unintended impacts of quarrantines. One good! One bad!

The good one : One of the unintended but positive impacts of this quarantine, is that with everyone sitting at home, we have fewer medical emergencies that are not virus related. Fewer accidents on the way to work, fewer accidents at work. Fewer sports played means fewer fractures, falls, and stressors that induce a hospital stay, a hospital bed and/ or the use of resources . Fewer doctor appointments and consultations mean fewer non emergent surgeries are scheduled, and hip replacements, hysterectomies, cosmetic surgeries laporascopic procedures,xrays, MRIs, etc mean fewer gloves, gowns etc are sitting in waste bins.

Not to mention all those being used at your dentist and orthodontists office. Yeah unintended impacts in a quarantine!

On the other hand, we are going to start seeing a rise in violent crime with the loss of legal income and all that spare time among young people twiddling their thumbs in a low rent apartment. Do crime rates fall or grow in summers when school is out and no team sports or clubs to fill the gap? Drug and alcohol use will rise while legitimate methods of paying for it will shrink. as well as overdoses and alcohol poisoning cases will multiply. Burglary, theft, and gang related activity will skyrocket as homelessness, desperation and hunger add fuel and thus begat gunshot, stab wounds and beating and guess where those gloves, masks and gowns we saved go?

You think that 1200 dollar check is going to keep that refrigerator full and that heat going for long? How long do you think an 18 year old frustrated unemployed kid is going to paint, draw, do video games and watch Netflix? The family that sits around together in tight quarters day after day after day, and day do NOT bond in loving devotion. They hit each other! Domestic violence is the next cat out of the bag.

Fear, boredome, stress and poverty are not long term allies of the local police department. Boo unintended impacts of a quarantine.

btthegreat said:

The good one : One of the unintended but positive impacts of this quarantine, is that with everyone sitting at home, we have fewer medical emergencies that are not virus related. Fewer accidents on the way to work, fewer accidents at work. Fewer sports played means fewer fractures, falls, and stressors that induce a hospital stay, a hospital bed and/ or the use of resources . Fewer doctor appointments and consultations mean fewer non emergent surgeries are scheduled, and hip replacements, hysterectomies, cosmetic surgeries laporascopic procedures,xrays, MRIs, etc mean fewer gloves, gowns etc are sitting in waste bins.

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Well, yes. Leaving your front door does expose you to greater risks. Of these, however, I would say that lack of traffic due to people being able to do their jobs just as well from home is a change that I hope takes.

Not to mention all those being used at your dentist and orthodontists office. Yeah unintended impacts in a quarantine!

btthegreat said:

On the other hand, we are going to start seeing a rise in violent crime with the loss of legal income and all that spare time among young people twiddling their thumbs in a low rent apartment. Do crime rates fall or grow in summers when school is out? Drug and alcohol use will rise while legitimate methods of paying for it will shrink. as well as overdoses and alcohol poisoning cases will multiply. Burglary, theft, and gang related activity will skyrocket as homelessness, desperation and hunger add fuel and thus begat gunshot, stab wounds and beating and guess where those gloves, masks and gowns we saved go?

You think that 1200 dollar check is going to keep that refrigerator full and that heat going for long? How long do you think an 18 year old frustrated unemployed kid is going to paint, draw, do video games and watch Netflix? The family that sits around together in tight quarters day after day after day, and day do NOT bond in loving devotion. They hit each other! Domestic violence is the next cat out of the bag. Fear, boredome, stress and poverty are not long term allies of the local police department. Boo unintended impacts of a quarantine.

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Here's what I've noticed: the alcohol is finally starting to disappear from the supermarkets. Seems that people have finally figured out that being quarantined with their family members for weeks at a time is made infinitely easier with the ol' liquid courage.

I foresee Jack Torrance a la The Shining situations making their appearance in the news fairly soon. Increasingly anxious, claustrophobic family members and alcohol make a toxic combination.

