Where's the petri dish thread?

[MICHHAWK]

I was strolling one of Michigan’s many picturesque beach towns yesterday. Sun was shining, birds chirping. Restaurants closed. Shops closed. Streets mostly empty. Next weekend is the long holiday weekend. Michigan SAH Until the 28th. Michigan’s many picturesque beach towns have from Memorial Day to Labor Day to make hay.

[MICHHAWK]

The folks agreed to SAH so we could flatten the curve. Mission accomplished. The folks did not agree to an open ended SAH until the very last case was eradicated off the face of the earth.

[DCHawk1]

Just drop this here.

https://www.propublica.org/article/two- ... california

California Stay at Home Order - March 19
NewYork Stay at Home Order - March 22
Florida Stay at Home Order - April 3

We've been cautioned that the Trump Re-Election Strategy is BLAME THE GOVERNORS. But DC doesn't mention his boy De Santis.

I didn't write that article.

[seahawk]

So, here's an article about your boy, De Santis. Whose main advisor is that drunk, Matt Gaetz? You can be certainly proud of Florida Republicans, DC.

https://newrepublic.com/article/157267/ ... -stupidity

And let's remember that according to the statistics from the Tampa Bay Times, it's the people of Florida, no thanks to your Evangelical sycophant, who are responsible for Florida not being a "Shitshow."

[DCHawk1]

OK.

[DCHawk1]

Hmmmm....

[Mjl]

Hmmmm....

How is it possible to estimate something like this?

Probably a PhD/zsn question.

[HouseDivided]

Seriously, seek help.

I am the help.

Who do you think spends twelve hour days sitting in the therapist’s chair trying to help people find hope and make sense of this mess?

Do you have answers for all of the people who’ve lost jobs and have no money to pay bills?

How many teenagers did you see this week who are having panic attacks because they miss their friends and can’t bear the thought of no school or sports to go back to in August?

How many suicidal adults have you tried to help this week?

Any couples on the brink of divorce because they’ve been cooped up for two months and can’t pay their bills?

That’s an average day for me, only add in students e-mailing me asking for help finding work to help support their families and for reassurance that things will be okay.

And then I go home and wonder those same things for myself after I’ve had to smile and calmly reassure people that they will be fine and that they have the resources within to cope.

But, hey, maybe Trump won’t win in November, so it’ll all be worth it.

Again, 2nd time in two days I am going to ask you if you are serious with your post.
Yesterday you said people who live in fear are weak - and you said it in an insulting manner.
Now all of a sudden you're compassionate - if they are your "patients"?
A sincere thank you from me - for your trying to help others who are going through a rough time right now.
Thing is, I admit I was a bit confused when you said, "I’ve had to smile and calmly reassure people that they will be fine and that they have the resources within to cope".
So another words, you don't take and/or believe your own advice? Hmm.

There is what you feel deep down in your gut and there's what you allow to impact your day-to-day functioning. I had a rough day yesterday. I spent way too many hours the last few weeks investing myself in others and very little getting anything back. I crashed and burned. Thankfully, I did so alone and vented to a silly bored that (almost) no one reads.

I feel sincere compassion for others or I wouldn't do what I do - although it takes enough out of me physically, mentally, and emotionally that I can't imagine doing it as my full-time means of making a living. I tell them what they need to hear to have the best chance of pulling through because that is my job and that is what they are paying me to do.

Does that mean that I don't simultaneously have another stream of thought running in the back of my head that says the opposite? Of course not. We all have competing voices within. Healthy people choose the better voice more often than not, but we all buckle under the weight of the other one from time to time.

I'm sorry I offended you. I will endeavor to be more circumspect in the future.

[ousdahl]

I was strolling one of Michigan’s many picturesque beach towns yesterday. Sun was shining, birds chirping. Restaurants closed. Shops closed. Streets mostly empty. Next weekend is the long holiday weekend. Michigan SAH Until the 28th. Michigan’s many picturesque beach towns have from Memorial Day to Labor Day to make hay.

