What you deride as “caring”, most people call “obeying the law:”
Don’t travel more than 120 miles from your home, don’t mix households, quarantine if you come from outside the area, and avoid non-essential activity, such as driving to a horse show.
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For what it’s worth, JFK Memorial in Indio, which I believe is the closest hospital to Thermal, is showing (as of Jan 8):
100% adult inpatient beds in use 110/110
76.7% ICU beds in use 18.4/24 (7 day average, thus the .4 of a bed in use).
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An odd segue. Not sure how we got from doctors to teachers, let alone via a comment about passing boards. Could have been a whack at me or any of the other teachers/professors that post here.
I’ve had some great teachers and academic mentors over the years: people who encouraged my interest in science, convinced me to go to grad school, and led by example. There were also a few rebels along the way like the woman who taught our first-grade class about dinosaurs despite the fact that it wasn’t in the curriculum or the high school English teacher who made a point of having us read non-traditional books. Then there was the brave soul who took a class of sixth graders to the tide pools—let’s just say it was a very soggy trip back on the bus.
Likewise I hope I’ve made a difference to at least some of my students. They tell me I have, and it’s not just the ones who want reference letters. Sometimes it’s just listening. To bring this back to medicine, there are a lot of physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and a handful of veterinarians out there that passed through my OChem classes over the years.
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The classic South Bay field trip!
One English teacher I had in 10th grade set the course of my life. She was well past retirement age when she taught me and died before I could thank her years later when I realized what she’d done for me.
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Write me a check for $50k?
Other than that, be responsible. Do your part in keeping this thing in check. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Keep a reasonable distance from others. Avoid unnecessary gatherings. In short, do your best to keep your Target cashier & your restaurant server & your hair stylist, etc healthy. Because it isn’t enough to just keep places of business open. That does the individual workers no good when they don’t get paid sick leave & are forced to take 3-4 weeks (or more) off with Covid.
Which brings me to my second point. Will Covid kill most people who get it? No. Does that mean that everything will be hunky dory for those people? Oh HELL NO. We now know it causes significant, long term heart and lung damage in many patients who recover. As someone who went from athletic enough to compete in jiu jitsu PanAms to unable to sprint 50’ thanks to Lyme disease, I can tell you heart & lung stuff is terrifying & debilitating. And I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I’m tired of hearing the argument that it is only “the vulnerable” that need to worry. And that they can just stay home. The “vulnerable” are not who people making this argument imagine them to be. They might be shocked to learn that the one person I know who nearly died from Covid isn’t an 80yo. He’s 35yo, former Army Infantry. Wrestler. Strong as an ox & no prexisting conditions. He was in the ICU for 2 weeks needing multiple plasma transfusions. His wife, 2yo, and newborn also had it. Fortunately, they did not require hospitalization.
To my third point for all the “it isn’t that bad in hospitals” people. My best friend is an ICU nurse at one of the largest Level 1 hospitals in the state. They have quietly suspended transfers & diverts. In hospital disaster management planning, 10% of capacity taken up by any one thing (flu, mass casualty incident, covid) is recognized as straining a hospital. Around 20% is considered the breakdown point. Our local little podunk hospital is quietly sitting at 50% capacity taken up with covid. But they currently can’t divert or transfer to 2 of the 3 Level 1 hospitals here.
At all of these hospitals, staff is pulled en mass from non-emergent departments. Patients are parked in non-staffed beds & even staff with Covid are not allowed to call in sick. Nurses are racing back & forth circulating equipment like the specialized dialysis machines for septic patients & CRRTs between patients. Oxygen tank pressure falters as utilization exceeds the physical plant capacity. Last spring, friend’s hospital ran out of: 1) syringes 2) fentynol 3) blood products 4) hand sanitizer 5) PPE
So, it isn’t just Covid patients this effects. It is everyone.
And let’s face it. Most of us will need major emergency and/or ICU services at least once in our lives. Have horse shows. I actually think that’s ok. But 1) limit the # of non-essential people in attendance. Do you really need a braider? Is anyone going to die if Dobbin’s mane isn’t perfect? Relax the rules here a bit, folks. 2) Consider resceduling or relocating big shows to coordinate with the state of local medical facilities.
