Virus Impact on CP

Dvo said:

^^^I'd rather see those people stay home, than show up to the park and go on a long diatribe in the Guest Relations building. The more people willingly adhering to the rules, the better the park experience will be.

My thought is the park I going to be a mess at least for quite a while....some people will complain about everything. "-since it's not what we expected, we paid a lot of money for...."

Not sure how wearing masks would be enforced...since lots (not all) of smokers do not follow the 'Smoking Areas" that are in the park.

Lines will be looong for rides, food, drink. I assume we can forget about any inside air conditioned shows, and the entitled will complain. We've talked about limiting any trips -if/when things open. Very excited to check out our brick though. Would be very happy just to check for that -it includes a family member that passed years ago.

kjettski: I definitely don't agree. Not only has the free market economy failed to make it "hard" to be hungry, but the lines at food banks in the unemployment and Covid-19 crash have shown that it's really easy and far more desperate than I would expect. I donate to a lot of local poverty charities, and to suggest that it's been "stamped out" is extremely naive. In particular, the fact that the "working poor" is still a thing is discouraging. It's particularly prominent in places like Orlando and Vegas where the tourist economy drives much of the economy.

I stopped reading when I saw the words "Heritage Foundation".

I honestly can't even imagine where this perspective comes from. All I have to do is go for a 2 mile run from my home and I go from "pleasant suburb" to a community ravaged by destitute poverty.

While I appreciate the "pull yourself up by bootstraps" mentality to a certain point, the reality is that millions of people in this country are born into a life where they are starting a two-lap race already one-lap behind.

The deck is not stacked equally, and the odds are perpetually stacked in the favor of the privileged.

Like most issues, they're never as simple as they may seem. Racism, Pay Equality, Poverty, Healthcare, etc. are all complex issues. Yes, the use of derogatory terms and obvious outward behaviors are easy to call out and address should someone want to intervene. But our systemic issues run much deeper than just the surface wounds that are easily visible.

There are several impediments to us being able to 'solve' these issues, but as a society, we have the attention span equal to a 5 year old. We are all about instant gratification, quick fixes, and the minute we see a 'squirrel', we're on to the next topic.

These systemic problems require more than a town hall or focus on them until the next 'hot topic' surfaces. But, look where we are now. The George Floyd story is a perfect example of how dysfunctional our society is. His story is tragic and highlights an issue we have seen before. But, what do we do? We protest violently and burn things - how is this productive to the cause of solving racial issues in this country? It will be talked about, talked about some more, and then it will slowly fade as similar stories have in the past. And then we will be back to square 1 when it happens again at some point in the future. And you can substitute this issue with any other critical issue that we face.

Until our attention span as a society improves, I'm not sure much will change. And then of course we have the knowledge/education problem. In the words of George Carlin, “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” And we wonder why we face the issues that we do?

Indeed. Consider this: A recent CDC report showed that 33% of hospitalized patients were black compared to 18% in the community, and that's the national average. Apply that to rural areas, especially in the south, and it's far worse. NPR ran a story this week that showed that even testing locations in most large Texas cities favored primarily white neighborhoods. A horrific and deadly case of police brutality in Minneapolis only scratches the surface of how deep racism is a problem in our country.

Worrying about broken windows is very silly when you consider that windows can be replaced. Buildings can be rebuilt. Human beings can't be brought back to life.

Martin Luther King said that 'riots are the language of the unheard'. It's certainly not hard to see why these things happen when nothing else seems to get people's attention- the amount of police attacks and murders on african american folks- many of them unarmed- is completely sickening, even moreso when you consider how few of these police get punished for it in the end. It should churn the stomachs of everyone. That's what we should be wringing our hands over- not broken windows and burnt buildings.

It all boils down to the Education System. A system that was designed to prepare the average person for a job in a factory not critical thinking. Even if we could wave a magic wand and fix the system it would take generations for things to measurably change.

If I had to choose one thing and make it perfect it would be Education. Most problems we have would be much, much more manageable.

Sometimes I feel like the train has left the station and like many Empires before us we will slowly crumble.

Interesting info on the Texas sites - wasn't aware of that.

Sollybeast - not sure where it was said that anyone cared about broken windows or burnt buildings. My point is that there are far more productive means to protest than destroying property and putting the lives of others at risk (i.e. firefighters, people inside the buildings, etc.) So, let's say someone dies destroying property during these riots, what point does that prove? Kind of counterproductive isn't it? My point being, not about the buildings or windows, but we can be functional in our protests and drive the needed change. Hold folks accountable through elections, join appropriate rights advocacy groups and encourage others in your sphere of influence to do the same, etc. I thought my point was pretty clear that we have a racial issue in this country and we need a long-term focus to fix the issue, much like other high priority issues facing our generation.

