Why is Dan Peterson Vacationing During a Pandemic?

[_huckelberry]

Mr Peterson was seen driving across the great divide of high eastern Utah desert to high western Colorado desert and the very rocks withered and died from his baleful passing. Or so it was reported.

Myself I would like to join Daniel is saying hello to the fox. For many decades I had not heard of fox in our area. Coyotes and other critters yes but fox, no. Couple years ago I saw two fox sneaking along the creek at the edge of town. They were moving along like members of a military patrol in enemy territory. A month ago the newspaper had a picture of a fox family living locally. I guess their reconissance found a place to stay.

[_Jersey Girl]

What can I say, mate?

I freaking love you.

[_Doctor Scratch]

It's interesting that Dr. Peterson hasn't stepped up to explain or defend what he did. To me, his silence is redolent of guilt. He knows that what he did was wrong, but gosh: he just *really* wanted a vacation! Why hasn't Sam LeFevre piped up to defend health officials' advice? Oh, wait: if he does that, he will be banned.

And let me sharpen the point a bit. How many millions of Americans are out of work right now? Do you think those people are in any position to take a vacation at the moment? And yet, here is Dr. Peterson, parading across the lushly beautiful scenery of the Rocky Mountains! Not only is he flouting CDC recommendations, but he is rubbing it in the face of all the unemployed people who don't have the means to do this. I mean, are Michael Hoggan and/or John Pack Lambert going to be sopping up the luxury of a Rocky Mountain vacation this year? You do the math.

[_Kishkumen]

I feel some sympathy for Dr. P. I really, really, really want a vacation. I am sooooo tired of being in this lockdown nightmare. I bet if I were DCP, I would have folded and gone on vacation by now. If.

But I am not DCP. That said, I can really see how one would end up making that decision. I don't support it as the right decision, but I can see how a person gets there from my own experience feeling cooped up, depressed, and desperate to get out and see something different.

[_I have a question]

Interestingly, since July 29th Peterson has stopped adding the usual footnote on his blog articles indicating where he posted them from.

Travel during COVID-19
Travel increases the chance you may get infected or spread COVID-19. Try to limit non-essential travel during the COVID-19 pandemic as much as you can.

https://coronavirus.utah.gov/travel/

[_Themis]

I guess my complaint would be, like others have said, the apparent hypocrisy in droning on about people not taking covid-19 seriously and then going on vacation. What does DCP really think about all of this? Is he really taking this seriously like he wants everyone else to do? Going on vacation obviously doesn't seem to be congruent with his posts about covid-19 and the restrictions being imposed. I wonder what his resident expert Sam LeFevre thinks of DCP's travels? I wonder if DCP is wearing a mask and if he is, is he one who does so as little as possible, if forced, or does he wear it as one would who really takes this seriously, as he claims everyone should do?

I'd like to ask the man about it but he banned me. Maybe moksha could ask how a vacation fits in with taking covid-19 seriously?

I agree the optics may not look good, but I am not aware of any rule breaking. Instead he is not following the best suggestion to stay safe from catching or transmitting SARS-CoV-2. I do wonder if he using an RV and staying in it as it would be the safest way to travel. In many ways it would be the same as staying home, and if he is using a mask in stores and has been staying isolated from other bubbles, I would see him as in the lowest category of catching or transmitting SARS-CoV-2. He hasn't yet done as some Americans have in using the Alaskan loop hole to travel and vacation in western Canada.

[_Paloma]

This is slightly off topic, yet relevant I think.

Regarding the travels of LDS folk ...

I recall a conversation with an ex-LDS friend of considerable means who mentioned that, while a faithful member, he and his wife travelled frequently. They still, up until covid-19 restrictions, tended to go on various cruises and tours quite a bit because that had become a pleasant way of life for them.

But he thought, on reflection, that they pursued their "away from home" tendencies while LDS, because it kept them from undertaking the inevitable time-consuming Ward and Stake callings (Bishop, Relief Society President, etc.) they'd otherwise likely be fulfilling. I think it was Young Women's President that she had found onerous, and he'd had callings he didn't care to repeat. And then, there were the time commitments of monthly teaching and visiting. With their frequent travels, both for vacation and on business, they were a bit like celebrities in that they always had stories to tell, and didn't carry many of the burdens of the worker bees.

