At the risk of making this thread political, I’ll point out that it is possible and effective to get life back to normal fairly quickly IF the government imposes uniform, severe restrictions, IF people abide by them, and IF the government provides significant financial support to businesses and individuals to help them weather the crisis.
It has been done successfully in other countries with minimal loss of life and their economies are rebounding quickly, except in the hardest hit sectors like tourism.
But, I want to add that, the idea of “partially opening” with strict limitations is still less than ideal. For small businesses in particular, those limitations may not be any better than being closed completely.
My brother and sister-in-law had a wildly successful DIY shop. They started a few years ago with custom wood ribbon displays , branched out to add custom wood home decor items, it really took off, and they opened a DIY shop where you can go in and make the items yourself, they provide everything you need. They were doing incredible, considering a second shop, then COVID hit. They temporarily closed the shop, but were able to continue selling their pre-made custom items online as they’d done before the shop. Restrictions were partially lifted, they could reopen with groups maxed at six people, no walk-Ins, etc. The overhead cost (rent, electricity, etc.) of opening the shop back up in that capacity would have had them still losing money, so they just closed the shop for good and ended their lease of that space. I imagine the same issue would hold true for a lot of small businesses, especially dine-in restaurants.
IMO, the only viable solution is a government supplied income and people STAY HOME.
And that’s a whole lotta IFs to start telling Suzie tough nuts, you’re SOL, hope you enjoy that foreclosure.
I’m empathetic to all involved here. A balance has to be found, and keeping Suzie from opening her business while Target is up and running when 99% of what they sell we don’t need is ridiculous.
I know. It sucks. Some business are not going to make it. And it’s not fair because the owners didn’t cause the pandemic and it’s not their fault that they can’t esaily pivot to another method of making money (a bakery near me is making MORE money taking pre-orders and selling kits than they did with walk in business, but that’s pure LUCK that bored people at home want more treats and want to ice their own cupcakes). It’s hard to imagine a government with good infrastructure falling on its face more absolutely than we just lived through-- but that’s what happened.
There are winners and loses. This has been GOOD for some business (Amazon, Zoom, Instacart, for example). Terrible for others.
And it is some BS that Target/Walmart is open (because technically they have food items so can pass for a grocery store) and arguably similar small business are not. Then, on the other hand, there probably are some places where people are limited in getting food and do rely on Target or Walmart or similar. There aer gray areas worth considering. If the pottery studio really CAN do it safely, it’s worth considering how to allow it to stay open. But let’s not pretend a pottery studio is a school or hospital or that these things are all equal. It’s just not.
We know people are going to get hurt at horse shows. We pay for an EMT on the grounds. Encouraging people to fly to a place where hospitals are at capacity, to do a sport where people get hurt, just isn’t a gray area IMHO. Some version of showing is. But people flying to a place with significant community spread where hospitals are at capacity is not that “can we do this and do it safely and ethically” version of showing.
People who are doing this for the little guys and are so sure it’s safe should put their money where their mouth is and agree to pay all medical (and funeral costs) for any groom/braider they employ who either contracts COVID or has to go to the ER for another reason during the show.
Relating to this topic we never showed in places we had concerns regarding the welfare and safety of us or our horses. Also there were specific judges who we would not enter under.
That said, if you have worries just do not enter or attend those shows.
There have been ongoing and ever present danger that have always been there. I once had my ten year old daughter return to the stabling at a Class A show from the warm up ring, asked what’s going on since she had a class she responded that the other riders were not safe and she was not going to subject her horse to those riders. We taught our kids from day one that it is their responsibility to look out for their mounts and their safety.
If you are concerned and feel unsafe just do not attend.
Are you seriously trying to compare a pandemic that is killing someone every 8 minutes in LA county to the “clear and ever present danger” of riders not controlling their horses well?
This is not ordinary, not the normal risk / benefit we all have to calculate when riding, when showing, etc. This is a crisis the likes of which Americans haven’t faced since WWII. It affects everyone.
It’s not just about keeping yourself safe, or doing what you personally feel comfortable with. It’s about doing what’s best for everyone, doing what’s effective in stopping the virus from spreading.
In the long run here is the answer.
If you don’t feel safe don’t go. Why the discussion ? Don’t go to the grocery, Walmart or any other enclosed space. If you don’t feel safe don’t go outside.
But please take care of yourself and stop worrying about other people. We are all adults here and have free choice. At least for another week.
Horse shows in Florida are packed. Maybe if California shuts down again all those little people will just fade away and self righteous-ness can go away. Keep complaining. Horse shows can go away as well.
This is the exact way of thinking which is why the USA is in the state it is in, pandemic and otherwise. Zero sense of community nor any GAF about anyone other than yourself.
I wonder statistically how many people end up in the ER per circuit for horse-related injuries/conditions? A lot of people probably don’t even consider this.
A year or two ago at WEF, I was walking by the EMTs on my way out at the end of the day. Just out of curiosity, I asked them how often somebody left the show in a helicopter. They said on average it happened once a day. EVERY DAY.
And those are just the ones who left in a helicopter. Never mind the ones who just left in an ambulance. Or the ones who left on their own, but decided they needed medical attention later that day or afterwards.
The pandemic has revealed very plainly who the kids were who used to pee in the pool. Their personal freedom is more important than other people’s health. If you don’t like their urine, stay out of the pool.
I am curious, what does everyone think the end game is here? COVID-19 is expected to be around with us forever, like the flu. The vaccine will not make the virus go away like polio. Do you shut everything down for the flu that kills people every year? Do we shut everything down forever? Do you expect the government to pay for everyone’s subsistence in perpetuity because the global economy is in the toilet? And how many future generations will be need to be paying for this government spending?
The end game is to control the spread, protect the health care systems and minimize the loss of life and long term disabilities as much as possible until herd immunity is achieved. That is possible within 1-2 years if 70-80% of Americans get vaccinated. So within less than 24 months this virus could indeed become no more serious than the flu - with extra precautions needed to protect the most vulnerable and isolated lockdowns of hospitals and nursing homes during outbreaks in facilities, but most people well-protected enough that contracting the virus is no more than a mild inconvenience.
The end game is to save hundreds of thousands of lives over the next year or so - seems like a pretty reasonable goal to me.
Or, Americans could choose to accept nationwide, super strict restrictions like the ones enacted in China or Australia, and be back to relatively normal within a few months, but we all know that’s never going to happen.
Right now we have the equivalent of a large brush fire that’s rapidly approaching the barn. Do you throw a bucket of water on it or use what time you have to evacuate?
The goal with vaccinations and slowing things down a bit is to slow down and contain the spread. Little fires will pop up but those can be dealt with far more easily. Going forward what we’ll hopefully be dealing with is the aftermath of a fire where you have people walking the area to look for smoldering brush so they can deal with it before it becomes a bigger problem.