At the moment, I care about the historic, institutionalized murder of innocent black men by US police. Systematic oppression of people of color in all parts of the country. Reduced access to education, increased incarceration per capita. More likely to be wrongfully profiled by police. By white people.

Not ongoing but acute property damage.

I agree with both of you CPBlue and SollyBeast on the issue itself. Where I don't agree is on the method to try and enact the needed change. Look, I'm not out to worry about those committing property crime. In my opinion, the riots do very little to deal with solving the racism. How have they worked out in recent history for us? We need to end racism, period. On that we agree. I disagree with the approach that some (the few, not the majority) are taking to try and enact that change. Nothing more or less. Whether you agree with her politics or not, the Atlanta Mayor had a great perspective and message to her citizens as did Rapper Killer Mike. As the leader of a large metropolitan city and African American female/mother of 4 children, I think her perspective carries some weight. She starts speaking around 30 seconds into the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVs8JXqLPs8

I'm going down a path that is counterproductive and just debating tick for tack at this point so I'm out.

Kevinj said:

I stopped reading when I saw the words "Heritage Foundation".

I honestly can't even imagine where this perspective comes from. All I have to do is go for a 2 mile run from my home and I go from "pleasant suburb" to a community ravaged by destitute......

I abbreviated your post in deference to J's request.

The Heritage Foundation is quite reputable. Their research is solid and objective.

You're mistaken about destitute poverty. The UN defines destitute poverty as $1.90 a day. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/international-poverty-line.asp

Food Banks are in demand because the government shut down the economy. Unemployment (I think it's U-6) will be around 20% the next time it's reported. Most of the unemployed are getting stimulus payments and unemployment compensation (and rightfully so as it's the government's actions that brought the economic crisis about). The article I linked will give a breakdown. I can repeat what it said, but it would be redundant.

Destitute poverty does indeed exist, but not in the free world (free-market economies/countries). If you are hungry in the free world you're trying to be hungry (or you're disabled in some way and then it's not your fault).

Jeff said:

Indeed. Consider this: A recent CDC report showed that 33% of hospitalized patients were black compared to 18% in the community, and that's the national average. Apply that to rural areas, especially in the south, and it's far worse. NPR ran a story this week that showed that even testing locations in most large Texas cities favored primarily white neighborhoods. A horrific and deadly case of police brutality in Minneapolis only scratches the surface of how deep racism is a problem in our country.

I'll take your word for the rates and demographic breakdown. I am surprised that it's that low.

The health of the lowest 20% is not as good for a myriad of reasons. The best anti-poverty program ever conceived is a job. I am not against government intervention to help the lower 20%; the government has to. I am for increasing economic growth and allowing the economy to work.

I can't address the racism issue.

kjettski said:

The Heritage Foundation is quite reputable.

All anyone needs to know about Heritage is that they recommended people like DeVos, Perry, and Sessions for Trump's cabinet.

I wonder how many people that are preaching to "stay home, stop the spread" are out in full riot mode, possibly increasing the spread. I get the message the protesters are trying to send, and they have every right, but, did we all forget about the 2nd wave we are all concerned about? This sure isn't helping. I'm willing to bet we see a spike in the those cities where there is unrest. It's sad.

I believe that invalidating ones protest just because there may be a potentially bigger issue out there is wrong. The pandemic affects everyone. Black oppression benefits a lot of us and oppresses the rest of us.

This isn't about only George Floyd.

This is hundreds of years of slavery, oppression, institutionalized racism, violence, lynching, murder, vandalism, terrorism, fear, anger, poverty, incarceration, and overall net white despotism.

For the first time in history, these acts of savagery and open murder are being filmed and shared. The whole country can see it. We as a people are tired of it. It's coming to a boil.

It is ignorant to say the riots "aren't about George Floyd anymore".

The riots are about everything that has allowed the metaphorical knee of the white man to suppress the entire black population.

They had a problem when athletes peacefully knelt for the anthem. They will always have a problem with the black man.

No justice, no peace.

I didn't say the riots "aren't about George Floyd anymore." I said they have every right to be doing what they are doing, it's just unfortunately the wrong time. What happened is not ok, it's disgusting, but, you can't deny that it's gonna increase the chance of the 2nd wave everyone is concerned about. We can't turn a blind eye to one, for they are both equally important.

https://twitter.com/ava/status/1266522446779174913?s=09

Wow. That’s so deep.

On the bright side, now that there’s a new agenda for the media to focus on, we no longer have 24/7 coverage of the coronavirus. Can’t wait til next week when we can all focus on something else.

Yup, and that's why I said we can't turn a blind eye.