For those of you who, unlike me, know the LDS culture first hand ... does this sound familiar? Are there certain (probably wealthy) folk who enjoy the community without pulling their weight when it comes to work and responsibilities?

[_kairos]

Vacation ? What vacation? I am a world traveler popping up just about anywhere to show everyone what a celeb I am!
I Am not on vacation!
The Book of Mormon is true!
DCP not

[_Dr Exiled]

This is slightly off topic, yet relevant I think.

Regarding the travels of LDS folk ...

I recall a conversation with an ex-LDS friend of considerable means who mentioned that, while a faithful member, he and his wife travelled frequently. They still, up until covid-19 restrictions, tended to go on various cruises and tours quite a bit because that had become a pleasant way of life for them.

But he thought, on reflection, that they pursued their "away from home" tendencies while LDS, because it kept them from undertaking the inevitable time-consuming Ward and Stake callings (Bishop, Relief Society President, etc.) they'd otherwise likely be fulfilling. I think it was Young Women's President that she had found onerous, and he'd had callings he didn't care to repeat. And then, there were the time commitments of monthly teaching and visiting. With their frequent travels, both for vacation and on business, they were a bit like celebrities in that they always had stories to tell, and didn't carry many of the burdens of the worker bees.

For those of you who, unlike me, know the LDS culture first hand ... does this sound familiar? Are there certain (probably wealthy) folk who enjoy the community without pulling their weight when it comes to work and responsibilities?

That's an interesting point. Travel to avoid mundane church jobs. How about constant travel to avoid the spotlight of being just an ordinary member, having ordinary church jobs and not something fitting of an apologist leader? Have apologists ever been called to be mission presidents, etc.? They've never been elevated to GA status as far as I know. Perhaps Mormon Jesus is saying something here?

[_Gadianton]

I think it's time for a full analysis of this passage, as there is quite a bit going on:

"To conclude on a brighter note, though: As I was readying our car for leaving Breckenridge this morning, I commented to my wife that it would be nice to see my red fox once again. She had missed seeing him, but we were now looking toward the area where I had spotted him the day before. Not sixty seconds later, he loped right past the car, maybe only two or three feet from us, with some sort of prey in his mouth. We watched him until he was out of sight."

Midgley does the same thing; alleging certain (questionable) facts via his wife to give them credibility. I'm surprised either haven't said something like, "Years ago, my wife said to me, "oh, I came across a letter from that Watson fellow while dusting up that stack of books by the file cabinet downstairs. It wasn't that letter you'd shown me a few years before, however..."

Memory is a funny thing. Years ago, I used to think I had a great idea to go to the kitchen (at work) and get lunch. It was barely a walk, and then drats, somebody was using the microwave. And there wasn't much competition. It was more likely the faint noise triggered my idea to have lunch. In the case at hand, a glimpse of a fox off yonder could easily trigger the idea that he'd been hoping to see the fox in advance. But if you just say, "I was just thinking about that fox when suddenly it appeared..." it's less credible than if there was a conversation with another party about it, prior to it coincidentally appearing.

Another fascinating component of the story is the "outdoorsman" theme. Spotting a "big six-point elk" is just one step removed from having taken it down and skinned it with a buck knife. Naturally, a man who knows his way around the woods will see impressive game all the time. Foxes, six-point elk, moose; anything that would look good over the mantle.

If I go to the Autobahn and claim to see a Bugatti and a couple Ferrari during one short jaunt, if perhaps maybe I didn't see all that, it would help with credibility to mention that I didn't see a Pagani, I wasn't that lucky! Also, If I'm out in the desert spotting fighter jets with the guys, and there's one I'm not really sure of, I might insist that yeah, it's an F-16, but I can't make out the wheel bays so what generation? -- there was something in the fox's mouth; didn't catch that.

Finally, how long do you have to watch a running fox before it's out of sight?