Two Weeks In

Well, Dear Bloggers, I had hoped that when we returned from Spring Break we would be able to debate substantive issues: Chacos or Birkenstocks? Boogie board or raft? Real book or Kindle?

However, fate has intervened. The pandemic we discussed earlier has gotten worse, and will continue to get worse, especially in Mississippi. The wealthy here have always believedĀ themselves to be invulnerable; the poor, through Calvinism, have believed their fates to be preordained; both groups have a streak of oppositional defiance about a mile wide. Whatever the state of our medical preparedness may be, psychologically, Mississippians are poorly equipped to deal with containing this virus. We’ll need lots of re-education. It may be years before I can greet somebody without thinking of a handshake as the appropriate opening.

As you look at how events have unfolded in the past month, how do you assess the state’s leaders when it comes to dealing with the spread of the virus? Have they consistently in the state’s best interest? What have they done well? What needs to improve?

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10 Responses to Two Weeks In

  1. Mabrie Woods says:

    I’m mostly going to focus on what should be done. Closing schools and nonessential businesses is definitely a start, but there are still too many people ignoring CDC (and presidential) guidelines. I believe it would be in the states best interest to go on some sort of complete lock down. People should only be able to leave their homes for work or grocery shopping or other equally important errands. We have to put an end to ignorant people continuing to spring break and party. We have to do something to legitimately stop the spread of this virus. I might not know the specifics of how we should go about this, but I know that something has to happen. It’s infuriating that there are people not taking this seriously especially when there are people like me who can literally not go out without risking their health.

  2. Not A. Ravenclaw says:

    There are way too many people in the US who are still ignoring the announcements and guidelines set by the CDC. Their dismissiveness of the seriousness of this situation is quite infuriating, since there are so many people sacrificing their own time and lives to help others. The least we can do is follow the instructions that are asked of us.
    The government should find a more efficient way to enforce the rules because currently, people still aren’t taking social distancing and self-quarantine seriously.
    Many people take to social media platforms to get news and updates on COVID-19 without taking into consideration that not all information is true and from a reliable source. I know for a fact that my own mother falls for the ridiculous conspiracy theories that get sent in our family’s WhatsApp group chat. I cannot think of any ways to prevent the spreading of false news except to gently remind people to only listen to news from trusted sources.
    On a side note, I feel like these walls are closing in on me and I miss the sun.

  3. Alexandria R Kerr says:

    People are dying all across the country, yet people still refuse to take this seriously. The government in Mississippi took way to long to react to this pandemic, it took them way to long to put our state on lock down. On the 8th of March there was at least on known case of COVID-19 in Shelby County, Tennessee; as a resident of Desoto County, that meant that the virus was only separated by a state border. While Shelby County schools closed and other Tennessee counties schools neighboring Shelby closed, Desoto remained open despite the fact that we are literally the suburb of a major southern city that was infected, not to mention the fact that we are a literal 20 minute drive from an international airport. However, since we were in a different state, no preventative actions were taken place. It comes to no surprise that for a decent amount of the time that Mississippi has been infected, Desoto county had the highest number of cases and as been keeping a firm second place for the last week. I currently have 140 cases in my county, only behind Hinds county who has 169 cases. Hinds county may have more cases, but when taking population size into account, Desoto county has a higher morbidity rate than Hinds. Our state ordered a state-wide shelter-in-place a literal week ago. Nearly 60 people have died in our state as of writing this. These deaths are senseless. A close friend of my mother who lives in Mississippi got the virus. Her husband, who was also infected, was sent to the hospital and had to be put in a ventilator. She wasn’t allowed to see her dying husband. However, they were some of the lucky ones, she recovered and her husband is getting better. But, all of that trauma and pain could have been prevented if we just acted faster. No matter how bad this gets, people in the south refuse to listen and prefer to shamelessly endanger others. People refuse to stay at home, so that they can go to church. They think their god is worth the lives of others. Apparently talking to their imaginary friend in a fancy building is more valuable than my life, as I like many others have health issues that make me more more vulnerable than them. Nearly 60 people are dead in our state, but my neighbors think that it is a great time to have a party at their house. My life and the life of people I care about are being threatened because of others stupidity.

  4. Jordan Thompson says:

    I definitely do not think that they are doing all that needs to be done. By keeping some things open and closing others its still putting people at risk. Its like closing half of a swimming pool and keeping the other half open. It still spreads. Then the fact that governor Tate Reeves took time during this national pandemic to declare a month for confederate memorial? It is ridiculous. I also think that we are going to be released out of lockdown too soon after the peak and we will have to be in lockdown even longer. But we can just hope for them to do the right thing.

