What do they buy? No, they are just a suck on the economy, lying around in hospital beds and using expensive ventilators. Next, they'll be asking Jared to use his private stock of American ventilators that aren't for state use. Perhaps Cuomo sees students and teachers the same way as sick and dead consumers--a drag on the economy.
HEPA filters aren't just things from expensive vacuum cleaners. They actually reduce the presence of Covid 19 in the air. So you just know that these consumers will be returning to JC Penney to buy yet another 39-dollar polyester Cricketeer suit when the next wedding comes around in 2022 or so.
New Jersey isn't requiring this because it's, well, New Jersey. But Cuomo is really concerned about NY malls, among other things. He's also worried about the way people fail to comply with social distancing and mask wearing. That's a valid concern. Every day I walk out and see people with no masks. I see them in outdoor bars and restaurants. I see employees who can't be bothered pulling the masks over their noses.
And hey, in a country where the President of the United States doesn't wear a mask, where people will fight Walmart greeters rather than comply, a country where some people think it's their basic constitutional right to spread their germs everywhere, it's a concern. There are an awful lot of people who won't comply.
Among them are almost certainly our students. Young people are remarkably social, and with terrible adult role models everywhere I go, I don't envision them respecting social distancing, let alone masks. Of course it won't likely be them getting sick. It will more likely be the adults with whom they come into contact. That would be their parents, grandparents, and teachers.
There are ways to use school buildings safely and productively. We've seen this for months as children of first responders were cared for. There's also a huge need for babysitting services, which alas we do not provide. Popular perception may indicate otherwise, but it's simply a by product of what we actually do that kids stay with us.
Were school buildings to open, a lot of teachers wouldn't go back due to medical conditions. If you have allergies, it's too risky to get a deadly disease. If you have diabetes, it's too risky to get a deadly disease. Here's my question--when is it not too risky to get a deadly disease?
Given the fact that Covid hasn't finished with us, and given the outbreaks all over the country, including parts of New York, I have to wonder exactly who it is who can afford to risk deadly disease. Who can risk it for their loved ones?
There is a silver lining to the fact that we're so inept, and that's the increasing possibility we won't open the buildings. If we do, however, it will be a monument to the criminal indifference of the governor, the mayor, and the chancellor, all of whom should know better.
If you need a barometer, here's one. Broadway isn't planning to open until January. I fail to see why theatergoers should be any better protected than students and staff at public schools. I fail to see why malls need better protection than public schools.
We'll soon know whether the governor and mayor share those priorities.
Posts
