Will We Social Distance Forever?

SteveG wrote: Logan wrote: Sorry for not quoting, Captcha issues, and I'd then want to snip posts more than I'd be comfortable with (hopefully people actually take the time to read through the threads -- I tend to like to read them in linear fashion). While my "Yes, we will social distance forever (which will make making babies a bigger chore than it already is). I predict long distance relationships to become the norm. Safe sex will be taken to a new level, it will now be phone and virtual reality sex, and done through instant messenger and through PA PMs -- so no change there. The very adventurous and fearless will do it in Hazmat suits. Babies will be grown in isolated bubbles for those that can afford it. Most will just have Tamagotchi babies..." et cetera, was hoping to get a smile (I rarely do that I know of, so I should stop trying, or trying too hard perhaps), I actually did in part have a film called Z.P.G. (Zero Population Growth) in mind, where due to extreme pollution and environmental degradation, it was made illegal to have children for one generation (I don't remember exactly how many years) and mothers were sort of given comfort baby dolls to soother them. Failure to comply resulted in the execution of the baby-makers and the child. The premise of the TV show in my avatar was that the world is overpopulated, this is dooming the planet, and drastic means are necessary to bring the numbers down. It is an unpopular opinion, but I also think that there are too many people on the planet, it's been growing uncontrollably, and something should be down about that. I've never been comfortable with abortion, and have been told I have no say in that, but I would like to see more birth control around the world, but I still rather would like to encourage the smartest to have children. There's a fun comedy film called Idiocracy where the premise is that the more thoughtful and professional people who plan end up having very few children, whereas the stupid end up having lots of children, which results in a dumbing down of the population. Of course there are a world of problems,abuse of power, and ethical issues there, and so I'm not saying that I support a eugenics/ selective breeding campaign even though I would like the species to improve itself (perhaps with gene editing it will, and it's hardly all about smarts). One could write ten thousand pages on that topic easily and still not cover enough ground to look at all the potential implications. I do think this planet could do with far less people, we're exploiting the planet. I haven't gone so far as to become an anti-natalist though, and am not nearly as misanthropic as some people I know. Hmm...I think that more babies may be born 9 months from now from those couples who are locked up together and lose their ability to practice birth control because of loss of healthcare coverage from unemployment, which has hit 6 million in the US alone. I hope I'm wrong Greg. This is a terrible time bring unwanted children into our pandemic world.

That's a very good and worrying point.

Some noodling: I'd like it if he governments would discuss this issue, and maybe send out free birth control (Trojan Man could become the US mascot), but I wouldn't expect it (religious dogma and pandering to religions is one of the impediments). I feel lucky to live in Canada where we have universal health care, but accessing that health care now presents problems.

At the least I hope this causes more people to realise that something needs to change. I might have thought climate change would have already had that effect, but it seems most people continue with their bad habits when it comes to overconsumption -- an economy based on the "overproduction" and overconsumption of goods, and where greed, and getting ahead of everyone else at the expense of others commonly, is seen by many as a sort of virtue or positive quality (more something to be envied than abhorred).

Edited by Logan - April 02 2020 at 09:26

SteveG wrote: Logan wrote: SteveG wrote: Logan wrote: Sorry for not quoting, Captcha issues, and I'd then want to snip posts more than I'd be comfortable with (hopefully people actually take the time to read through the threads -- I tend to like to read them in linear fashion). While my "Yes, we will social distance forever (which will make making babies a bigger chore than it already is). I predict long distance relationships to become the norm. Safe sex will be taken to a new level, it will now be phone and virtual reality sex, and done through instant messenger and through PA PMs -- so no change there. The very adventurous and fearless will do it in Hazmat suits. Babies will be grown in isolated bubbles for those that can afford it. Most will just have Tamagotchi babies..." et cetera, was hoping to get a smile (I rarely do that I know of, so I should stop trying, or trying too hard perhaps), I actually did in part have a film called Z.P.G. (Zero Population Growth) in mind, where due to extreme pollution and environmental degradation, it was made illegal to have children for one generation (I don't remember exactly how many years) and mothers were sort of given comfort baby dolls to soother them. Failure to comply resulted in the execution of the baby-makers and the child. The premise of the TV show in my avatar was that the world is overpopulated, this is dooming the planet, and drastic means are necessary to bring the numbers down. It is an unpopular opinion, but I also think that there are too many people on the planet, it's been growing uncontrollably, and something should be down about that. I've never been comfortable with abortion, and have been told I have no say in that, but I would like to see more birth control around the world, but I still rather would like to encourage the smartest to have children. There's a fun comedy film called Idiocracy where the premise is that the more thoughtful and professional people who plan end up having very few children, whereas the stupid end up having lots of children, which results in a dumbing down of the population. Of course there are a world of problems,abuse of power, and ethical issues there, and so I'm not saying that I support a eugenics/ selective breeding campaign even though I would like the species to improve itself (perhaps with gene editing it will, and it's hardly all about smarts). One could write ten thousand pages on that topic easily and still not cover enough ground to look at all the potential implications. I do think this planet could do with far less people, we're exploiting the planet. I haven't gone so far as to become an anti-natalist though, and am not nearly as misanthropic as some people I know. Hmm...I think that more babies may be born 9 months from now from those couples who are locked up together and lose their ability to practice birth control because of loss of healthcare coverage from unemployment, which has hit 6 million in the US alone. I hope I'm wrong Greg. This is a terrible time bring unwanted children into our pandemic world. That's a very good and worrying point. Some noodling: I'd like it if he governments would discuss this issue, and maybe send out free birth control (Trojan Man could become the US mascot), but I wouldn't expect it (religious dogma and pandering to religions is one of the impediments). I feel lucky to live in Canada where we have universal health care, but accessing that health care now presents problems. At the least I hope this causes more people to realise that something needs to change. I might have thought climate change would have already had that effect, but it seems most people continue with their bad habits when it comes to overconsumption -- an economy based on the "overproduction" and overconsumption of goods, and where greed, and getting ahead of everyone else at the expense of others commonly, is seen by many as a sort of virtue or positive quality (more something to be envied than abhorred). With Trump and Pence pandering to right wing evangelicals, I think that would be undoable.

