Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[Chi84]

In the other thread where the people banned from this thread post now there was a several page debate with a handful of people insisting that this is no longer an epidemic. They were serious too. So there’s that...but I know that’s not what you meant

Then why respond?

 

[Casper Gutman]

Then why respond?

Because misinformation denying the depth and danger of the pandemic can have negative ramifications, even if posts on a board like this play only a very minor part. People are desperate for comfort and a return to normalcy, and any misinformation that seems to offer that is incredibly enticing - and that can cause people to behave in ways that prolong and deepen the crisis.

Social media - even these boards - offers people a range of information. Some is credible, some is not. But not everyone has the time, or the desire, or the ability, to winnow out the good information from the bad. So countering as much bad information with good, even on a WDW theme park board, is important.

 

[wdisney9000]

realize many of you who argue that it's not that bad just want to get things back to normal.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Nobody is saying "it's not bad". And most people arent clamoring for , "get back to normal". They're just not assuming it's the end of the world. You're creating a straw man.

 

[Andrew C]

@GoofGoof I received an email this evening from the superintendent of my kids school district. We have three options for next year. We are required to select one. Two are virtual models and one is in-person at the school. I’m thankful they were able to offer these.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Nothing could be further from the truth. Nobody is saying "it's not bad". And most people arent clamoring for , "get back to normal". They're just not assuming it's the end of the world. You're creating a straw man.

Nobody is saying it’s the end of the world. Some are saying we should take things slow and listen to scientists and doctors and follow the examples of countries like New Zealand.

Which part of that do you disagree with?

 

[Chi84]

Because misinformation denying the depth and danger of the pandemic can have negative ramifications, even if posts on a board like this play only a very minor part. People are desperate for comfort and a return to normalcy, and any misinformation that seems to offer that is incredibly enticing - and that can cause people to behave in ways that prolong and deepen the crisis.

Social media - even these boards - offers people a range of information. Some is credible, some is not. But not everyone has the time, or the desire, or the ability, to winnow out the good information from the bad. So countering as much bad information with good, even on a WDW theme park board, is important.

Nobody’s coming here for news about Covid. And if they were, the misinformation is coming from all sides and angles so they’re not getting anything valuable.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Nobody’s coming here for news about Covid. And if they were, the misinformation is coming from all sides and angles.

But the constant deluge of pandemic misinformation, even at places where it has no place, is a big part of the problem. It's prevalent, and that makes it seem more credible and normalizes it.

And no, misinformation is overwhelmingly come from one particular side. Claiming otherwise is another attempt to obfuscate - "Well, we can't really know the truth, so we might as well just return to normal and ignore experts."

 

[Chi84]

But the constant deluge of pandemic misinformation, even at places where it has no place, is a big part of the problem. It's prevalent, and that makes it seem more credible and normalizes it.

And no, misinformation is overwhelmingly come from one particular side. Claiming otherwise is another attempt to obfuscate - "Well, we can't really know the truth, so we might as well just return to normal and ignore experts."

I’ll bet that’s the side you don’t agree with. Claiming otherwise is not saying to ignore the experts. It’s saying to listen to them.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I’ll bet that’s the side you don’t agree with.

You're right, I don't agree with the side that's spreading misinformation, ignoring the crisis, and making things worse. Ya got me.

Sometimes, there aren't two valid sides.

 

[milordsloth]

Nobody is saying it’s the end of the world. Some are saying we should take things slow and listen to scientists and doctors and follow the examples of countries like New Zealand.

Which part of that do you disagree with?

Nothing wrong with taking things slow, although the exact definition of "slow" could be debated. I mostly want to just repeat that what works/worked for a small island nation of a few million people is not an appropriate example for a country the size of the US.

 

[Chi84]

You're right, I don't agree with the side that's spreading misinformation, ignoring the crisis, and making things worse. Ya got me.

Sometimes, there aren't two valid sides.

Some people think that’s always the case.

 

[Andrew C]

You're right, I don't agree with the side that's spreading misinformation, ignoring the crisis, and making things worse. Ya got me.

Sometimes, there aren't two valid sides.

Sometimes, I don’t want to take sides. I just want to absorb information and reach conclusions wherever they fall.

 

[Chi84]

Sometimes, I don’t want to take sides. I just want to absorb information and reach conclusions wherever they fall.

Here, you’re apparently assigned a side whether you want it or not.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I’ll bet that’s the side you don’t agree with. Claiming otherwise is not saying to ignore the experts. It’s saying to listen to them.

What is the point of using scare quotes around the word ‘expert‘ if not to discredit them?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I mostly want to just repeat that what works/worked for a small island nation of a few million people is not an appropriate example for a country the size of the US.

Why not? What did New Zealand do that is impossible for the USA to do?

Actually stop... don’t answer.

Can we agree that New Zealand handled it better than the USA? So shouldn’t we want to do everything we can to be more like them?

 

[GoofGoof]

@GoofGoof I received an email this evening from the superintendent of my kids school district. We have three options for next year. We are required to select one. Two are virtual models and one is in-person at the school. I’m thankful they were able to offer these.

Last I heard they were leaning towards a hybrid approach by me with half the kids in classrooms and half virtual each day. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I did also hear through the rumor mill that the janitors and administrators were in the schools figuring out how to space desks far enough apart so they are definitely at least planning to start with some level of live instruction. I’m hoping they end up just doing one or the other but spacing seems to be the big concern. We have a while to go since we don’t go back until after Labor Day. The case numbers right now are looking good (around 30 cases a day for a county of 800K), but a lot could change by then.

 

[milordsloth]

Why not? What did New Zealand do that is impossible for the USA to do?

Actually stop... don’t answer.

Can we agree that New Zealand handled it better than the USA? So shouldn’t we want to do everything we can to be more like them?

I'm going to give the obvious answer anyway. They were able to shut down ALL travel into and within the country super early in the situation. Easy for a very small island nation and probably the best way I can imagine to quickly stop the spread before it gets out of hand.

ETA: Hawaii could be compared to New Zealand, since they are an island and could shut down travel relatively easily.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

I need to stop popping in at 10 pm to see what’s going on.

 

[oceanbreeze77]

I'm going to give the obvious answer anyway. They were able to shut down ALL travel into and within the country super early in the situation. Easy for a very small island nation and probably the best way I can imagine to quickly stop the spread before it gets out of hand.

we could have too. We just chose not to.

Why not? What did New Zealand do that is impossible for the USA to do?

Actually stop... don’t answer.

Can we agree that New Zealand handled it better than the USA? So shouldn’t we want to do everything we can to be more like them?

The fact of the matter is we are probably the only first world country who completely fumbled the ball at controlling it. Yes Italy, Spain, etc had a really tough time, but they got control over it.

We had 6 months to prepare for this moment. Our country is 6 months into the pandemic and we STILL dont have enough PPE, Tests, ventilators, and other important resources. It's just astonishing.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Here, you’re apparently assigned a side whether you want it or not.

Not every issue has two valid sides.

If someone posts “In the USA, a red stoplight means go faster,” that is not a valid perspective on an issue. It is misinformation, even if they find a badly written quotation taken out of context from a minuscule local paper in rural Montana to support it.

And if almost every valid expert is saying broadly the same thing and you give that the same weight as random, poorly sourced opinions from anonymous internet posters, you are not just “hearing from all sides.” You are looking for a way to justify, “welp, guess we can’t be sure, might as well do what I want and not make unpleasant choices.” That’s a side.