Columbo drinking game

I love Columbo. It’a probably the best crime show ever made.

There’s a fun drinking game you can have while watching Columbo. Take a bourbon (or vodka) shot every time Columbo raises his arm above his head or touches his forehead. He seems to do it more and more as the seasons go on.

Social distancing (and mask wearing) forever

Bear with me…

A number of people die of the flu every year. We have vaccines to help us, but vaccines don’t help all, especially since the viruses keep mutating. However, we haven’t required people to wear masks or socially distance because of the flu, unless they’re actually sick. It took a worldwide uncontrollable covid-pandemic to make us wear masks and socially distance.

When the covid-pandemic has “stabilized”, we could end up with a similar situation with covid as we’ve always had with the flu, ie. we will come to accept that some number of people will get seriously ill and/or die of it every year. When that happens, when those numbers are reached, social distancing and mask-wearing can stop.

That seems to be the plan.

However, we then have a future (potential) situation with X+X numbers of people dying annually, ie. X from the flu and X from the covid.

Come the next virus, because it will, rinse and repeat. Great pandemic, masks & distancing, desperate search for a vaccine, eventual subsiding of death figures, after which we can all go back to “normal”. However, now we have 3 viruses annually killing people, ie. X (flu) + X (covid) + X (next one).

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that this happens over and over. Sometime in the (far?) future we might well have 5 or 10 separate global viruses each killing X number of people every year. X + X + X + X and so on. Vaccines can help us with individual viruses, but not all of them, so in addition to yearly flu shots we may well have to start taking yearly coctails of vaccine shots.

Wouldn’t it all be easier if we just kept social distancing? It works for all viral pandemics. It works for the flu and the work for the dreaded gastroenteritis.

We should simply adopt social distancing (and masks) into our normal everyday behaviour. For ever.

Social distancing doesn’t have to mean being isolated in closets, or no more rock concerts, football matches, theatres or family parties. It only means we have to adopt that concept into our future behaviour. It would mean bringing it into city landscaping, how we build our infrastructure, commute, whatever. Spacing out tables in restaurants, spacing out seats in trains, and so on and so forth. Instead of cramming people into ever-smaller spaces for commercial reasons, we should adopt regulations about social distancing, just like we have regulations about fire safety.

Whenever possible, we should work from home or avoid commuting. If I can avoid commuting one day, I’ll do it. If I can avoid a crowded shop, I’ll do it. If I can’t, then so be it. But whenever I can, I will.

Sure, not everyone has the option to do that, but whatever little we can do, we should do. We should all voluntarily start spreading ourselves out and avoid crowds, if ever so lightly.

Every little bit helps.

Every little step is a step towards making it more difficult for viruses to spread. And that’s what we want, hopefully stopping a pandemic from occuring in the first place, or at least limit its devastation.

The concept of social distancing (and mask-wearing where approriate) should be made part of our normal everyday behaviour. And it should be part of all future policy-thinking. It will save lives.

I’m not talking about “re-modelling” society within a week. It can take the time it takes. Restructuring our societies according to green ideals (or non-patriarchal idels) is not somthing that can be done easily. But they’re ideas we consider worthwhile to incorporate into our hopes of a better society. Because they’re demanding and difficult is no argument to abandon them.

I’m talking about incorporating “social distancing” into our thinking, making it an additional part of anything else we think about when going about our lives.

Every little bit helps.

Eventually it could develop into a consumer movement. You know, the way some shoppers chose food with green stickers on (hoping they mean something).

Anyway, social distancing (and mask-wearing where approriate) should become part of our normal everyday life. For ever.