  5. Gracie Rowland says:

    First off, Birkenstocks, boogie board, and Kindle (or iBooks in my case).

    Second off, Mississippi state leaders have done a disgraceful job (what a shocker) concerning COVID-19. Our state, and every state, needs to be on, essentially, lockdown mode, meaning that quarantine is mandatory for everyone. Our current shelter in place order is not enough. If absolutely everyone were to be in mandatory quarantine for two entire weeks we could almost completely flatten the curve and wipe out this pandemic. Of course, no one wants to do that in the Capitol apparently, so now COVID-19 pandemic will most likely continue for months to come, harming millions in it fiery path of destruction.

    But what’s a few more thousand deaths when we can call gun stores “essential” and ban abortions (aka necessary healthcare) due to the state of emergency? Anything for personal agenda and finance I guess!

  6. Alexis Richardson says:

    At this point, the governor has closed down all schools for the rest of the semester, which I believed was needed. Going forward, I think we need to establish a mandatory quarantine, to where people do not leave their homes for unnecessary reasons. I think there are still some people not taking this virus as seriously as it needs to be taken. The United States currently has the most deaths by coronavirus than any other country, and that is because we didn’t take this virus seriously in the beginning. If we would’ve started quarantining when it first began to spread, instead of social distancing, then we would not have as many cases as we do. But that is in the past and we can’t change it, so going forward I believe we should just do our best to prevent it from spreading anymore by staying in our houses.

  7. Jane says:

    First, Chacos are disgusting and I literally forgot they existed until today, rafting seems fun, and a real book is superior in every single way.

    Second, yeah our government doesn’t seem to be doing so hot. There are some measures that have been taken which I believe is necessary–shutting down schools, issuing a stay-at home notice–but as a whole it truly seems like no one in our state/country is taking things seriously. Yeah there’s a lot of people who do stay at home and practice social distancing, but from looking at the news there’s an equal amount of people who are pressed over the idea and have outright to refuse government orders (in Michigan there was recently a protest on Capitol grounds over the governor’s recent decision to extend their stay-at home order). I have friends who still go out and party every day. The President recently suspended funding for the WHO and is hoping to reopen the country on May 1st (which is honestly such a irrational move). So while there have been measures to flatten the curve, it feels as though people haven’t taken it seriously enough. As Gracie mentioned, I think it’s really important for a mandatory quarantine to get people to really get into high gear and just stay at home.

    This is a blog for University English because I desperately need the quiz points

  8. Jack Standard says:

    First off, although I’m a strong advocate for technology and electronics, a physical book is much better than a kindle. Nothing can beat the smell of an old book with yellowed pages.

    Second, I’m confident that you can say the way our state governments have treated this is a textbook example of what not to do. I can’t help but be appalled at the delayed response Tate Reeves took with this matter. It does not help that our government seems to value the economy more than human lives. (I mean sure, without the corporate bribes, how else are they supposed to get through these times…) The stay at home order was a good idea, but it is hardly enforced, and for some reason a good portion of our state seem to barely even care if they spread it.
    I feel like focusing on the economy is a lost cause here, as it only symbolizes our incompetence as a state and a nation. We’re valuing stocks and attempting to stabilize the market when there are things that are magnitudes more important happening simultaneously. The state should be mandating the quarantine to stop the spread of the virus. The loss of human lives and capital should not be valued less than the economy. I mean, without people, what even is the point of the economy?

  9. Ethan Hill says:

    Replying to this blog weeks after the posting of it allows me an advantage as to how they actually have handled it. It chaotic and completely irresponsible. The virus is killing people and saying “its the flu” or “people die every day” is stupid. As a republican, you would think i would side with the views of “It’s a free country i shouldnt be locked up inside” but no, that is ignorant. If everyone would use their heads and stop being ignorant then we can return to life sooner than you think.

  10. Courtenay Sebastian says:

    I’m a little late to the discussion but still, I answer anyways. Neither, Boogie Board, a real book.

    Okay. so quarantine,,,,,,,,,,,, I hate it. I hate that we have to live like this. It’s awful, but it’s necessary. People are dying. I hate seeing the country like this. But Hopefully we will be able to go out into the world, but we won’t be able to with the way the officials are handling it. Just this week some restaurants have opened up and the nail salon in my town opened up. We are never going to flatten the curve at this rate!

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