Be sure the fine town of Amity, Massachusetts opens by the 4th of July as well.

Amity, as you know, means friendship!

[Deleted User 289]

I am the help.

Who do you think spends twelve hour days sitting in the therapist’s chair trying to help people find hope and make sense of this mess?

Do you have answers for all of the people who’ve lost jobs and have no money to pay bills?

How many teenagers did you see this week who are having panic attacks because they miss their friends and can’t bear the thought of no school or sports to go back to in August?

How many suicidal adults have you tried to help this week?

Any couples on the brink of divorce because they’ve been cooped up for two months and can’t pay their bills?

That’s an average day for me, only add in students e-mailing me asking for help finding work to help support their families and for reassurance that things will be okay.

And then I go home and wonder those same things for myself after I’ve had to smile and calmly reassure people that they will be fine and that they have the resources within to cope.

But, hey, maybe Trump won’t win in November, so it’ll all be worth it.

Again, 2nd time in two days I am going to ask you if you are serious with your post.
Yesterday you said people who live in fear are weak - and you said it in an insulting manner.
Now all of a sudden you're compassionate - if they are your "patients"?
A sincere thank you from me - for your trying to help others who are going through a rough time right now.
Thing is, I admit I was a bit confused when you said, "I’ve had to smile and calmly reassure people that they will be fine and that they have the resources within to cope".
So another words, you don't take and/or believe your own advice? Hmm.

There is what you feel deep down in your gut and there's what you allow to impact your day-to-day functioning. I had a rough day yesterday. I spent way too many hours the last few weeks investing myself in others and very little getting anything back. I crashed and burned. Thankfully, I did so alone and vented to a silly bored that (almost) no one reads.

I feel sincere compassion for others or I wouldn't do what I do - although it takes enough out of me physically, mentally, and emotionally that I can't imagine doing it as my full-time means of making a living. I tell them what they need to hear to have the best chance of pulling through because that is my job and that is what they are paying me to do.

Does that mean that I don't simultaneously have another stream of thought running in the back of my head that says the opposite? Of course not. We all have competing voices within. Healthy people choose the better voice more often than not, but we all buckle under the weight of the other one from time to time.

I'm sorry I offended you. I will endeavor to be more circumspect in the future.

HD - I would send you a PM but I have no shame in saying this publicly.
You didn't offend me per se and I am sincerely sorry you had a bad day yesterday and are going through a rough time. Believe it or not, I am usually a compassionate person.
I believe we are similar in that we both come on here to "escape" some of the shit we are dealing with in our lives. Problem is, as we both know, this isn't always the best outlet.
As I said before, I hope you have someone who you can converse with other than assholes (like me) on a message board.
I wish NO ONE on here any ill will and hope that anyone and everyone who is going through a tough time can and will reach out to someone. Shit, if anyone doesn't have someone to talk to - you can send me a PM. I mean it.

[HouseDivided]

As someone else suggested, if you haven't already - you should probably seek help.
I'm saying that in a compassionate manner. As someone who has asked for and received his own help. Many times. For many issues.

Let's examine your post and I will respond respectfully.

As I said, your "fear" is justifiable. That being said, I feel it's 100% wrong of you to say to other's their fear is not justifiable when they may have as legitimate of a reason to be fearful of the things they fear as you have the legitimate reason to be in fear of the thing/s you are fearful of.
I would hope you as a "psych" guy could and would comprehend that and be maybe just the slightest bit compassionate in that regard.

I feel compassion for their fear. What I find troubling is that they expect me to feel their fear and limit my own life because of it. I already make accommodations for that fear, i.e. wearing a mask in the grocery store even though I see no point, but I refuse to stop living my life because someone else is afraid.

