On 13/02/2024 7:39 p.m., Tom Beecher wrote:
Except we aren't really "post-pandemic" despite the claims that we are.

"post-pandemic" the way that I used it was to mean "after the COVID lockdowns,  with close to normal travel gatherings".

It certainly wasn't intended to be commentary on the current state of COVID, if it's referred to as 'pandemic' or 'endemic' , etc. Nor does that sort of convo really belong anywhere near this list.

Understood that you may have not meant it as commentary. 
Just knowing about how words shape people's thoughts
there are those who hear that phrase as an "all clear" even
if it wasn't meant to be in your case.  Some who use the
phrase do mean it that way, and the parroting of it re-enforces
the agenda of those who do.  (Even if that wasn't your intent.)
Words have meaning, sometimes beyond the initially obvious.

It's a bit like I find it annoying that the Firewall/NAT boxes sold
for home use to share an IP address get called "routers".  Yes,
they do technically route packets but the fact that they are
called routers means that when you search (your favorite
search engine here) for "router" because you want something
that will announce your IP block to the internet (or even a static
route to an upstream) the search gets polluted with a bazillion
of the NAT/firewall boxes that won't do what you want to get
done.  There is a reason I make a point of calling them
"NAT/Firewall" devices to avoid confusion, unfortunately
this still leaves no unambiguous way to refer to "routers that
aren't NAT/Firewall only devices" that a search engine can
understand.  (This has since been alleviated for me now that
MikroTik has become my "go to" brand but it makes things
tricky for new people who are looking all over for something
that will get the job done while still stretching the budget.)

The intent of my post was simply to bring some insight into
why some people aren't showing up to events from the
"COVID aware" perspective.  Even if it's not visible who is
missing, there are people missing for this reason.  If COVID
really was truly over all these people _would_ be back, it's
not just inertia keeping people from coming back, it's the
continuing problem that's keeping them from coming back.

How long this will be the case depends on what happens
in society at large.

My post wasn't meant to target you in particular, I was
meaning to reply before that but it seemed like the best
spot to reply to encompass what had been said so far.
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Glen A. Pearce
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