Social Distancing...Pros And Cons

Well, here is a big "Pro." I think it is a fine idea to distance ourselves from China, and not just because they are either incapable of controlling communicable diseases in their too-big-to-govern-without-repression country, or because they sent this disease into the world for strategic reasons. There are far too many reasons to pull away from China, and many have been documented on these pages.

After all this, can we at least socially distance from China?

How is it that we have no plan of our own to decrease and eliminate our connection to and dependence on China? Why are we not engaging in geopolitical social distancing from the actual source of many of the recent viruses, which undoubtedly, with the habit of eating strange animals, will be the source of future viruses as well? Are we really going to continue bringing in hundreds of thousands of Chinese students between semesters during the flu and pneumonia season next January? Are we going to continue issuing 80,000 green cards per year to Chinese nationals?

For instance, when I shop at a certain market that draws an uncomfortably large proportion of smelly 1960s hippy wannabes, social distancing is the perfect excuse to avoid them. And my irritating neighbor who really, really needs to put up window coverings so the world doesn't have to watch TV with him? I'm all for it! How about the terminally unpleasant distant cousin who insists upon eating all of the appetizers at Thanksgiving, doesn't bring a gift, and doesn't offer to help with...anything? Yup...sorry...we are still concerned with Sino-Lung-Rot...maybe next year.

So have at it...social distancing: its pros, cons, and best uses.

The usual contest prizes....a one year Platinum membership with ampersand utility and Troll-B-Gon^TM for the winner. Second place is a set of steak knives, and third place? Anyone know the answer?

posted by CBD at 02:15 PM

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