CaptBeefheart
Posts: 2301
Joined: 7/4/2003 From: Seoul, Korea Status: offline
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I think the reason it's gone fairly well here is people have been more or less free to handle this in their own way. As I've said many times, there have been no government-mandated shutdowns in Korea other than for government-owned properties (schools, museums, hotels in national parks, etc.). Privately-owned businesses, with only a few exceptions such as nightclubs, have been left alone to sort their own way through this mess (with guidelines, of course). Out of a sense of community, mainstream churches went to video services a while ago. Some churches (or cults) with a martyr complex went ahead and held services, and one did stupid things designed to spread the virus. Other businesses and organizations, fearful of a PR backlash, cancelled meetings, instituted work from home, started doing Zoom meetings, etc. The whole point is it's been voluntary and a sense of shame and the risk of bad press outcomes has kept people and businesses in line. The last few weeks I've seen people going beyond the guidelines, and I'm sure I have myself (I don't actually pay a lot of attention to that stuff beyond what my missus tells me), but to me the lack of an oppressive government has meant people are more likely to follow the social distancing guidelines than not. If this had happened during the years of military dictatorship (say 1960-88), I think we'd have seen mass protests and we'd be in a lot worse shape. Personally, I tend to believe people are smart enough to handle liberty just fine. I have never felt the need to tell people how to live their lives and I don't understand politicians who seem to think they have to treat citizens like children. Cheers, CB
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Beer, because barley makes lousy bread.
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