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Having concern about people being cavalier toward others’ lives and making that concern public is not virtue signaling. That’s a silly phrase that is often meant to shame people for something the shamer thinks isn’t worth caring about. Like other people, apparently.
I’ve never understood the “those who can’t, teach” thing. As someone else said, where would any of us be without teachers? How would those who “do” get there in the first place? I’m a professor and I teach (and do research) because I’m really fricking good at it. I send my students out into the world with lots of useful tools and critical thinking skills that help them pursue all sorts of life paths. I get very tired of the hatred toward academia and those within it in this country sometimes. It’s ridiculous to dislike those who produce and spread knowledge and yet, here we are.
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Hehe. The “those who can’t do, teach” thing does not apply to higher education. I don’t know who TF thinks professors aren’t also doing research/expanding knowledge in their field. As a matter of fact, research is the main job; teaching is what you do to keep the lights on.
Perhaps we are hearing about what teachers do from those who have eschewed education? If so, y’all might want to check your source for that information.
Same goes for the very wealthy who say “Sorry, but I’m a Capitalists” and, not to be complete monsters, explain that they will contribute to the economy by employing people who will step into harm’s way so that they can have well turned-out horses at a horse show. Ever heard the phrase, “One’s consciousness is determined by one’s relationship to the means of production”? I don’t think it’s fair or even possible to pretend that being a Capitalist is some pure philosophical choice while you are enjoying the long end of that stick.
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I don’t think it applies to anyone who teaches anything 
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It is important to point out that in the humanities, many professors nowadays are unable to do any research because they are not in tenured or tenure-track positions. Instead, they are typically in low-paying lectureships and adjunct positions with zero job security teaching a 4/4 teaching load (8 classes per academic year). I am in my 40s. I believe I am among the last generation of humanities academics to have research as a significant portion of my job and writing books and other publications as essential for tenure and promotion. When I got my current job, there were two tenure-track positions in my field with over 100 applicants for each one. I consider having gotten one of those positions equivalent to hitting the jackpot. Universities are becoming corporations increasingly focused on privileging butts in seats classes. Our university president is hugely unpopular with the faculty for this reason. I work about 65 hours/week doing teaching, research and administrative work, but I am lucky as a pig with a bunch of poop to roll in.
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Horse shows are absolutely non essential. Luxury competitions for luxury pets.
What I find perturbing about big horse shows during these times, is the disregard for the grooms / barn help. These employees are very often without traditional leave benefits (or even legal employment protections). So if the grooms get COVID because their employers dragged them off to an infection hotspot, are they getting paid while they are sick and in quarantine???
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Apparently some people don’t care as long as they can keep living their best lives, even at the expense of others 
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Oh that’s right, it’s all about me me me.
Humph.
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Oh, we are doing research, we simply aren’t compensated for it.
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You’re missing the point. Richie Rich doesn’t WANT to show. He’s doing it FOR HIS GROOM, dontcha’ know. I mean, Richie would rather be off volunteering in a soup kitchen or knitting scarves for the homeless but since those grooms and braiders just CANNOT LIVE unless Prancy Pony shows in Cali, Richie HAS to go show on the Desert Circuit.
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It’s all coming clear for me now! Obviously the stable lad is eagerly awaiting his chance to see the sights at the big show and isn’t the least bit concerned with increased work hours, lack of sleep, dubious living quarters or bringing COVID home to his grandmother he lives with due to his sub poverty line wages!!!
It will all be worth it to see Prancing Pony Pants get a tri color!
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It would be an HONOR for him to lay down his life if it means Prancing Pony might wear a tricolor. He lives for no other reason but to serve.
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This thread’s participants in no way, shape, or form represent ANY of the hunter jumper competition crowd that I’m around, and I’m at probably one of the largest HJ barns on the west coast.
And that includes the covid crazies that wear masks by themselves in their car.
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We stand in awe. 
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Which participants? There’s a range here.
I can see wearing a mask if in your car by yourself if you’re making a series of stops or are between two places where you need to wear a mask with a short trip between. Easier to keep the thing on and less likely that you’ll forget to put it back on. Or if you’ve just dropped someone off and there could still be infectious droplets about.
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Oh brother.
This is hysterical really.
Dude, the barn your daughter rides at is certainly not one of the largest barns on the West Coast.
Not even the largest barn in NorCal.
Get a grip.
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