# Anyone else questioning the extent of "social isolation"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671>\
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone\
**Tags:** covid-quarantine\
**Created:** [March 17, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671 "2020-03-17T18:26:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 366

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/366 "2020-03-29T00:44:25Z")

</div>

> [@MandaJo](#):
>
> And this is why people need to be able to ask questions and get reasoned answers, not just a “no no no”. Look, I was convinced by the later discussion in the thread that steronz’s idea was a bad one. But I really, really disagree that it was inviting a binary response.

…the question was "OK or Not OK. Four words. The longest word was only three letters long. You can’t get more binary than “OK or Not OK.” Two options were presented. Thelmalou picked one of them.

> [@](#):
>
> We shouldn’t be doing what “feels right” here. That leads to essential oils.

I’ve provided you with a treasure trove of information backed by the science written in a way that a layperson could understand. We don’t have to do what “feels right.” We don’t need to be lead to “essential oils.” We can listen to the scientific consensus and do what we need to do to keep ourselves and everyone else safe.

> [@](#):
>
> We need to try to figure out what’s really going on in this mess of a situation.

We know the answer to this. You’ve got an incompetent unqualified person running your country, and this person and his actions are supported by millions of Americans. There is nobody steering the ship. The science is being ignored.

What you need to do is actually quite simple. Close the borders, everybody stay home, massive test and trace. Ramp up production and distribution of the relevant medical equipment. Follow the various plans for a pandemic that we know the administration has on file.

But the reason this isn’t happening isn’t because “there are things to figure out.” Answering the question “can I have a happy hour with my neighbour” isn’t one of the things that will get you out of this mess of a situation. I perfectly understand the need to ask this question, I don’t object to you asking the question, I don’t even object to asking for clarification. But Thelmalou and Stranger haven’t done anything much wrong here. Tone is something easily misinterpreted when not in person.

> [@](#):
>
> We need to be able to talk about it. The discussion should not be shut down. The virus should not be made into a monster or an evil spirit. That is all I am saying.

Nobody is calling for this discussion to be shut down. Thelmalou answered a short and curt question with a short and curt answer, thats all.

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671)._