I've mentioned this before, but New York State parks have already announced that no permits for outdoor events will be given for the entirety of 2021. I know some of these events need permits now because of months of planning necessary, but the fact that NYSPR has already come out and said 2021 is cancelled bodes ill.
This really has to suck. There is a niche hobby with an event hosted each summer in New York state that draws a lot of people, their families, and other interested fans. If it gets cancelled for a second year in a row, it's going to be a big blow to the host venue and the surrounding hotels/business that normally make brisk business that weekend from everyone being there for the event. Meanwhile, local and state governments can't figure out why their tax revenue is down even when's it obvious that the draconian COVID restrictions being imposed mean less tax money is being generated when people are out of work and/or spending less.
I was lurking on a forum for priests and deacons and someone asked "how many parishioners do you think you have permanently lost from your parish due to the lockdowns?" As in they stopped coming at the start of the stay home orders, and they will never come back either because they are too scared to or some other reason. I figured my estimate, about 30%, was insanely pessimistic, but it's based on what I observe at my church, between who actually shows and how many hits our livestream gets. But the priests were estimating anywhere between 40-70%. Because they have heard from many people privately that they are just never going to be comfortable sitting in a pew next to a brother in faith again, drinking from the cup together, sharing a paschal or Christmas feast together, hugging and handshaking at weddings and funerals. Some will keep watching church on teevee, which is pathetic and gay, and some have figured out the fake and gayness of that and just decided to give up completely.
Church attendance is already low in the US as it is (around 30% tops, maybe,for Christian denominations, I think?) even despite brief upticks in times of crisis such as 9/11 or the holidays of Christmas and Easter. I imagine the decrease in participation numbers will be higher for churches whose congregations are much older and thus more vulnerable to COVID. These are the people who will probably watch "Mass for Shut-ins" (or its equivalent) if they lack the technical know how to watch their church's live-streamed service. Others, as you point out, will decide that there's no subsititute for in-person worship and simply give up on practicng their faith. I'll be curious to see what some of the die-hard young adult Catholics do in my region -- especially those who believed pre-COVID that there was never a good excuse for missing Mass each Sunday.
On the up side, those who still want to support their churches have taken advantage of online giving programs or still send in their contributions. However, I imagine there will be many churches that have to tighten their belts when their next fiscal year ends and some might have to consider merging or closing outright if they can't sustain themselves financially.
The weirdest part about all this "not killing Grandma" shit is that depression among Senior Citizens is skyrocketing. Why? Becuase they're fucking lonely!
And don't forget that many seniors that stay active do so because they feel they have a purpose in life. I knew a 90-something who ran her own business up until the last 6 weeks she lived. Once her health slipped too much and she couldn't go to work any more, she lost the will and her reason to live. COVID made it worse because nobody was allowed to visit her when she was in the nursing home for the last month or so she was alive. Small wonder people were mad on and offline about what happened with nursing homes.
It's amazing listening to the Chicago's Teachers Union for example, and all of their concerns are about how dangerous it is FOR THEM. A lot of them legit don't give a fuck about the kids.
Then the great irony of them using this as a racial/white supremacy issue. If anything, the teachers refusing to go to work is hurting the black kids that actually want an education or the black parents that need the kids to go to school so they can go to work.
I always find it funny when the teachers unions for inner-city districts such as Detroit, Chicago, LA, etc. threaten work stoppages or actually walk the picket lines because they feel the school board doesn't care about the students that have fallen behind on their education. Since COVID became a thing, the teachers unions in these cities have turned blind eyes and deaf ears to the parents who want in-person instruction so that their kids don't fall behind more than they already have -- the same kids these unions rally behind when they demand better working conditions and opportunities during contract negotiations.
While I'll agree it's reasonable for the unions to request that school districts have something in place to protect/help vulnerable teachers concerned about COVID, a flat-out refusal to allow classroom instruction is short-sighted at best and detrimental to the students at worst.
(Edited for clarity)