Indeed, and that was very much in my mind. So don't expect the propaganda campaign of "Uncle Sam Needs You!" to be replaced with "Uncle Johnny Needs You and Your Willy!" or "Don't be a dick, cover that prick", or "A Patriotic Penis is a Sheaved Penis" And certainly not a gov't ad campaign along the lines of "Rubbers save lives by preventing lives."

Edited by Logan - April 02 2020 at 10:12

Yes, this virus will be responsible for many alcohol related casualties, I'm afraid.

MortSahlFan wrote: SteveG wrote: Logan wrote: SteveG wrote: Logan wrote: Sorry for not quoting, Captcha issues, and I'd then want to snip posts more than I'd be comfortable with (hopefully people actually take the time to read through the threads -- I tend to like to read them in linear fashion). While my "Yes, we will social distance forever (which will make making babies a bigger chore than it already is). I predict long distance relationships to become the norm. Safe sex will be taken to a new level, it will now be phone and virtual reality sex, and done through instant messenger and through PA PMs -- so no change there. The very adventurous and fearless will do it in Hazmat suits. Babies will be grown in isolated bubbles for those that can afford it. Most will just have Tamagotchi babies..." et cetera, was hoping to get a smile (I rarely do that I know of, so I should stop trying, or trying too hard perhaps), I actually did in part have a film called Z.P.G. (Zero Population Growth) in mind, where due to extreme pollution and environmental degradation, it was made illegal to have children for one generation (I don't remember exactly how many years) and mothers were sort of given comfort baby dolls to soother them. Failure to comply resulted in the execution of the baby-makers and the child. The premise of the TV show in my avatar was that the world is overpopulated, this is dooming the planet, and drastic means are necessary to bring the numbers down. It is an unpopular opinion, but I also think that there are too many people on the planet, it's been growing uncontrollably, and something should be down about that. I've never been comfortable with abortion, and have been told I have no say in that, but I would like to see more birth control around the world, but I still rather would like to encourage the smartest to have children. There's a fun comedy film called Idiocracy where the premise is that the more thoughtful and professional people who plan end up having very few children, whereas the stupid end up having lots of children, which results in a dumbing down of the population. Of course there are a world of problems,abuse of power, and ethical issues there, and so I'm not saying that I support a eugenics/ selective breeding campaign even though I would like the species to improve itself (perhaps with gene editing it will, and it's hardly all about smarts). One could write ten thousand pages on that topic easily and still not cover enough ground to look at all the potential implications. I do think this planet could do with far less people, we're exploiting the planet. I haven't gone so far as to become an anti-natalist though, and am not nearly as misanthropic as some people I know. Hmm...I think that more babies may be born 9 months from now from those couples who are locked up together and lose their ability to practice birth control because of loss of healthcare coverage from unemployment, which has hit 6 million in the US alone. I hope I'm wrong Greg. This is a terrible time bring unwanted children into our pandemic world. That's a very good and worrying point. Some noodling: I'd like it if he governments would discuss this issue, and maybe send out free birth control (Trojan Man could become the US mascot), but I wouldn't expect it (religious dogma and pandering to religions is one of the impediments). I feel lucky to live in Canada where we have universal health care, but accessing that health care now presents problems. At the least I hope this causes more people to realise that something needs to change. I might have thought climate change would have already had that effect, but it seems most people continue with their bad habits when it comes to overconsumption -- an economy based on the "overproduction" and overconsumption of goods, and where greed, and getting ahead of everyone else at the expense of others commonly, is seen by many as a sort of virtue or positive quality (more something to be envied than abhorred). With Trump and Pence pandering to right wing evangelicals, I think that would be undoable. Unfortunately, many say "So hows Medicare-4-All working in Europe, especially Italy and Spain" Some people will never understood nuance. Correlation is NOT causality.

But that's to be expected. It's the opposite argument of Dems saying "I thought you hated socialism" when republicans say they're happy about getting their government bailout checks issued to prop up the economy. Just politics. 

As long as it’s not from the opposite sex 😛

Edited by Tom Ozric - April 04 2020 at 15:54

^the so called 'Spanish Flu' outbreak back in 1918 was the biggest killer before - about 50-100 million people lost their lives.

"Will we social distance forever?" - No, of course not.

We are social creatures, and being social is part of our DNA.

There have been plagues and pandemics throughout human history, but they have never stopped us returning to our social instincts.

There may be a period of re-adjustment once the virus has passed, but, in ten years time, we will be socialising just like we always have done.

Chaser wrote: "Will we social distance forever?" - No, of course not. We are social creatures, and being social is part of our DNA. There have been plagues and pandemics throughout human history, but they have never stopped us returning to our social instincts. There may be a period of re-adjustment once the virus has passed, but, in ten years time, we will be socialising just like we always have done.

It definitely will change the outlook of rock lyricists....