Pandemic Leads to Shunning and Shaming in Small Towns

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Lake Forest, Ill.—Last week, William Zordani and his large family took their Golden Retriever, Sunshine, for a walk near their home in this leafy suburb north of Chicago as they waited out the coronavirus shutdown.

That evening, a woman who lives a few blocks away posted a photo of Mr. Zordani, his mother and five of his six siblings on their walk to the town’s Facebook news site, lambasting them for ignoring social-distancing rules and endangering the community.

“Why are people so stupid,” one commenter wrote in the screed that followed. Another chimed in: “Where are parents?” A third indicated she had forwarded the photo to the mayor.

The shunning and shaming of Mr. Zordani and his family is happening across the country, but it is felt most acutely in smaller cities and towns where anonymity is rare and people still hope to avoid the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. These virus vigilantes reflect the social strains on communities as the shutdown isolates neighbors and raises suspicion and fear.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pandemic-leads-to-shunning-and-shaming-in-small-towns/ar-BB12gccQ?li=BBnb7Kz

[lindysalsagal]

1. Our species clearly did not survive because of our intelligence

These days, it seems fear of strangers and the unknown might have had the larger role in selecting exactly who survived to procreate....

[Newest Reality]

2. The updated version...

The updated version of gossiping over the fence and spreading rumors that can hurt and destroy others lives.

That goes along with the conspiracy theory mindset where you are only a few steps away from reasonably arguing to burn a witch.

It's DOH-ville. Petty. Maybe even intentionally spiteful and cruel.

[hedda_foil]

3. Lake Forest isn't a "small town" in the normal sense. It's a wealthy Chicago suburb on the lake.

[Chainfire]

4. There is shaming in the other direction too

When I walked into a busy store, last week, wearing a mask, I was the subject of whispering and giggling. It didn't bother me a bit, I was very damn smug under that mask, thinking, just wait, your turn is coming.