Russ’s Ravings: Being Excellent To Each Means No Party On, Dude

Editor’s note: The following is Patch Field Editor Russ Crespolini’s, hopefully, weekly column. It is reflective of his opinion alone.

In the immortal words of Bill S. Preston, Esq., and Ted Theodore Logan we all need to be excellent to each other, but in the age of COVID-19 it means we cannot party on, dude.

In recent weeks the state of New Jersey has seen flare-ups of COVID-19 in small pockets based off of parties, and mostly in young people. Here are just a few that we know of:

What are we doing here folks?

We are asking our school districts to prepare a battle plan for reopening schools for in-person instruction. We’ve watched as businesses were decimated, dreams were crushed, and we paid a heavy price to try to restore normalcy.

Suicides increased, mental health issues increased, shootings increased, overdoses increased, patience wore thin and civility became an instant casualty. Neighbor turned against neighbor as everyone suddenly got their epidemiology degrees from Facebook University.

And now, when we were one of only a handful of states that some believed were on track for containing the coronavirus, we are in danger of backsliding.

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And for what? Some post-prom festivities? Some graduations kudos? A belated beach bash?

The human mind is an amazing thing, it can help convince you and rationalize away even the most suspect decisions. It is how I convince myself a Coke slurpee is totally ok to drink. Especially in a heat wave. But it also can be dangerous.

Those people who think this is ok because the mortality rate of the virus is so low need a reality check. A low mortality rate in one of the most densely populated places in America is a staggering death total.

This also completely and totally discounts the people who will live with permanent or semi-permanent damage from their battle with COVID-19. Many have a long road ahead in terms of recovering. Some people will have long-term, if not permanent damage to their organs particularly the respiratory system.

Death is not the only metric to be concerned about. But that is, literally another column.

There is also an illness that many doctors say is being caused by an immune response to COVID-19. While not fatal, it can be serious and require hospitalizations. But even if it isn’t fatal, do you want to be out of contact with a loved one for weeks while they struggle to recover in a hospital? Do you want to watch your child suffer a high fever, swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet, peeling skin on the hands and feet, swollen glands, joint pain, bloodshot eyes and more? This impacts children and teenagers, the same population that is attending these parties.

So I am imploring you, please, knock it off. If you know someone attending a party like this, discourage them. It you are a parent that has any influence, use it to stop the gathering or keep your children from attending.

There is no way around this virus. We have to all go through it and go through it together.

And in order to do that we need to face the music. If not, our chance at an excellent adventure will undoubtedly be lost to a bogus journey.

Russ Crespolini is a Field Editor for Patch Media, adjunct professor and college newspaper advisor. His columns have won awards from the National Newspaper Association and the New Jersey Press Association.

He writes them in hopes of connecting with readers and engaging with them. And because it is cheaper than therapy. He can be reached at russ.crespolini@patch.com

This article originally appeared on the Long Valley Patch