Not afraid of Covid-19? That's okay.....

Not everyone is living in fear about catching the novel and mostly benign coronavirus.  Given a choice I suspect that most would just as soon not get it, but there are obviously degrees of fear and concern.  

Canada's roads can be dangerous, around 12,000 people die or are seriously injured every year in motor vehicle accidents in this country.  Most probably don't think about it, but some do.  Some drivers avoid the hiways, or base their buying decisions on safety ratings. Volvo drivers used to be famous for this.  And hey, that's great...everyone should be free to drive the vehicle of their choice.  

But imagine someone preaching that EVERYONE should be driving a Volvo because of their outstanding safety.  "You have kids"!!!  "How can you drive them around in a SUV that's prone to roll overs!!!  If you're not going to do it for yourself at least think of your children and the people who get into your car as passengers".  Unless it was a family member you'd probably tell them to do something to themselves, I'd even say it to a family member, but that's me.

Not everyone is terrified of contracting this virus, and that's okay.  

Younger and otherwise healthy people really don't have cause to be, serious cases and deaths are overwhelmingly among the elderly and sick, those who are already dying.  Canada has been incredibly fortunate so far in that not one single death has been reported in a person under the age of 20.   Younger otherwise healthy people under 60 years of age have a better chance of being killed or seriously injured in a car accident than of dying due to Covid.  

In the United States there have been a couple of pediatric deaths where there was a positive test for Covid-19 and investigations are underway to determine the exact cause of death.  Of course that's tragic, but no more tragic than every flu season when one hundred or more children die after contracting influenza in the U.S. becasuse vaccines don't always work.  

Sometimes life sucks, but you can't stop the world from living, or at least that used to be the case.

I refuse to be gaslit by the fearful and panicked.  And I'm trying to be kind, but it can be hard.  Like that over zealous Volvo owner who wants everyone to share his or her fears, its tempting to tell them to go do something that's physically impossible.  

I'm convinced that lockdown measures and the state of fear they're creating is costing far more lives than Covid-19.  There are reports now of people going blind because they're too afraid to go for needed treatment of conditions like macular degeneration.  ERs in Canada are largely empty because people are too afraid to go to the hospital.  Speaking to hospital staff and police I know that people are dying, not from Covid-19 but because of our response. 

So, if you want to hunker in your bunker and where a mask whenever you venture outside of your house, no worries, that's your choice.  And if you're older and/or vulnerable its a wise choice.  Just don't expect everyone to share the same level of anxiety, or for everyone to start driving Volvos.