Cardinal said:

I foresee Jack Torrance a la The Shining situations making their appearance in the news fairly soon. Increasingly anxious, claustrophobic family members and alcohol make a toxic combination.

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You mean a "Delbert Grady" situation?

"I corrected her."

Checkerboard Strangler said:

You mean a "Delbert Grady" situation?

"I corrected her."

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Ooh, I just got out-nerded.

You win.

Cardinal said:

Well, yes. Leaving your front door does expose you to greater risks. Of these, however, I would say that lack of traffic due to people being able to do their jobs just as well from home is a change that I hope takes.

Not to mention all those being used at your dentist and orthodontists office. Yeah unintended impacts in a quarantine!



Here's what I've noticed: the alcohol is finally starting to disappear from the supermarkets. Seems that people have finally figured out that being quarantined with their family members for weeks at a time is made infinitely easier with the ol' liquid courage.

I foresee Jack Torrance a la The Shining situations making their appearance in the news fairly soon. Increasingly anxious, claustrophobic family members and alcohol make a toxic combination.

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That's why my local Grocery Store has cases and cases of beer stacked up front on sale. People are getting sloshed at home, not worrying about hangovers. I don't mind the inebriated when I'm drinking but they're intolerable when I'm dead sober. Just pure idiot talk.

Cardinal said:

Ooh, I just got out-nerded.

You win.

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The Shining has always been one of my favorite films.
Wifey STILL gets the heebie jeebies watching it...even after "I don't know HOW many times"....she says Jack Nicholson is just TOO GOOD in his role as Jack Torrance.
Every time it's on I tell her one more tidbit, like the fact that Stanley Kubrick deliberately bullied Shelley Duvall in order to enhance the insecurity of Wendy Torrance. He can even be heard in the film saying to the other crew members while she is standing right next to him, “Don't sympathize with Shelley.”

grip said:

That's why my local Grocery Store has cases and cases of beer stacked up front on sale. People are getting sloshed at home, not worrying about hangovers. I don't mind the inebriated when I'm drinking but they're intolerable when I'm dead sober. Just pure idiot talk.

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My wife Karen is a hoot when she's drunk.
She hardly ever drinks, and maybe that's why she's such a hoot.

Checkerboard Strangler said:

The Shining has always been one of my favorite films.
Wifey STILL gets the heebie jeebies watching it...even after "I don't know HOW many times"....she says Jack Nicholson is just TOO GOOD in his role as Jack Torrance.
Every time it's on I tell her one more tidbit, like the fact that Stanley Kubrick deliberately bullied Shelley Duvall in order to enhance the insecurity of Wendy Torrance. He can even be heard in the film saying to the other crew members while she is standing right next to him, “Don't sympathize with Shelley.”

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Here's another nerd fact: the kid who played Danny never knew what he was acting in because Kubrick didn't want to traumatize him.

grip said:

That's why my local Grocery Store has cases and cases of beer stacked up front on sale. People are getting sloshed at home, not worrying about hangovers. I don't mind the inebriated when I'm drinking but they're intolerable when I'm dead sober. Just pure idiot talk.

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Here's the bad news. The kindergarteners and the fifth graders are sitting on the couch right next to the drunkards, the stoners and the meth addicts day and night now.

you don't know who is taking care of who and who is learning what lessons, but you know the lesson plan is never ending in this homeschool story.

i really hate to say this (because i was raised to look a man in the eye and give him a firm handshake) but i think that habit should go.

i think i'll just give a warm smile and a loud "Hello" or punch my guys friends in the shoulder.

btthegreat said:

Here's the bad news. The kindergarteners and the fifth graders are sitting on the couch right next to the drunkards, the stoners and the meth addicts day and night now.

you don't know who is taking care of who and who is learning what lessons, but you know the lesson plan is never ending in this homeschool story.

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Don't forget the pets. They have to live with us 27/7.

CaughtInThe said:

i really hate to say this (because i was raised to look a man in the eye and give him a firm handshake) but i think that habit should go.

i think i'll just give a warm smile and a loud "Hello" or punch my guys friends in the shoulder.

