Wuhan Killer Sneeze (thanks Tea)

[Slothrop]

Yeah that was my thought too... I'm sure that there is on need to worry. It's just that (for me) anyway, Dissensus in general, and this thread especially, have become a very nice way to stay sane and joke about this ridiculous and terrifying situation we all find ourselves in and also gather useful information from various places and so on.

Wow - mostly I've been avoiding this thread like the, er, plague, because it largely seemed to be full of people gleefully amplifying bad news and worst-case scenarios in order to back up their views the awfulness of the tories in particular and capitalist democracy in general, and it was absolutely shredding my mental health.

 

[droid]

Shit. Sorry you feel that way. I guess we all cope with this differently. I like to have good info from smart people who I trust, but I know that a barrage of stuff can be anxiety inducing as well.

It does beg the question though, have those critiques been wrong? Has capitalism, specifically the Tories handled this well? Herd immunity?

I hope you and the family are all safe and well.

 

[shiels]

Echoing the slight feelings of guilt of being comfortably employed on 80% salary, in a nice house with friends in Donegal and able to have a wee drink every night go try and chill. I’m also finding it tricky to balance being in the know with the bad news onslaught. I’m usually the type to want to know everything going on no matter how bad but I haven’t looked at twitter in three weeks because it was fucking me up. I’m in touch with enough smart and sensible people that I’ll still hear what I really need to know

 

[shiels]

Like you lot. Thank you

 

[luka]

Echoing the slight feelings of guilt of being comfortably employed on 80% salary, in a nice house with friends in Donegal and able to have a wee drink every night go try and chill. I’m also finding it tricky to balance being in the know with the bad news onslaught. I’m usually the type to want to know everything going on no matter how bad but I haven’t looked at twitter in three weeks because it was fucking me up. I’m in touch with enough smart and sensible people that I’ll still hear what I really need to know

Cope with those feelings of guilt by sending all your money to me, a person without income left high and dry totally fucked

 

[catalog]

I spent some time in Donegal a while ago, round ardara and killybegs (is that what it's called?). Nice part of the world. Good wild sea action.

 

[luka]

Wrt capitalism, it's paradoxical isn't it in as much as it is hard to imagine a non capitalist situation in which we had the resources, the productive capacity, the transport capacity and the distribution networks to adequately deal with this thing

 

[catalog]

Cope with those feelings of guilt by sending all your money to me, a person without income left high and dry totally fucked

Yeah I was gonna ask you about this Luka, can you get owt to replace what you earned through the Thames poetry stuff?

 

[luka]

Course not. Every non person is fucked now

 

[luka]

In the relative quiet we realise and recoil from how frantic the world was and how pointless most of its activity seemed to be. But at the same time, as I say, the capacity of that system, usually devoted to frivolity and excess, is awesome

 

[luka]

This is the paradox the plague presents to us

 

[craner]

Technically you can apply for Universal Credit if you have no or low income and no record of NI contributions, but that is of course a personal choice.

 

[luka]

Thanks Craner. I will probably get forced into it.

 

[catalog]

Have they made that easier to get cos of this then? Cos was a total bureaucratic nightmare, according to someone I know who was trying to get it a while ago. Maybe worth looking into luka

 

[luka]

My brother is in the process of it. Has involved a lot of time on the phone but he says the secret is putting on speaker and just play PlayStation till they take you off hold.

 

[luka]

He's been working cash in hand for a concreting business for years so he's in a similar boat really

 

[craner]

It will also cover your rent and they have dropped all job-seeking requirements for three months.

 

[luka]

Capitalism seems like a fever now. All that frenzied activity. Like a madness.

 

[catalog]

All the phones for everything are hammered at moment, waiting times have gone mad.

 

[craner]

That's true, because over a million people have tried to apply for it in the last two weeks. It has become an endurance test, but once you get through it they will pay you.