Many of us frustrated by the lengthy school closures were enraged by a statement we found far too dismissive and even callous: “Kids are resilient.” (The great Mary Katharine Ham tore this apart back in January.) All too often, that was a blasé slogan designed to excuse an intolerable status quo.
Our kids aren’t necessarily resilient, and we didn’t like having their need to be resilient shoved upon them by teachers’ unions who kept dragging their feet on reopening schools and public-health officials who deemed birthday parties, travel, summer camps, visiting grandparents, etc. an intolerable risk.
Every time I read a status on the thing, I’m struck by just how terrible a design this is. They couldn’t have come up with a better way of wasting money and time ad infinitum. And people in comments are rooting for a catastrophe. Hard to disagree with them.
A few months ago, I got a free six-month subscription to Disney+ through Verizon. Now that they’ve started charging me for it, it’s a great opportunity to be able to cancel it.
We’re flying to Nashville today, where I’m going to be on a panel on commercial space with Bob Poole and Katherine Mangu-Ward on Friday morning as part of Reason Weekend (it used to be in Orange County, but…). Then we’re spending a few days in the Smokies. I’ll have a laptop with me, though, so I won’t be incommunicado.