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That is so true. I guess the customary kissing and hugging is out too.

Good thread to start here since all of us are experiencing the same issues. I hope all of us begin to realize that work and money are not the only things that matter to us. I know that this will be hard to accept for those who are strapped, I feel for them and hope the government takes care of all of you in that position. I will support that effort as much as I can. I have always been an environmentalist. I think the worlds creatures and habitats will get a much needed break from all of us during this period of time. That will be a good thing. As for being cooped up in the house with family and friends, you all better have a sense of humor and avoid needless arguments or this will become a nightmare for you and yours. Its time to read a book, do a puzzle, fix something you put off, clean out the closets, etc.

Checkerboard Strangler said:

My wife Karen is a hoot when she's drunk.
She hardly ever drinks, and maybe that's why she's such a hoot.

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I agree that the occasional drinkers are often funny and happy drunks.

grip said:

I agree that the occasional drinkers are often funny and happy drunks.

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My first wife was an alcoholic, and flitted between melancholy, theatrical, borderline psycho, sex-crazed and downright mean.
Now, you'd think I would be okay with the second to last aspect...and I was, for about the first two years, before it got really over the top.
In the end it was all just psycho and meanness, truly depraved stuff.

So, one might think I am horrified at the prospect of Karen drinking. Naah...she's Mona Lisa Vito.

Checkerboard Strangler said:

My first wife was an alcoholic, and flitted between melancholy, theatrical, borderline psycho, sex-crazed and downright mean.
Now, you'd think I would be okay with the second to last aspect...and I was, for about the first two years, before it got really over the top.
In the end it was all just psycho and meanness, truly depraved stuff.

So, one might think I am horrified at the prospect of Karen drinking. Naah...she's Mona Lisa Vito.

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My sister is, basically, fairly normal sober but an absolute crazoid when drinking. She either loves me one moment or hates me the next. She becomes a totally, unreasonable bitch, which I cannot deal with. Now me, I'm a happy drunk that talks a load of nonsense and am generally harmless, but I also don't drink very often.

I think a lot of people self medicate with alcohol and do more harm than good.

grip said:

My sister is, basically, fairly normal sober but an absolute crazoid when drinking. She either loves me one moment or hates me the next. She becomes a totally, unreasonable bitch, which I cannot deal with. Now me, I'm a happy drunk that talks a load of nonsense and am generally harmless, but I also don't drink very often.

I think a lot of people self medicate with alcohol and do more harm than good.

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I'm like Karen, except I am only "funny" for about an hour, after which point I usually fall asleep.
Yeah, I never was much of a drinker or anything else, except...COCAINE. (aka "Mother's Milk" to me)
Thankfully I haven't touched that in twenty-six years, not even any fuzzy memories anymore, although the first three or four years I used to have some pretty horrifying "crack dreams".
Horrifying, and also absurd because, in those dreams, of course, I never would actually get to the point where I took another hit.
Instead I would wake up disoriented, followed by "Oh [censored] - - *@#(*!@#?#!"

Checkerboard Strangler said:

I'm like Karen, except I am only "funny" for about an hour, after which point I usually fall asleep.
Yeah, I never was much of a drinker or anything else, except...COCAINE. (aka "Mother's Milk" to me)
Thankfully I haven't touched that in twenty-six years, not even any fuzzy memories anymore, although the first three or four years I used to have some pretty horrifying "crack dreams".
Horrifying, and also absurd because, in those dreams, of course, I never would actually get to the point where I took another hit.
Instead I would wake up disoriented, followed by "Oh [censored] - - *@#(*!@#?#!"

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I used to go to a weekly poker game back in the Miami Vice days and do a little blow. But I got higher off the kind bud and beer, so I stopped. I still had after-effects for about a year, then I tried freebase once and was so tweaked, I knew I'd get seriously addicted and never touched it again. Crack is whacked.

The crazy stuff we do when we're young.