Monday, July 6, 2020

MORE FEAR MIGHT HELP


I think most of us of a certain age are appalled at how the younger folks view Covid 19.  To some of them catching it is either an impossibility or a lark.  Some are even holding contests to see who can get infected first.

I think what might help is if they heard from those in their age group that have gotten it and survived. Those whom I have heard interviewed say they wouldn't wish it on their worst enemy.  But it seems the young are not hearing that message or it isn't repeated enough.

I had a man doing some yard work for me recently and he brought his 20'ish son with him to help.  We kept our distance but there were some things I needed for him to do so I was outside with them.

Being he was local, I asked the father if he had heard about my neighbor having caught the virus. My neighbor is a prominent figure in town and I thought he would know him.  He said he had heard and asked how he was doing.

I told him what an ordeal the middle aged man had gone through. They didn't hospitalize him but made him stay at home. He felt he was dying and sometimes dying didn't seem such a bad idea as the pain was so overwhelming.

I didn't know a human's ears could physically perk up but his young son's did.
"Pain??" he questioned earnestly.

"Yes" I said. "He said it was relentless and nothing helped. He said he felt like he had been run over by a truck and then the truck backed over him to make sure everything was broken."

The boy's eyes got wide and he fervently said,  "I had no idea. Man, I want no part of that."

Covid 19 no longer held the mild threat of just being like a bad cold. He was a believer. Death might not haunt his age group but the fear of pain puts another spin on the disease. One he listened to.

Since the logic of being a good person by avoiding crowds and wearing masks  to prevent the spread hasn't sunk in with the young yet, perhaps fear might work.

Maybe we need more newscasts or better yet YouTube videos about the horrors of the disease and how even the healthy young are affected. I have seen a few TV interviews with some of the younger survivors. They all say it was horrible.  Relentless pain and difficulty breathing seems to make the biggest impression.

It just might keep them out of bars and parties if they heard more of this.  Spreading that message has my vote.

How do you think we might get through to them?

49 comments :

  1. I think you are spot on, Patti! Just like the old programs of showing crumpled cars and coffin boxes to speed-happy teens. It's got to target their horror factor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Florence,
      I'm sure brutal truth would be a better deterrent than what they have been hearing so far.

      Delete
  2. Yes...videos - Most you see on tv (at least here) is wash your hands, don't touch your face, stay home. That message doesn't tell ANYONE at any age, what it's like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anni,
      I think the message needs to be stronger and closer to the truth. More of what does it feel like to have it, not just statistics.

      Delete
  3. When they first started reporting on the Covid virus they kept emphasizing that it was mainly older people who got it. They gave the impression that younger people were immune to it. Some covidiots also insisted it was no different than a cold or flu.

    Now, much higher numbers of younger people are getting it and they are getting really sick and some dying from it, the people who deny the seriousness of Covid are still barely acknowledging that young adults get it, and are now saying only a very small percentage of children will get it when they go back to school. I think they are thinking from the standpoint of, "If it isn't my child, it is just a very small percentage." The thing is if it turns out that YOUR child is the one who gets it, that is a heart breaking percentage beyond all measure.

    I don't have the knowledge, nor the power to quickly change the way this virus is being handled, but I am absolutely sure that a President who stands in front of an Independence Day crowd and says that the Covid 19 virus is 99% harmless, needs to read the research information and find the best experts there are and let them guide him on what needs to be done. People of all ages are suffering and dying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. susie,
      In the early numbers the young did get a pass. Evidently not so much now. I was stunned by his 4th message. Good grief, harmless??

      Delete
  4. Fear has a survival based reason for being -- the message that something is threatening me, I need to take immediate action -- so, yes, I think this needs to out there. It certainly makes far more sense that telling people it will magically disappear or is 99% harmless (and that in spite of the evidence to the contrary!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Olga,
      It was the fear of being in a very high risk group that made me toe the line. Fear is a great motivator. His claim that it is supposedly harmless and will magically disappear is doing the whole country a disservice.

      Delete
  5. Terrible. I did not know that pain was involved. Wow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. gigi,
      Sadly it is from all the accounts I have heard.

      Delete
  6. My niece who is 50 with no health issues had it for 8 weeks, says it was an awful disease, had to fight to breathe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jean,
      That is almost unimaginable to suffer for so long. God bless her.

      Delete
  7. By the way, your comment on my blog came through. So, welcome back, Patti.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. gigi,
      Hope I found a solution. We will see if I can do it again.

      Delete
  8. The difference in the way this virus affects different people is curious to me. I think I had it, in my mid-70s with no underlying health issues, but it was no picnic. Hubby's lungs were permanently damaged, when he got it and recovered.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Djan,
      I am so sorry about your hubby's lungs. I had heard that it could leave permanent heart, kidney or lung damage even when you recover. I think we are not getting all the information we need. Be careful and stay safe.

      Delete
  9. First we need a leader. One who can communicate articulately about how dangerous this is. Not fake info or made up, but the science. Then mandates and the leader will abide by them as well. The leader will never say stupid things like it will just go away as Mango Mussolini said over the weekend. We need someone who is strong,a real leader to guide us through this. New Zealand has that. A leader in place who put very strict mandates and they were followed. They have rid their country of covid. A kid went to a party in Houston I believe, it was Texas non the less (of course it was) and most of the party caught this. The kid was 28, wrote on FAcebook how awful this was and warned his pals to stay home. He died the next day. That needs to be seen more often too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peggy,
      Too bad we can't get NZ's leader to make our laws for us. She did an amazing job. We have a leader who makes up science or just disregards it all together.
      Yes we need to hear more stories like that young fellow who warned his friends but was taken by the disease. They may listen to their peers.

