WaPo: How do we overcome fear?: Americans need confidence before life can return to normal.

[gulliver]

Danny Meyer — restaurateur and founder of Shake Shack — said that he is already envisioning the changes he will make when he finally gets the green light to reopen his restaurant empire. Kitchen employees will have to wear masks and not only have their temperature taken but also look their manager in the eye and verbally confirm they are feeling healthy.

...

Last week, President Trump released a set of guidelines for beginning to reopen the country amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. But what Trump says won’t much matter if skittish elected leaders, business owners and customers don’t trust that they will be safe returning to their daily lives — and at the moment, most Americans don’t have that confidence.

...

But, he (Cass Sunstein) added, community signals will also be crucial. “What do people see people like them doing?” Sunstein asked. “If people see everyone else staying home, they tend to think that’s the right thing to do, and they see everyone going out, they tend to think, ‘Well, I should go out, too.’ ”

During a conference call with Trump on Wednesday, business executives stressed the need for widespread testing, saying it would help reassure people they were safe to return to work. The administration has repeatedly fumbled in its attempts to make testing more available — with just 1 percent of Americans monitored so far — and Trump last week said the task was now up to the states.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-do-we-overcome-fear-americans-need-confidence-before-life-can-return-to-normal/2020/04/18/0b6ed6b8-80b7-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html

Trump and Republicans are arguably the main cause of any delay getting back to normal. They just can't get it through their heads that widespread testing will be necessary to get people back into the habit of going out and being with groups. A main reason, imo, is that Trumpie Republicans have so screwed up testing. They screwed it up, so now they try to sell the idea that it's not that important or somebody else's job. Just lie after failure after lie...all with no regard for anyone but themselves.

[Sneederbunk]

1. The only thing we have to fear is Trump himself.

[tblue37]

2. I HATE when these writers call his lies "mistruths," as that article does. nt

[Newest Reality]

3. Me too.

Soft journalism? I see the use of words sculpt a soft edge on a sharp problem.

"His blatant, all-out lies, deceptions, deliberate falsehoods," One could go on. Mistruths sounds like a sound the Tooth Fairy makes when she walks up to your pillow.

[Solly Mack]

4. My biggest fear isn't Covid 19, it's Trump and his

followers. Mostly Trump. Mainly Trump. Him and his administration.

I would be feeling so much more confident about life in America if Obama was in office during this time.

Trump didn't cause Covid 19 but he has made it worse.

It's almost like he is an extension of the disease, aiding in its spread. All his moves - from his denials and delays to his assorted other lies about the abundance of equipment and testing to his complete abdication of responsibility as President - all of it giving the disease free rein.

I don't want to get Covid 19. I don't want to give anyone that impression by saying Trump concerns me more than the disease.

I simply believe with Trump in charge, I'm more likely to become infected. I think every American is more likely to become infected because of Trump. That people are more likely to die because of Trump.