to share our knowledge. The coronavirus cannot infect the public without us being complicit. We have the intelligence to outsmart this pandemic but only if we work together. In the words of Charles Bukowski, the problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
©
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