      Delete
  10. I hope young people spread the word about the horrible pain and physical cost of this virus rather than spreading the disease itself. It's time for them to wake up to this new real horror in our world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. robin,
      If they did I really think we could knock this down enormously. Sometimes wonder what it will take. All the deaths don't seem to make the point.

      Delete
  11. I agree, excellent point. They should put you in charge of CNN and Youtube.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tom,
      Thanks. I do believe that we do have tools and wish we would just use them.

      Delete
  12. Sadly there will always be those who believe they are invincible. I think of the folks who go skiing in the back country when avalanches are possible, who tear up our highways and streets racing, or other dangerous pursuits. It's never going to happen to them, until it does, like the young man who regretted going to the party. Fear may stop some but not all. Maybe that's Darwinism in practice.

    Take care and stay well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eileen,
      You are right. There are always those who just feel they are invincible. It might be Nature thinning the herd. Wish I were oblivious of it though.

      Delete
  13. The young have always felt they were invincible. Whether unwanted pregnancies, or whatever. Now their ignorance and naivety can cost them or a loved one their life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Silver,
      It seems the consequences are pretty high these days.

      Delete
  14. We once talked about taking all those people who believe the virus is either a hoax or harmless to take a walk through the hospital Covid cases - let them SEE the ones on ventilators and the ones struggling to breathe (and they don't even have to wear a mask since they don't believe they do anything!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rian,
      Not a bad idea to scare them straight as they do teens meeting prisoners. Bet they would ask for a mask.

      Delete
  15. Unfortunately the young just think they are invincible. I commend that young man working in your yard. You may have saved him from getting it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Latane,
      I just hope he spreads the word instead of the virus.

      Delete
  16. Really, it's not just the young. Our town is teeming with tourists of all ages, many from states that have high infection rates.Lots of people aren't taking it seriously. They're traveling again and taking their chances. I try to stay away from them! Young or old or in between, I don't think becoming infected with the virus is usually a picnic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barb,
      You are so right. I just saw the local paper's coverage of the 4th of July parade. Not one mask in the crowd. We are a tourist town also so I am sure many were from out of town.

      Delete
  17. Yes. the awful truth of the disease should be a more often told story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda,
      Agreed. Let's quit calling it harmless and a Hoax and tell it like it is.

      Delete
  18. I have no idea how to get through to those who don't want to hear, but I think emphasising the extreme pain is a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. River,
      That might get through since most of us don't enjoy pain.

      Delete
  19. I have young nephews and nieces who I hope are taking all this seriously. One told me that she wasn't worried for herself but she didn't want to pass it on to her grandmother who might not fare so well. It's a dreadful thing and you never know how it's going to affect you.

    Around My Kitchen Table

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AMKT,
      That is great about your family. They care about you. Don't know what it says about those who just don't seem to think this is more than an annoyance. They must not care about their family.

      Delete
  20. Everything you wrote is so true. The only thing new is the way this plague is now actually killing the younger ones who get it too. It is incredibly sad how different this would all be if we'd only had good leadership from the start ... like so many of the worldwide countries have. (Oh, I forgot... according to Trump we are the GREATEST & BEST and nothing can top that !) It makes me so sad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ginnie,
      I know the head of this snake we are dealing with lives in the white house. He is setting the pace for so many unnecessary deaths.

      Delete
  21. Patti, I'm sorry to be reading this so late (been away for a few days) but my gosh, this put the scare in me--and I thought I was frightened of it enough already. You're absolutely right, these stories of pain need to be HEARD (or seen). This is one time in my life I'm glad I'm not so young & foolish anymore!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doug,
      So good to see you here. Was concerned about you and glad to see you back in the comments.I have tried to think how the young me would have handled all this. I am really not sure but I would like to think I would tighten up if just for my family.

      Delete
  22. I think that is an excellent idea. Instead of or in addition to the wear a mask ads, there should be social media ads from all the ages including any young children for the parents that don't believe in masks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara,
      That is a great idea. They do check social media and can see just how important it is.

      Delete
  23. The newspapers here in the UK have made a great deal about the pain and long term damage this awful disease causes. Personally I find the young are more likely to be wearing masks than older people!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joey,
      It seems the UK has done a much better job than we have. It is just the opposite here and the young were originally told they had little to worry about.

      Delete
  24. Many believe Trump. That's one problem, another is that many don't believe Covid 19 is real.
    Sorry about the massive abuse. We got hacked and have changed everything.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Describing the pain survivors tell about is a way to get the attention of the young, and of everyone. I believe our President is doing an admirable job of steering us through this crisis.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Excellent that you 'got through' to one!!!

    Read about a 21 year old, who went out with friends, and brought it home to his family!!!!
    Grrrrrrrrr.....

    Try to stay cool,
    and find some Joy,
    with some Ice Cream!!!!
    🍦😋 🍧

    ReplyDelete