The world has gone crazy!

When I wrote my last post, I read through my older ones and realized that most of the thoughts that I have felt were worth sharing have been negative – here, here,  here, etc. I swore that I would find something upbeat to write about. But in the intervening week or so, the world has gone crazy!

I really don’t understand what is going on. I get that there is a new virus, and that it’s communicable, and that there is no built-in immunity. But why are people are hoarding toilet paper and…water, of all things.

It almost seems as if people AND governments
AND businesses are all trying to one-up one another with their overreactions.

In my state, the governor announced a state of emergency and required that all bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues close for the foreseeable future. No groups of more than 250 people. NO – strike that! No more than 50 People!

Think about that for a moment.

We have friends who are small business owners. They have maybe five employees. They now have no income. I would bet that they will continue to pay their employees, because they are that kind of people. but they will suffer. We also have several friends who work in bars and restaurants. They will suffer as well.

I am pretty lucky in that I have a job that pays well, that I enjoy, and I have some level of job security. But my job doesn’t happen if the sales people who work for my company aren’t out there selling.  If this shutdown extends into weeks, or months, then I won’t have work to do until weeks after things get back to ‘normal’. This makes me wonder about the ramifications to our supply chain – everyone’s supply chain, really.

If we stop selling equipment, then upstream, they are going to stop building the machines. If they stop building machines, then other people are going to stop making the parts that those machine are built from, If they stop making the parts, then the raw materials stop, and so on, and so on. Once everything gets back to normal on my end, the process will work in reverse – it will take time for all of the processes upstream to spool back up.

It’s like watching the ripples when you throw a pebble into a pond.

Similarly, the people who are buying up all of the toilet paper at Costco probably don’t realize that the stuff that they are buying today was very likely ordered last quarter. The TP being manufactured today is intended for next quarter’s deliveries. There is not a huge stockpile sitting in a warehouse somewhere to replace what has been gobbled up. It’s going to take time to smooth the ripples out.

Social media is making it worse

At the same time, I feel like social media is making things worse. Rumors are spreading faster than new ones can be made up. The level of shaming I am seeing, the level of virtue signaling, the level of haughtiness (for lack of a better word), of better-than-thou-ness is quite frankly astounding.

Friendships will be damaged over this. Family relationships will be severed. People will be harmed.

Take a step back

Maybe we should take a step back. Do we need the government to tell us to wash our hands and cover our coughs and sneezes? I am pretty sure that I learned those things nearly 50 years ago, in kindergarten. The same place that I learned to share, by the way.

Do we need the government to tell us to stay home when we feel sick? This one is a little harder because it touches a lot of things. Business pushes back on this because it is ripe for abuse. But maybe we need to start treating our adult employees like adults. It’s difficult to staff for sick time under our current system, and no business wants to spend more on labor than they need to. but we need to find a way to have people stay away when they are sick – so they aren’t getting sicker, so they aren’t infecting their coworkers, so they aren’t infecting our customers.

I really think that our current system is the more costly, if you think about it that way.

What can we do?

So, here is my ask:

• Wash your hands, especially before and after contact with others
• Cough and sneeze into the crook of your elbow – even when there is no one else around. Don’t leave behind a little cloud of germs for others to discover
• Stay home if you are sick. Even if it makes your boss mad. (if it makes your boss mad, consider looking for a better job).
• Stay home if you are sick. Even if you work for commission or tips. Set aside a little tiny bit of cash each week, even if it’s only $5, and build up a small reserve to carry you through if there’s a lean time
• Think about others when you are at the store “stocking up”. Do you need a cart full of toilet paper? Maybe that lady that got there behind you, and is now staring at empty shelves could use some. Don’t be selfish.
• Don’t spread rumors. 90% of what you read on Facebook and Reddit is bullshit.
• Don’t get taken in.
• Don’t be part of the problem.
• Don’t go crazy.

We will get through this

We will get through this, but we will be different afterward. Now is the time to decide if we are going to be better or worse.