General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Stop pretending they're asking for a kidney...."
Last edited Fri May 15, 2020, 01:11 PM - Edit history (1)
Ok, so, heres some venting and some explaining and if you dont like it, I honestly dont care. Move on and good day to you.
This has easily been the longest 2 months of my career, and, for that matter, my life. COVID-19 has changed everything. The way we live, the way our kids learn, the way we work. It has trashed the economy, exploded unemployment, and harmed businesses, many of them, sadly, beyond repair. But heres the deal: its real and its here and its still spreading.
As a healthcare worker, Im exhausted. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. As a manager in the the healthcare industry, its been one of the longest, most stressful things Ive tackled.
First off, the truthers and the conspiracy people and the protesters, youre not helping. The people bitching CONSTANTLY about the governors or whatever level of governments handling of things, its not constructive.
Do you want to know why medical people, real medical people, not some crackpot quacks and kooks with a YouTube account or Facebook page, are taking this seriously? Because its serious. And were serious people when it comes to peoples health and their lives. Yes, it mostly kills at-risk populations (the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions) but it also kills perfectly healthy people with no prior diagnoses and we dont know why. Im so tired of people acting like theres information thats being cooked up or withheld. You know why theres lots of gaps in the information? Because were still learning about this virus every day. Its new. Its never been seen. How it acts, how it spreads, why it does the things it does is all new and were learning on the fly. Stop mistaking genuine lack of information for misinformation or withheld information.
The numbers: this one sticks in my craw like no other. I heard they didnt die from COVID-19, they died from a heart attack but they were positive so they called it COVID-19 to boost the numbers and scare people. Stop. It. You know how many people died specifically from AIDS? Zero. AIDS patients die from pneumonia or some other illness normal, healthy people fight off because the AIDS virus destroyed their immune system and they couldnt fight off the infection. But at the heart of it, they died because of AIDS. The coronavirus attacks the respiratory system. The respiratory system is, in case you didnt know, pretty important to sustaining life. It also has a huge impact on how other organ systems, like the heart, work. Guess what, when your lungs dont work because theyve basically filled with brick mortar because the virus is attacking them, that puts a bit of a strain on your ticker and very well can cause it to fail. So unless you have a basic understanding of or want to understand how interconnected organ systems are and how the body fundamentally functions: stop.
I think I can speak for a lot of medical professionals when I say, we dont mean to be arrogant, we dont mean to be jerks, but damn it, this bullshit is frustrating and yes, were going to clap back to ignorance. Ignorance is not something to be flaunted and there is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. Ignorance is being uninformed. Stop being willfully ignorant and even reveling in it because it doesnt fit your preconceived narrative or opinion. Even worse, stop pretending youre not ignorant because you watched some damn YouTube video or read some op-ed piece. Thats someones opinion, normally based on nothing. NOTHING. No research. Thats not information. Thats not factual. Thats not based in science. Its click-bait with the sole intention of riling you up and getting you to let your guard down. And instead of being pissed at the virus thats causing all this, its to direct your anger at the government or doctors or anywhere else their agenda wants it directed.
Medical people are fired up for a couple reasons. 1 month ago, we were all heroes and putting our lives on the line because this was dangerous stuff. Well, I think I can speak for most of us when I say we arent heroic, were just doing our job. But guess what, were still doing the same damn thing we were doing a month ago and this crap still hasnt gone away but now were just trying to scare people because its really no big deal. We arent looking for a pat on the back or even a thank you, we just want you to do what we all need to do to stop this thing and avoid the spread. Listen, if you think that my big fat ass enjoys sweating like a whore in church in an isolation gown, walking around like Mr Magoo because my glasses are fogged up because of my mask, and wearing goggles that dig into the backs of my ears because Im just a sheep, you are mistaken. Its because I dont want this virus and I dont want to take it home to my family and I dont want to infect my co-workers and other patients. Were fired up because weve seen and even performed intubations. We dont intubate for funsies. Outside of the surgical setting, an intubation is basically throwing a Hail Mary to save someones life. And when the mortality rate once that plastic tube slides between your vocal cords with COVID-19 is 85-89%, yeah, thats terrifying. This virus is dangerous.
