What will people be like if and when they finally emerge from the COVID-19 lockdown? Homo americanus may mutate into an entirely new beast.
2038: The Year the Lockdown Ended
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
7 Comments. Leave new
I wonder, Ted, on that Homo americanus/statiunitensis will be so new and different from today’s version….
Henri
The two best parts: Her mask tan lines and the “Indoor strong” sign on the car. Although I would have accepted “Stronger than the cytokine storm.”
If ritual is the glue that holds society together, and if ritual requires space and time (most rituals are large and lengthy–look at a ritual wedding, graduation, or funeral), Generation Covid (the Covid Kids) is going to be completely different than all that came before.
Latest News: Facebook is seeing working at home as a opportunity to boost profits, the urban decay it brings….isn’t their concern.
From Forbes of all places
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/05/22/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerbergs-power-move-may-be-the-biggest-game-changer-for-the-job-market/#7d4b43262643
At first blush, Facebook, Twitter, Square and other employees who’ve been offered the chance to work remotely will be delighted that they don’t have to commute, deal with annoying co-workers, endless in-person meetings and their bosses glaring at them.
Some will say that it’s not worthwhile to live in San Francisco, Silicon Valley or other cities where rentals and houses cost a fortune. Many will leave the cities and move to places that offer more affordable housing. This can be boom for many suburbs and warm, sunny low-tax states and a detriment to the cities that throngs of people escape from.
Here’s the Facebook catch: employees will have to tell their boss if they move to a different location. According to Zuckerberg, those who flee to lower-cost cities “may have their compensation adjusted based on their new locations.” He ominously added, “We’ll adjust salary to your location at that point. There’ll be severe ramifications for people who are not honest about this.”
It’s becoming clear that the “gift” of remote work may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This power move by Zuckerberg could be the biggest game changer for the job market coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
——————————————————————————————————————–
2039…needs a few burned out buildings, a family living in broke down RV, a food delivery bot that has seen better days and a police drone announcing a return to phase 2 restrictions. Someone selling roast rat and other urban foods would fit into the scene. ( I loved the rat roast picture a few post ago).
The long, long lockdown: It would more likely be a confusing on again / off again series of lockdowns, every time the virus mutates we are told to get back into our shelters. Business colipase, on again off again sports with no fans in the stands losses much of its’ appeal. The only in person classes are for medical workers and other essential task that can’t be done on line or automated, the few teachers left will have huge online classes. A massive gig workforce will be looking for ways to make enough to eat
I never cease to be amazed at the 48% of Americans convinced that Trump is the absolute worst possible president, that if Adolph Schickelgrüber or Old Nick were running against Trump, either would be a great improvement. When Maureen Dowd wrote, ‘Everyone must vote for Secretary Clinton, in spite of her flaws, because Trump is worse,’ all the comments were ‘Fire her, she wants Trump to win instead of the very best candidate for president the US has ever had.’ And, of course, many swear they will never look at another Ted Rall strip because he’s a Trump loyalist (but they come back the next day to complain).
I, of course, have to agree that Obama had more style than I’ve seen in my life, but style ain’t substance, and in substance he was as bad or worse than Trump. And Biden is also as bad or worse than Trump, who is terrible, but not that out of line with his predecessors, starting with Reagan, all of whom started more wars than Trump.
On the other hand, Michael, Trump does seem to be edging towards the big one, i e, a shooting war with China, which most likely would escalate into a thermonuclear holocaust which in turn would bring the short, happy life of H sapiens sapiens on this blue planet to an abrupt end, after a run of some 300 000 years. But then, in that game of Sinophobia, so often played in US history, Mr Trump’s «opponents» seem to be no less keen participants than he is….
Henri
Maybe there’s a follow-up cartoon showing the fate of the automatic weapons-toters who insisted that they didn’t need to stay inside or wear masks outside because “god” would protect them from SARS-CoV-2 … but apparently would not protect them from the (unspecified) things for which they toted their automatic weapons? (Concept brazenly stolen from “Roaming Charges” by J. St. Clair in 15May Counterpunch, therein attributed to Rev. Jeremy Duncan.)
Time Machine Redux
The Morlocks come into the daylight and are named (by the Eloi, descendant tribal progeny of Gates, Zuckerberg and Bezos) as enemies of humanity to be eradicated.
The gods (Bezos, Zuckerberg and Gates) are dissatisfied with what their wealth (God) hath wrought and engineer Great Floods through destruction of the great seawalls that for decades have held back industrialization’s angry rising oceans.