Imagine that HD, now you are feeling the fear others have felt but for different reasons. The fear of losing their job/s. Sucks. I've been there. I'm not going to compare our "living hells" because everyone's are different. I'm honestly happy for you for moving on and finding happiness but come on man, you are a "psych" guy. You must realize that life is full of peaks and valleys. You want to blame "a bunch of bureaucrats and politicians" for your plight right now. Fair enough. I place blame on them too. I also blame the virus - and like to believe that life and death trumps all. The moment you were born in to this world you were given life. The last thing you will experience in this world is death. That's all we are promised. There will be good and there will be bad in our lives. I find it interesting that we are wired as humans to blame others when things go bad in our lives more than we praise others when good things happen in our lives. That's enough of my philosophical jargon for now.

You said, "because a bunch of people needed to overblow an illness to make themselves feel better because their candidate didn’t win the 2016 election and they’re afraid he going to get four more years not just ridiculous but offensive".
* Forgive me for not fully understanding what you are saying. I'm assuming you are under the impression people feel the virus is real, and respect it, and perhaps even fear it, because Hillary Clinton didn't win the presidential election in 2016. Yeah, I agree. That's pretty ridiculous and offensive - to make that assumption and accusation.

You said, "I’m to the point where, anyone who has the temerity to say that me losing the career I spent my whole life working toward is a reasonable sacrifice so that some 80 year-olds with heart disease and emphysema can live another six months, is going to flat out get punched in the mouth.
* I'm not going to speak for others here. I'm speaking for myself and 70+ year olds who are fairly healthy and productive members of society.
Of course losing your career is not a "reasonable sacrifice". Thing is, you very well may NOT lose your career but if unfortunately you do, you still have an opportunity to find/have a different "career".
I really hope you realize this isn't as simple of a choice between deciding if you keep your career or if "some 80 year-olds with heart disease and emphysema can live another six months".
As far as your punching someone in the mouth, I suggest you don't do it. You very well may lose your career that you supposedly cherish so much. That's one of the reasons why I feel you should seek help. If you are this angry to the point where you are telling others you are going to resort to physical violence because of your fear of losing your career - if nothing else, you are "troubled".

I'm a realist. I'm 50 years old. I'm a full professor with my institution's version of tenure. If this goes away, I won't be finding anything comparable, especially in an academic market under duress. Those positions will go to new PhD's who are willing to work for half the salary with no rank. Could I do clinical work full-time? Sure. Would I enjoy it? No. Been there, done that, hated it. Would it send me to an early grave stress-wise? Most likely.

You said, "If you want to lock yourselves in your houses, great. Lock away. But don’t screw me and the rest of us who want to be happy and earn an honest living along the way. Don’t screw my 16 year-old out of his high school basketball season. Don’t screw my students out of a normal college experience. Don’t try to shame the rest of us into being a bunch of socialist sheep".
* I don't know of anyone who has locked themself in their house. I do know people who have chosen to be careful and only shop when necessary.
I think you are focusing your anger on the wrong people here. I think the purpose of the initial "stay at home order/s" were to prevent you from getting sick so that you would be able to be happy and earn an honest living in the not too distant future. For an unfortunate reason your 16 year old is learning life isn't always fair. Guess what, I know a woman who's 16 year old daughter lost her grandfather to COVID-19. He was an active man who golfed almost daily and loved life. He paid his "debt" to society and was enjoying his "senior" years. I assure you she would have happily given up basketball for a season if it meant her grandfather didn't die. I assume somewhere along the line in the last 16 years you have taken your 16 year old somewhere to show him/her how fortunate he is to live the life he does. For one basketball season shit happened to him. I sincerely feel bad. I have family members who have missed out on a lot of things such as their college graduations. Thankfully life does and will go on for them - and your son. For my friends father, it will not.