Lastly, stop being spoiled children about public health advisories. Stop bitching about wearing a mask when youre in public places. Stop pretending that that is somehow infringing on your rights. Get over yourself. I wish all businesses would grow a pair and refuse service to people who refuse to wear a mask out of principle. Police arent inclined to enforce it and thats fine but, spoiler alert, private businesses have and reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Dont tell me its ok for a bakery to refuse service to a gay couple for a wedding cake on religious grounds but not ok for a convenience store to refuse service because they dont want the outbreak monkey strolling through their place coughing all over other patrons and their staff. Stay outside the 6ft bubble, wear a damn mask, and wash your hands. Its that easy. Stop pretending theyre asking for a kidney. Its as much to protect yourself as it is everyone else. People wonder why we have things like stay-at-home orders and closing of non-essential businesses. Its because of you, jackass, youre the problem. Its your lack of ability to exercise common sense and your refusal to follow simple, insanely simple advice that forces the government to exercise it for you. And even then, you still thumb your nose at it in all your ignorant glory. Sorry that you feel like theyre infringing on your right to be an irresponsible child.
Look, all Im saying is I get that its frustrating and I get that its irritating, and inconvenient and all the other bad things that it is, but please, continue to take this seriously, continue to do the little things that make a big difference. Stop denying facts, science, and the advice from people who have spent a lifetime doing what they do in the medical and research fields to ultimately make everyones lives healthier, safer, and better.
Im done with my soap box now. ✌🏻
#washyourhands #wearamask
(Taken from Facebook....5-15-20)
Edited to include Facebook link...
https://www.facebook.com/869715127/posts/10163548970305128/
raging moderate
(4,292 posts)SunSeeker
(51,511 posts)The Magistrate
(95,241 posts)Thank you for sharing it.
MineralMan
(146,254 posts)and take it to heart!
Moostache
(9,895 posts)Docreed2003
(16,850 posts)quarbis
(314 posts)learning Vietnamese. Following that was
A year in Vietnam. Of course I was a lot younger then.
ashredux
(2,599 posts)justhanginon
(3,289 posts)abqtommy
(14,118 posts)the people who need to read and understand what you've written won't. Still, you might pick off a few
and that's good but not a big return for your efforts, which I understand are considerable. Thank you for that. Now I must prepare to go out and face my day, including my neighbors who refuse to mask or distance. We fight on together and we can win out together.
Karma13612
(4,541 posts)Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)for all that you do. This is something that irked me yesterday. The Credit Union drive up was crowded, the pace was slow. The lobby is closed due to the TRUMP virus. Finally, it was my turn and there was a notice by the call buttons. "We are doing our best under difficult circumstances. Using bad language to our employees could result in penalties, such as CLOSING your account" Who swears at an employees at a time like this? Jerks. Today I told the teller I was ashamed that people are so very rude.
Response to Heartstrings (Original post)
Mosby This message was self-deleted by its author.
ismnotwasm
(41,965 posts)StarryNite
(9,435 posts)I wish I knew where this was on FB so I could share it to my page.
archiemo
(492 posts)Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)And not having any luck. Ill keep trying....
Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)captain queeg
(10,092 posts)PoliWrangler
(139 posts)barbtries
(28,769 posts)i would like to share it, thanks
IronLionZion
(45,380 posts)the sad irony is we could have probably opened up sooner after having contained the spread much sooner. Our efficient team of super geniuses decided to lie and hide the intel they received so they could keep the stock market high while they sell. Glad it's working out for them.
cp
(6,616 posts)hibbing
(10,094 posts)ancianita
(35,932 posts)calimary
(81,109 posts)I have no words but two:
FUCK EM!!!!!
