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Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Back in the day..way back...when our only means of communication was via PONY EXPRESS how would COVID 19 have been handled?

Back in the day..way back...when our only means of communication was via PONY EXPRESS how would COVID 19 have been handled?

I know there were a lot of us numberwise. And probably a lot of smarta** too. Anyway would we have been better off or worse?  How could it be worse? Wait and see. We're getting there.

Posted - August 1, 2020

Responses


  • 10449

    Back in them thar days (1860-1861), social distancing was the norm.  There just weren’t that many people around.  However, there was a pandemic around that time – The Russian Flu (1889-1890).  It wasn’t as bad as what we have today (in retrospect), although I doubt the millions who died worldwide would agree.

    Did you know that the Spanish flu (1918-1920) was handled much like this one is being handled?

    Do the events of that time sound eerily familiar (regarding COVID)…

    - Scientific, evidence-based information competing with speculation, rumor and innuendo.
    - Government leaders understating the disease threat.
    - Government inaccuracies, lies and mismanagement diminishing public trust.   
    - Lack of intergovernmental coordination creating confusion.
    - Governments focus on non-disease issues (the economy) impeding responsiveness.
    - State and local governments pursuing disease management with varying effectiveness.
    - People blaming the spread of the virus on others (the Germans, Chinese).

     Back then, President Woodrow Wilson put the war (WWI) above all else.  That decision accelerated the disease spread and increased its massive death toll.   However, unlike Trump, Wilson got the flu.  It was even speculated that it was partially to blame for the massive stroke he suffered in October 1919. 

    It didn’t stop there.  Despite significant evidence that influenza was surging within the city of Philadelphia, local leaders decided to proceed with the largest parade in Philadelphia’s history. The purpose was to build public support for the war and raise millions in war funding through the sale of Liberty Bonds.  The massive Liberty Bond parade on Saturday, September 28th turned Philadelphia into a ghost town.

    John Barry wrote -

    On October 1, the third day after the parade, the epidemic killed more than one hundred people — 117 — in a single day. That number would double, triple, quadruple, quintuple, sextuple. Soon the daily death toll from influenza alone would exceed the weekly death toll from all causes — all illnesses, all accidents, all criminal acts combined…

    Federal, municipal, and state courts closed. Giant placards everywhere warned the public to avoid crowds and use handkerchiefs when sneezing or coughing. Other placards read “Spitting equals death.” People who spat on the street were arrested — sixty in a single day…

    But the most terrifying aspect of the epidemic was the piling up of bodies…The city morgue had room for 36 bodies. Two hundred were stacked there. The stench was terrible; doors and windows were thrown open. No more bodies could fit.” - The Great Influenza  

     

    Sigh.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

      August 1, 2020 3:21 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    I did not know ANY of the above m'dear. You know what? I'm in a very weird place having read your post. I am profoundly SHOCKED and I'm not shocked at all. How can that be? I have no idea but to expect us to have learned anything from the past is hopeless. That the scope and depth and entire MO was almost identical albeit for different reasons makes me despair that we will learn anything at all from this time around either. Shocked and not shocked at all. Thank you so much for investigating and sharing what you found Shuhak. We are as dumb if not dumber than we were then. What I wonder is why didn't anyone know about any of this in the present administration? Why wasn't anyone CURIOUS enough about this to research investigate become informed? Obviously to the government we the people are expendable. Especially we who live in blue states. That came out a couple of days ago. Since the cases and deaths originally were in blue states the red state bugment gubment let it ride. When it started affecting "their people" that's when they focused on it. Doesn't it make you feel all comfy cozy at how well the pumpkina** cabal et al cares for ALL of the members of WE THE PEOPLE? More to come. More of the same. Inane insane lame profane. Happy Sunday Shuhak! :) This post was edited by RosieG at August 2, 2020 12:11 PM MDT
      August 2, 2020 1:46 AM MDT
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