Th3 Core

>TOUGH sell

Yeah, it's gonna be bad. Really bad.

U.S. reports record Covid hospitalizations as states roll out restrictions ahead of Thanksgiving
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/14/us-reports-record-covid-hospitalizations-as-states-roll-out-restrictions-again.html

“Unless we change our Thanksgiving plans, we are going to have a very unmerry Christmas, I’m afraid,"

U.S. Hits 11 Million COVID Cases as Restrictions Increase and Holiday Worries Mount
https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/coronavirus/u-s-hits-11-million-covid-cases-as-restrictions-increase-and-holiday-worries-mount/2362570/

It absolutely baffles me.
How come a lot of people just don't give a sh!t in the US? Trump?

anti-science, anti-vaccine, conservative religion, & politics when grouped together account for at least 40 percent of the populace.

Since when did Debbie become an optimist? The curious thing is that I remember a handful of cranky people complaining about seatbelt laws and saying the government did not have a right to make them wear seatbelts. And yet it never became a political, partisan issue, it just took a long time before it was normalized behavior and seemed overwhelmingly to break down along age lines.

And then we have a large rural population that thinks they're already living remotely and therefore they are safe.

Like in North Dakota, for example. It finally seems to be coming to our rural county too. We had seven cases announced yesterday. Almost 10% of our total cases have happened in the last 10 days.

And yet, a very urban, pro-science, pro-vaccine, non-religious, non-conservative (albeit libertarian which in this case may be worse) family member proposed getting together for Thanksgiving.

Two weeks after Thanksgiving, things are going to be a lot worse than now.

> seatbelt

Pre-interwebs.  The crazies, libertarians, conservatives and conspiracy buffs have always been there.  But before they had to print hand bills or mimeograph newsletters and the media paid no attention to them or dismissed them as cranks.  Today with the interwebs we've given them a free, global platform.  They can find each other, communicate, get themselves all worked up into a frothy lather.  And the 24/7 news media combined with blogs pays attention, lends them a broader audience.  The whole anti-vaccine, anti-science and conspiracy believing movement has turned into a cult.  And like cultists, they can't be reasoned with, they have to be deprogrammed. 

>hungry

When haven't we been hungry?

>And yet, a very urban, pro-science, pro-vaccine, non-religious, non-conservative family member proposed getting together for Thanksgiving.
> all I'm hearing around here is 'Damn the virus, full speed ahead with Thanksgiving!"

Seems the US isn't alone on this sentiment.

Will Thanksgiving Be a COVID-19 Disaster? In Canada, the Answer Was 'Yes'
https://time.com/5910635/thanksgiving-covid-19/

<+>
Millions of Americans set to ignore warnings against Thanksgiving travel | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/22/thanksgiving-travel-warnings-covid-coronavirus

We've been here before.  (Really worth a read.)

On Thanksgiving more than a century ago, many Americans were living under quarantines, and officials warned people to stay home for the holiday.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2020/11/21/covid-and-thanksgiving-how-we-celebrated-during-1918-flu-pandemic/6264231002/

------
Spoiler:

Holiday gatherings devastated Seattle during 1918 flu
https://crosscut.com/opinion/2020/11/holiday-gatherings-devastated-seattle-during-1918-flu

>> Trump exasperated the situation

I think of Trump as a catalyst, not a primary reagent. We've been stockpiling reagent for roughly 30-50 years (depending on which reagent you're talking about). And now, the catalyst.