You said, "What has happened in the last two months is disgraceful and inexcusable; what happens in the next four to six weeks will determine whether or not there is life to go back to. If this bored were a reliable sampling of the American people, I would have no hope. Thankfully, I see and hear people all around me every day who are calling b.s. and refusing to be pushed around anymore.
* I agree 100% that it's been "disgraceful and inexcusable" that some people haven't given a fuck and didn't take the virus seriously and because of it, we have 80,000+ dead Americans who had many family members, friends, and co-workers who have been directly affected by their DEATH. Is your attitude "fuck 'em" "who cares" - I haven't been able to teach?
Honest question/s. Do you truly believe that there are people on this board who are enjoying this? Who hope it continues indefinitely? Who are rooting against people such as yourself who may lose their "careers"?

I absolutely believe that. They post here multiple times a day and it is clear that they not only relish the suffering of others, but they see it as some sort of retribution for the 2016 election and as a way of ensuring that the 2020 election goes their way. They are horrible, despicable, disgraceful people, but they represent a segment of the general population nonetheless. My attitude is not "f-ck 'em" "who cares" but "There is no reason to ruin lives via continuing to overreact to a problem that has much more common-sense means of managing it." The fact that so few people are willing to even consider that is troubling to say the least.

I'm going to add one thing. I don't know if this was your intention or not but it seems you were/are belittling those who are greeters at Walmart, or work at Arby's and Whole Foods.
Are they lesser people than you are? I ask because those people serve a purpose in society and actually - they are more important to me and others than you and your "career" are.
Not trying to be disrespectful by saying that. I'm trying to give you a bit of perspective on everything else you have said - in terms of you losing your "career".

I'm not belittling anyone. I am acknowledging that I have spent many years, a great deal of effort, and a lot of money building a knowledge base and skill set that would not be utilized at Wal-Mart or Arby's, nor would it pay what I need to make in light of that skill set. I tell students all the time that college is not for everyone, and if it isn't for you, there is no shame in making your living doing other kinds of work; however, you need to be prepared for the financial tradeoffs that go with that decision. I invested heavily on one end and I expect to reap appropriate dividends on the other. I don't think that is at all unreasonable.

[CrimsonNBlue]

T’s and P’s.

[HouseDivided]

Don’t screw my 16 year-old out of his high school basketball season.

Have an acquaintance whose 16 year old daughter just discovered she's a Type 1 diabetic. When my 20 year old grandson was 16, he spent 7 hours in the Cath Lab as they tried to deal with his Wolfe-Parkinson-White syndrome. And neither of those had Leukemia or Hodgins Lymphoma or MS or any of the other terrible diseases/syndromes.

As a result of that hospital stay, the grandson is now in nursing school and works full-time as a personal care giver to a man his parent's age, who has a degenerative disease. He's out there in the community going to school and working, so his immuno-compromised parents are sheltering away--and they're 50, not 80.

But you want to encourage the YoHos to not Social Distance, to not wear masks, because your son won't have a basketball season? And none of you will fail to seek medical care, but will instead endanger people like grandson at hospitals because you're angry at things like--your son won't have a basketball season?

And you're here lamenting this while 99's young son-in-law is in the hospital on oxygen.

JFC

I have no response to your rambling. There's just no point. You don't want to understand what other people are saying; you just want to blather about your life, your family, and your experiences. I don't have the time or the energy to deal with your silliness. Hopefully there are others here who are patient enough to sift through it.

[MICHHAWK]

The folks desire to get on with their life. The internet deviants and malcontents and democrat mayors do not want the folks to get on with their life.

[jfish26]

The folks desire to get on with their life. The internet deviants and malcontents and democrat mayors do not want the folks to get on with their life.

Ah, well when you put it that way, perhaps the virus will pay attention.

[MICHHAWK]

Seems we might be better equipped to fight this virus with an economy.

[MICHHAWK]

The los angelos mayor says he will consider allowing the folks to get on with their life when they have not had a new case for 14 days. Go with god la.

[HouseDivided]

Seems we might be better equipped to fight this virus with an economy.

^^^^^This

[HouseDivided]

The los angelos mayor says he will allow the folks to get on with their life when they have not had a new case for 14 days. Go with god la.

What he will get is rioting in the streets. Let them eat cake.

[Shirley]