Hekate
(90,552 posts)LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,564 posts)It would be great if it were read to Fat Donnie (since he doesn't read) and he actually listened. Perhaps the best way to get to him is have him do one of his visit/rallies to the COVID-19 ward of a local hospital -- refusing to wear a mask, of course. If Pence tagged along, we'd be two ventilators from a Pelosi presidency.
Leith
(7,808 posts)but it does.
Thank you for posting it here.
SouthernAtheist
(45 posts)Amen, and thank you for all your hard work. I hope you find some time and place for yourself in all of this. Even the most kind, caring, and giving amongst us must first care for themselves.
"Stop being willfully ignorant and even reveling in it because it doesnt fit your preconceived narrative or opinion." And as we can all see, it's not just willful - it prideful ignorance!
Please see my tag line: The accommodation of ignorance is never moral.
I'm a nice guy. Any of the few people who know me will confirm this fact. But I turned 60 this year and something in me snapped. I can no long tolerate being lied to to my FACE! and remain silent for the sake of being a nice guy.
All my life I have tried to be a nice guy by remaining on the curb watching, biting my tongue, being polite, being courteous, and showing some respect to everyone one no matter how they treated me. I have watched the fight parade past me as I told myself that I have my opinion and they have a right to theirs too.
All I have received in return is the repeated punch in the face or kick to the gut from bigots marching under the banner of ignorance smiling proudly and confidently in their conviction that they were masters of both.
F-CK THAT SH-T! NO MORE, I SAY!
I have told myself that from this day until the day I die I will speak out. I will speak up. I will speak truth fearlessly in the face of lies. Liars will receive nothing but open, direct, and loud truth from my heart and mind hence forth. I encourage others to do the same. Being nice to abusers yields only further abuse. Any survey of American politics over the last 40 years will confirm that politeness in the face of abusive liars encourages them to give you more of the same.
I apologize for this long post but as a newby here I cannot redirect this to a new post. I will end by referencing the great abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison who published The Liberator for 34 years in pursuit of freedom for African-Americans. In the first editorial in the first issue published in 1831, he said:
I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen;but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnestI will not equivocateI will not excuseI will not retreat a single inchAND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead. William Lloyd Garrison, Publisher of the Liberator - To The Public, First editorial 1831. (All caps in the original)
I believe Mr. Garrisons passion will be required from all who would save our republic from the immoral scourge in whos grip we find ourselves today.
Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)You are among like minded friends here!
ProfessorGAC
(64,852 posts)Fine rant, & welcome to DU.
I'm a long timer. 2001!
Stick around! I think you'll like it.
SouthernAtheist
(45 posts)Professor,
I've been here for years lurking, as they say. Like, maybe before 2008 at least. But like I said, the big "6" "OH" seems to have pulled the plug, and sucked all the f-cks I had left to give right down the drain.
But I do wish to thank all the long time posters here for all the silent support I have drawn from you over the years. I will be saying more, as I seem to have lost all volition to resist any longer.
It is my hope that, if we fight HARD, we will all find a peaceful respite waiting for us in the future.
ProfessorGAC
(64,852 posts)w0nderer
(1,937 posts)progree
(10,890 posts)Best part of the rant, IMHO
ClusterFreak
(3,112 posts)Prof.Higgins
(194 posts)UpInArms
(51,280 posts)To protect others and themselves are the absolute stupidest deathwishers on the planet.
BigmanPigman
(51,567 posts)Beartracks
(12,797 posts)"Stop bitching about wearing a mask when youre in public places. Stop pretending that that is somehow infringing on your rights. Get over yourself.
...
People wonder why we have things like stay-at-home orders and closing of non-essential businesses. Its because of you, jackass, youre the problem. Its your lack of ability to exercise common sense and your refusal to follow simple, insanely simple advice that forces the government to exercise it for you."
===========