Musings on the concept of Panic
Mar. 2nd, 2020 01:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamshark It's probably because I am irritated by finding the same meaningless platitudes over and over when I am searching for actual facts about something, but I'm really tired of reading, "The best way to protect yourself is to wash your hands a lot." While washing one's hands is never bad health advice, it rings a little hollow when it comes right after a sentence in the same article that says, "The primary spread is thought to be airborne." It's tantamount to saying, "There's really nothing you can do, but we have to say something."
But the one that really annoys me is "Don't panic." What exactly does that mean? Is it panicking to be concerned about a highly communicable disease that has a good chance of killing you? Is it panicking to stock up on enough supplies to survive a 2-week quarantine? Or is it only panic when you buy enough to hide in a bunker for a year? Or if you run through the streets screaming? Exactly what is the government afraid will happen if we all "panic?" Historically, governments have used the spectre of "public panic" to cover up information that the public really needed to know, like the Japanese balloon bombs. Or things we'd all just LIKE to know, like "WTF is going on at Area 51, anyway?" I prefer to have the facts and then make up my own mind whether it's worth "panicking." Whatever that means.
I made a trip to Costco this morning. I knew it might be difficult because of the so-called "Panic Buying at Costco" phenomenon, so I got there as early as I could manage at 10:30am. Sure enough, the store was packed. I was able to score an easy parking place at the edge, but walked past a queue of cars held up by people doing that asshole thing of sitting and waiting 5 minutes for somebody to load their car and pull out. When I got inside I saw that every register already had a long line. They were out of toilet paper and bottled water and a few other odd things like lentils, but for the most part the shelves were full. I didn't even ask about hand sanitizer, since I had realized that I was already past the possible window for buying any (I wanted it for the Volunteers Desk at Minicon) . But I saw no sign of panic - just the usual stoic looking Minnesotans patiently waiting in line and cruising the aisles for the things they considered most vital to their survival.
It's interesting to see what people consider survival supplies. Toilet paper apparently tops the list. I saw at least one woman with multiple bags of coffee in her cart. And I bought coffee too, even though I don't usually buy it in Costco-size amounts, because I do not actually have a 2-week supply at home. I bought the things I came for: eggs and oil and fruit and chicken thighs and goat cheese and a few other things I always by at Costco. And I admit that I did buy some things I might not have otherwise, like an extra box of protein bars and a 12-pack of canned tuna. But mostly it appears that what I consider survival food is party supplies, since that's what my cart ended up mostly full of. We usually have an emergency stash of non-perishable party food like nuts and crackers and *yum* Kirkland Cashew Bites, but our backup supplies were running low. And there is a Minnstf meeting coming up this weekend (at the Waterbury Building, not my house). So just in case, your president is prepared with the supplies that matter most.
But the one that really annoys me is "Don't panic." What exactly does that mean? Is it panicking to be concerned about a highly communicable disease that has a good chance of killing you? Is it panicking to stock up on enough supplies to survive a 2-week quarantine? Or is it only panic when you buy enough to hide in a bunker for a year? Or if you run through the streets screaming? Exactly what is the government afraid will happen if we all "panic?" Historically, governments have used the spectre of "public panic" to cover up information that the public really needed to know, like the Japanese balloon bombs. Or things we'd all just LIKE to know, like "WTF is going on at Area 51, anyway?" I prefer to have the facts and then make up my own mind whether it's worth "panicking." Whatever that means.
I made a trip to Costco this morning. I knew it might be difficult because of the so-called "Panic Buying at Costco" phenomenon, so I got there as early as I could manage at 10:30am. Sure enough, the store was packed. I was able to score an easy parking place at the edge, but walked past a queue of cars held up by people doing that asshole thing of sitting and waiting 5 minutes for somebody to load their car and pull out. When I got inside I saw that every register already had a long line. They were out of toilet paper and bottled water and a few other odd things like lentils, but for the most part the shelves were full. I didn't even ask about hand sanitizer, since I had realized that I was already past the possible window for buying any (I wanted it for the Volunteers Desk at Minicon) . But I saw no sign of panic - just the usual stoic looking Minnesotans patiently waiting in line and cruising the aisles for the things they considered most vital to their survival.
It's interesting to see what people consider survival supplies. Toilet paper apparently tops the list. I saw at least one woman with multiple bags of coffee in her cart. And I bought coffee too, even though I don't usually buy it in Costco-size amounts, because I do not actually have a 2-week supply at home. I bought the things I came for: eggs and oil and fruit and chicken thighs and goat cheese and a few other things I always by at Costco. And I admit that I did buy some things I might not have otherwise, like an extra box of protein bars and a 12-pack of canned tuna. But mostly it appears that what I consider survival food is party supplies, since that's what my cart ended up mostly full of. We usually have an emergency stash of non-perishable party food like nuts and crackers and *yum* Kirkland Cashew Bites, but our backup supplies were running low. And there is a Minnstf meeting coming up this weekend (at the Waterbury Building, not my house). So just in case, your president is prepared with the supplies that matter most.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-02 08:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-02 08:37 pm (UTC)https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html
Some viruses live a lot longer on surfaces than others. This one seems to be on the short side.
And even with viruses that persist longer on surfaces, I'm not sure how hand washing protects you from GETTING it unless you literally wash your hands after each time you touch anything. It's probably more effective at keeping people from spreading it. Which protects other people, but not you.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-02 08:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-03 12:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-03 02:46 am (UTC)That same sentiment seems to be behind the confusing recommendations re masks. The whole message there seems to be that they probably don't help much one way or another, but to the extent that they DO stop viruses we should reserve them for people who actually need them the most.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-03 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-02 08:22 pm (UTC)K.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-02 08:57 pm (UTC)People who are truly worried about starving to death should just buy 50 lbs each of rice and dried beans, and maybe some canned tomatoes to ward off scurvy. Although we really have plenty of food, I would feel a little better if I weren't low on brown rice and split peas (neither of which they sell at Costco, sadly). Old hippie instincts.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-03 04:31 pm (UTC)I was quite taken aback at how empty some of the shelves were until I connected it mentally with a friend on DW describing her shopping trip (not panicking, but stocking up on nonperishables). Multiply that by a goodly percent of the population, and it'll clear out the stores.
Target was completely out of gallon-sized bottles of purified water. Thankfully, there was still plenty of distilled water, which was my goal. Similarly, the Progresso soup shelves were almost empty, but I was able to score two cans of old-fashioned chicken noodle soup (my standby when I'm sick).
Living alone, it's easy to have a few weeks' worth of food as regular pantry storage, so I didn't do any additional stocking up. I did think about rereading Naomi Kritzer's "So Much Cooking," though.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-03 11:06 pm (UTC)My panic shopping happened last week, apparently before everyone else, when I went to Target and spent $190 split between calorie-dense food and canned fruits and vegetables. That turns out to be a *lot* of food. Economically, we should probably eat more canned food in general, I guess. I didn't think of hand sanitizer at that time, sadly.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-04 02:41 am (UTC)We overbought on rice, beans, ground beef, and paper towels, as a precaution.
Also, I think by "don't panic" what they really mean is "don't get really stressed if you cough once" and "don't get into a spiral of terror." I have certainly seen people spiral out of control with stress. Mind you, I don't think that "don't panic" actually helps prevent that.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-04 05:25 am (UTC)