People are acting recklessly because they have normalized the trauma of the pandemic and I think this is being ignored by the "STAY INSIDE!!!" crowd. A thread from someone who has been traumatized https://twitter.com/AP/status/1327040762857598981

When you first experience traumatic events, your whole life freezes. Everything falls apart. You overreact to compensate for the fear and terror.
You wear gloves to the grocery store, wipe your mail with cleaner, and shake in fear because you walked by someone without a mask.

This is a normal occurrence when you are in the middle of a traumatic event. You go into super survival mode. You JUST NEED TO SURVIVE. You need to get through the chaos, the pain, the terror. You got to hold on.
Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Don't stop. Hold on. Hold on.

Now, we all have experienced this to some degree during the pandemic. We have implemented different levels of defense to feel safe.
It is now month 8 of the pandemic.
People's trauma has now gone from a one off event to a normal part of life.

People are not "becoming bored with the pandemic", as is usually the rhetoric --- they are so traumatized by the constant experience that they are now at what I call the "send in the clowns" point.

This is when you realize you may not survive the traumatic event.

You may not come out on the other side of the trauma. Whether or not it means your life or sanity... So your brain, just grabs a cigarette, glass of wine and says "screw it. Live the best you can."

It is your brain trying to preserve your sanity.

When you operate under trauma for a long time, your brain switches off. When there seems to be no hope or relief to your suffering, your mind tells you to release the responsibilities and let go of the things you are doing to "protect yourself" because OBVIOUSLY its not working

It is a dark acceptance that you may not make it. So you just tap out mentally.
That is what has happened to millions of Americans. They are at crowded areas, bars, family homes.... because mentally, they have tapped out and lost hope.

The one off statement, "I'll probably get it" is not being said to justify bad behavior anymore. Its a running thought in most Americans. We've seen the numbers. We remember NYC. People are living with a dark acceptance that they are on their own.

There are no stimulus checks. No rent relief. No leadership from the government. Politicians hold fancy dinners while millions face eviction.

People have gone from 0-2000 in trauma. They are no longer functioning rationally.

You have a nation of traumatized people trying their damn best to make it tomorrow and none of us know when it will be our family member on a ventilator.

So you get reckless behavior. You get higher numbers of COVID cases. You get THIS MESS *gestures to country*

The American people were abandoned 8 months ago. Told to figure it out.

People have stopped trying to figure it out. They are waiting for the inevitable with no hope or relief. Without actual support, this behavior will continue.

It is with this that I beg the "STAY INSIDE" crowd to take a step back and realize you are dealing with traumatized people. People who need support. Who are afraid and scared.

Love them. Offer support and resources. Shouting at a shaking dog will only make them bear their teeth.