Image Author: Gerhard Altzenbach. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Image is in the public domain.
For starters, this isn’t going to be one of those fearmongery posts warning everyone to stockpile toilet paper and surgical masks. That’s already been done everywhere. I went to Wal-Mart today and there were empty shelves all over the place. People have heard the warnings and are acting accordingly. Some might even argue they’re acting with enthusiasm.
Personally, I’m over all the warnings that danger lurks but one cough or handshake away. If you’ve played Plague, Inc., you already know this. If you believe that the world is ending via disease, then you’re already headed to Greenland or Madagascar with a hoard of food and supplies.
None of the advice I’ve seen about washing my hands or touching my face is new to me. It shouldn’t be new to anyone, but I get why most people forget such things. Nobody wants to worry about death by microbe. Everyone wants to worry about what Taylor Swift is wearing to her latest whatever.
My hope is that in a couple months, I’ll get to look back at this panic with veiled disappointment. There’s already enough to feel disappointed about. The handling of this mess, from news to panic to the people who are elected and paid to know better. There’s also the speed by which shitty rumors have gone around the world – I’m looking at everyone who hoarded toilet paper and bleach because they thought it fights a virus. Then there’s the assholes who were smart enough to buy hand sanitizer but dumb enough to think they could get away with price gouging.
I hope that in a few weeks, I’ll be able to buy flour again. I want to grab a shopping cart without worrying about who touched it before me. I’d like to curb my anxiety and worry about planting when the weather warms.
In the meantime, I’m going to make donuts. Lots and lots of donuts.
One might even say a preposterous amount of donuts.
Amusing Nonsense 