So even though Iowa hasn't had a stay-at-home order and only select businesses had closed, apparently enough Iowans "have done the right thing" for our governor to "reopen" the state. Even though today we have 26 more deaths and over 400 new cases in the state. 1/?
2/ Interestingly, a lot of restaurants in Des Moines are staying carryout only for now at least, even though they're allowed to reopen w distancing. The one place that's already proudly, hang-a-banner-in-front open is Applebee's. The jokes write themselves. #KarensGottaEat
3/ My family has been working from home, wearing masks if we go out, distancing--all of that. I go out once or twice a week to by groceries, and am occasionally in my campus office (and the only one in my building). But I'm worried it really doesn't matter what we do...
4/I went out today to get groceries--our local Hy-Vee has done a lot: sanitary wipes, one person per cart rule, all employees in masks, one way aisles to avoid clumps of people. And it worked for a while. But today, hoo boy.
5/No one was following the one way signs in the aisles, only about half the customers were wearing masks, and some of them had it pulled down just to cover their mouth. Traffic has picked up considerably this wk. Not a lot of people seem to be taking things seriously.
6/And meanwhile, Des Moines is one top 5 metro areas for increasing covid cases. More restaurants are going to open June 1. Some businesses are making a good effort to interact safely, but it doesn't matter if none of the customers give a shit. And I don't think they do.
7/a couple days ago I had to get a new lawnmower, so I ordered one online from Lowe's and went to pick it up curbside. No muss, no fuss, no contact. But y'all, the store was PACKED. And maybe one-third of the people I saw walking in while I waited in my car were wearing masks.
8/folks are talking like we'll be back to normal this school year, but based on my forays into the wilds of consumerism the last few days, I have a bad feeling about what the next month or two holds for this state. I hope I'm wrong. (also, my views don't reflect my employers')
9/We live in a society that worships unbridled individualism, and we're in a crisis that demands we act as a community. I'm worried. And it's worse because no one in our state's leadership, to say nothing of my fellow grocery-shoppers, seems to share those worries.
10/I hate to sound like the doomsayer here, but a "normal and re-opened" fall in Iowa sounds like a pipe dream to me. Our "leaders" are failing us. /end
