Comment by TopHand | Hacker News Reader

Comment by TopHand | Hacker News Reader

I think the mental toll for what is going on right now is going to appear laughable in the months to come. No matter which way we jump there are going to be ugly consequences. A huge part of not examining the problems and trying to come up with the best solutions is that it is being made into a political debate on whose policies were and should be followed. We at where we're at. What we should be looking at is what is the best way out. We need to triage the situation by deciding what we want the future to look like.

Do we want our children to grow up with the education and employment opportunities that they had six months ago, or do we want to completely minimize the loss of life?

The people most at risk are people with compromised cardiovascular systems and compromised respiratory systems. I also understand that obese people are at high risk. You can conclude that the way these people became compromised is through lifestyle choices. They chose to smoke, drink, and over indulge in food for many years. I'm sorry the bill has become due. But I don't think my children should have to pay the price for their choices.

I know a lot of readers are going to be saying that the greatest at risk group are people over 65. I'm in this group. It is my personal opinion that I would rather my grandchildren grow up with high potential than to prolong my life another few years. In reality I'm not truly concerned because I'm relatively healthy for my age group because of the choices I have made.

Do you really think that all people with cardiovascular and respiratory issues are 'paying the price for their choices'? I guess asthma sufferers (such as the nurse who ran marathons but had exercise-induced asthma who died recently), people with congenital heart issues, and immunocompromised patients and those with auto-immune disorders all just should have chosen not to be born with their respective illnesses? And tsk tsk for all of those foolish people currently on cancer treatment - don't they know that cancer is easy to avoid because we know every cause? Even if you believe that the majority of people with these conditions are at fault - just be clear that the people who 'caused this to themselves' will not be the only ones who suffer.

-- edited to remove an uncharitable reading and response --

Yes there are those who suffer through no consequence of their own. But they are in the minority. I'm guessing that the majority of people with these compromises have been smoking, drinking and made poor lifestyle choices. I didn't feel I needed to write a complete essay covering every possible case. Yes there are innocent victims. But again, the majority are probably from lifestyle choices.

I was not arguing to be allowed to wonder the streets. I was arguing that there are consequences to every direction we turn and that we need to consider what kind of future we want in the following decades. This will eventually end. What do we want life to look like when it ends?

Just for your info, I live a fairly isolated life on a working ranch. My wife and I can go as long as a month without seeing another human being. My lifestyle has not changed all that much other than the fact that at the base level of the food supply, I can see that shortages are coming. Most living Americans have not lived through food shortages. The big political question of the coming years may not be how do we distribute the wealth, but how do we ease the hunger!

I apologize for the uncharitable reading and response. I have a number of friends with immune disorders and heart issues through no fault of their own, and I was too hasty in my response. It is true that all of the decisions to be made going forward are unpalatable. Sadly, I don't think that any of the ones that are least likely to hurt us in the long run will be chosen. Stay safe out there.

If it were a personal choice, the I would be with you. But realistically they will be sending everyone’s kids back to school if the decision to do so is made.

Of those, some people over 65 will simply die, and in that case the “high potential” their children have is going to be stifled by grief, high medical bills, and total loss of parental support.

If we are making a decision for the whole community, I always feel it best to lean towards a conservative approach, but allow risk takers to have an opt out.

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