Saturday, November 2

Tag: reopen

Deciding how and whether to reopen schools is complex – here’s how rocket scientists would develop a plan
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HEALTH & WELLNESS

Deciding how and whether to reopen schools is complex – here’s how rocket scientists would develop a plan

Dealing with the social and economic upheaval from the coronavirus pandemic will require the skills and talents of many types of professions – medical personnel, public health experts, parents, students, educators, legislators, enforcement authorities and many others. Until now, though, the U.S. has struggled to mount a coordinated national response to effectively stamp out COVID-19, even as other countries in Europe and East Asia have shown that the disease can be controlled. In the past, the United States has successfully mobilized to address deeply complex challenges and I believe one of those – sending astronauts to the Moon – can be instructive today, even though a pandemic is a very different challenge. Twelve years after the famed Project Apollo to land men on the Moon in 1969, Ge...
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As states reopen, tensions flare between the rule followers and rule breakers
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COVID-19, IN OTHER NEWS

As states reopen, tensions flare between the rule followers and rule breakers

Since Republicans, on average, are five times more likely than Democrats to believe it’s safe now to resume normal business activity, reopening the economy has often been framed as a partisan issue. But within households, many families are having their own arguments about how lax or strict they should be about the threat of the virus. Is it OK to have friends over? Can we invite Aunt Sally to our birthday party? Can dad slip away to the golf course? Can mom get a haircut? These conflicts reflect two very different mindsets: Some are uneasy about opening up and going against official guidance like wearing masks. Better be safe than sorry, the thinking goes. Others balk at being told what to do, and feel anxious or even angry about the constrictions being put in place. These differences a...
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What are the ‘reopen’ protesters really saying?
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IMPACT, VIDEO REELS

What are the ‘reopen’ protesters really saying?

The “anti-lockdown” and #Reopen protests in the U.S. have powerful and secretive backers, but there are real Americans on the streets expressing their opinions. As an ethnographer – someone who studies cultural participation – I’m interested in who those Americans are, and why they’re upset. I spent the last week in what you might call an online road trip, studying 30 posts of protest footage from events in 15 cities. I found some shared themes, which don’t fit well with popular narratives about these protests. Protesters object to handouts, but want work. 1. Poverty is taboo, but work is ‘essential’ Despite the economic toll the lockdowns are taking on America’s poor, no protesters put their own poverty on display, such as posting signs asking for help. Instead, they held signs with mo...
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Why are white supremacists protesting to ‘reopen’ the US economy?
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POLITICS

Why are white supremacists protesting to ‘reopen’ the US economy?

A series of protests, primarily in state capitals, are demanding the end of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Among the protesters are people who express concern about their jobs or the economy as a whole. But there are also far-right conspiracy theorists, white supremacists like Proud Boys and citizens’ militia members at these protests. The exact number of each group that attends these protests is unknown, since police have not traditionally monitored these groups, but signs and symbols of far right groups have been seen at many of these protests across the country. These protests risk spreading the virus and have disrupted traffic, potentially delaying ambulances. But as researchers of street gangs’ and far-right groups’ violence and recruitment, we believe these protests may become a w...
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