So, to take one of the few examples where I get to actually observe a fair number of people on a regular basis, with Parkrun one of the things that boggles my mind is how close everyone crowds together at the start. Yes, it's not for long, and yes it's outdoors, but given how easy it would be to just... not do that, and wait for other people to pass, like... why?
What is everyone gaining by crowding together? A few seconds quicker on a time for an event that specifically self-identifies as "a run, not a race"? Who even cares?
Spreading out is so easy. It's mind-numbingly, trivially, easy. And people don't do it.
It's a similar thing with overtaking. I mostly keep to the far left of the path where I can. But even in the places where the path is wide, and the people overtaking me are not crowded together, people would pass me within centimeters, when there's space for them to give me a meter or more. Again, a case where giving people space would involve almost zero mental or physical effort, but very few people think to do it. I spent a lot of Saturday's parkrun on the grass, a couple of meters to the left of the path, to have a comfortable amount of space.
But also the shops. I try to do my weekly shop when the shops are fairly empty. And even since the recommendation to wear masks has been official again, I see a good proportion of people just not wearing masks. Even though wearing one is a simple act, financially unimposing, proven to be highly effective, and for just the duration of being inside a shop should be the minorest inconvenience for 99% of the population; during a 400% rise in the infection rate, plenty of people aren't.
It feels like a lot of people have decided that Covid is over, just because they want it to be. Except it really isn't, and people are going to die because of that. And it bothers me.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2022-01-02 07:05 pm (UTC)What is everyone gaining by crowding together? A few seconds quicker on a time for an event that specifically self-identifies as "a run, not a race"? Who even cares?
Spreading out is so easy. It's mind-numbingly, trivially, easy. And people don't do it.
It's a similar thing with overtaking. I mostly keep to the far left of the path where I can. But even in the places where the path is wide, and the people overtaking me are not crowded together, people would pass me within centimeters, when there's space for them to give me a meter or more. Again, a case where giving people space would involve almost zero mental or physical effort, but very few people think to do it. I spent a lot of Saturday's parkrun on the grass, a couple of meters to the left of the path, to have a comfortable amount of space.
But also the shops. I try to do my weekly shop when the shops are fairly empty. And even since the recommendation to wear masks has been official again, I see a good proportion of people just not wearing masks. Even though wearing one is a simple act, financially unimposing, proven to be highly effective, and for just the duration of being inside a shop should be the minorest inconvenience for 99% of the population; during a 400% rise in the infection rate, plenty of people aren't.
It feels like a lot of people have decided that Covid is over, just because they want it to be. Except it really isn't, and people are going to die because of that. And it bothers me.