People don’t take Covid seriously anymore. We’re in the midst of a pretty vicious Covid outbreak right now; people are walking all around, lalalala, no masks, all coughing, sneezing, breathing all over each other. Nobody cares.
Okay, this entry isn’t about my personal views on how selfish that is, nor about how my own health situation tends to hover between “delicate” and “wtf.” Instead, I want to talk about how it is possible to make folks take Covid–and other infectious diseases–more seriously.
Health Officials of the World, I am now talking to you. First, props and respect; you have a super-stressful, very difficult, and usually thankless job. That said, let’s talk about naming things. Please think for a moment about your nearest amusement park, and the rides inside. They all have fantastic, exciting names like “The Thunder Rusher” and “Costly Lawsuit Pending!” Do you think, perhaps, if they named a ride “R2D2 3.14159,” that anyone would ride it?
NO. NO ONE WOULD EVEN GLANCE AT THAT RIDE.
Imagine a little girl: “Oh mommy I want to get on R2D2 3 point.. whatever…?”
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
Yes, you see? Well, that is the current problem with Covid. What the hell is “XBB 1.5?” It sounds like a radio station. No one is going to take that seriously.
Now, let’s take a step back… and apply what we learned to diseases.
Imagine a man calling into work: “Sorry I can’t come in, man. I’ve got the MommyVomit 3000!”
The boss reacts in horror! “Oh god, NO–Don’t Come In! Wash Your Hands! Wear a MASK! …We’re already in trouble, here. Ramon has the Six-Weeks MonsterCough.”
“Oh NO! That poor bastard. He shouldn’t’ve gone to that game. It was a real spreader event.”
Do you see my point, here?
It extends to social disease as well: “Sorry, Linda, but I must wear a condom. Last week I contracted the BallShriveling Magenta variant!”
Yes? So give it a try!
I guarantee people will take diseases more seriously.
Cheers! 😀
