Why is Dan Peterson Vacationing During a Pandemic?

[_Jersey Girl]

Personally, I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed. Honestly, he should not be traveling. I would not want him or his spouse to get COVID, and I don't want them to be vectors for the virus. But, if he is going to do it, he might at least keep his travels to himself and not stand as an example of someone taking unnecessary risks with his own life and the lives of others.

Yeah. That right there. I agree.

[_Jersey Girl]

Takes me like 2 seconds to come up with stuff like this. Happens all the time. Enjoy.

Moose

Broomfield police grappled with this Monday when residents dialed 911 to report a moose browsing near the Boulder Turnpike and at the FlatIron Crossing mall.

Police surrounded the bull at sunrise as it lay in grass and nibbled on trees near the Men’s Wearhouse store. That moose had been caught before — on Father’s Day in Arvada — and was relocated to Larimer County.

https://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/27/c ... ng-people/

Elk

Elk in gift shop at Estes Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFz8-bLxo4c

Bear

Bear breaks into house plays the piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz7pRGMdbWE

Bear breaks into car
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/07/05/b ... r-boulder/

[_Kishkumen]

Yes, it is. There's nothing they're doing that could be considered a violation (except for a couple of things left to interpretation) of Colorado's guidelines for re-opening. Hotels and lodges up in Estes, Breck, and Steamboat are (I believe) open at 50% capacity. Now, if you look at our re-opening guidelines you will see we're still in a "safer at home" stage and folks are encouraged to go into the "vast, great outdoors". What that means is that people like him, or me and Jersey Boy for example, should be staying at home but yet, we are encouraged to go visit open spaces, trails, etc.

That doesn't mean we go tooling around staying in lodges. It means we stay home as much as possible and/or drive up into the mountains on a car tour or to a trailhead and go hiking, or horse riding if permissible, camping in places like Rocky Mountain National Park (which is part of where he went)--maintaining social distancing and masking when social distancing isn't possible.

And when I say "we" I mean folks who are deemed at higher risk for serious complications or death from the virus which is us and also the DCP traveling duo.

Indeed. I don't think you and I are saying that DCP is doing something illegal or completely unconscionable here. What he is doing is taking an unnecessary risk and, by publishing his risk taking, being kind of a bad example. It's not the worst thing in the world, no, but I think now is the time to be extraordinarily cautious and to model such caution for others. The fact that our political leadership has so often failed to take the right steps to protect the people and to serve as examples of caution means that the rest of us actually bear a greater responsibility to take up the slack, in my opinion.

[_Shulem]

That said, the state is open to a certain degree, there aren't any travel restrictions (the rules are more like guidelines )

Aren't you really just saying Peterson is really a dirty pirate? A FAT pirate at that, mate.



We be looking for the king's name in Facsimile No. 3 . . . .

[_Jersey Girl]

Indeed. I don't think you and I are saying that DCP is doing something illegal or completely unconscionable here. What he is doing is taking an unnecessary risk and, by publishing his risk taking, being kind of a bad example. It's not the worst thing in the world, no, but I think now is the time to be extraordinarily cautious and to model such caution for others. The fact that our political leadership has so often failed to take the right steps to protect the people and to serve as examples of caution means that the rest of us actually bear a greater responsibility to take up the slack, in my opinion.

You and I are like minded here. The example setting piece is important. I see it as a matter of "we're all in this together" and happily wear my mask when out--always engaging clerks in conversation to ask them how they are doing, tell them they don't deserve flack from anti-maskers, and thank them for keeping us all going. I do it every single time because I sincerely appreciate them and the risk they themselves have been taking for us this whole time. Granted, I don't go many places but I do go and when I am out I try to behave with a sense of goodwill. Well, that is not hard for me to do.

I realize that we live in a location that people want to visit. That we live where we do doesn't mean we don't want to get the hell out out of here! Like DCP, we have the ways and means to go traveling. The only thing really preventing us from doing it is a sense of social conscience. That and the fact that we don't want to get sick or take anyone down with us in the process.

It's just not something I want us to project or take advantage of others.

So we remain hunkered down with the wildlife, find ways to appreciate our circumstances, make some good use of our time, and well, count our blessings. I guess that is what I think everyone should be doing.

[_Jersey Girl]

That said, the state is open to a certain degree, there aren't any travel restrictions (the rules are more like guidelines )

Aren't you really just saying Peterson is really a dirty pirate? A FAT pirate at that, mate.



We be looking for the king's name in Facsimile No. 3 . . . .

I bet you're the only one who picked up on that reference. You smart little devil! ARRRRRRRR!

[_Dr Exiled]

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?

[_Shulem]

I bet you're the only one who picked up on that reference. You smart little devil! ARRRRRRRR!

What can I say, mate?

[_moksha]

My fox?

Nothing wrong with identifying with nature. Kiwi might take a boat ride down the Amazon and declare, "There is my piranha".

[_Doctor Scratch]

One thing's certain: showing you don't take the CDC guidelines too seriously is a wonderful way to signal to your fellow conservatives that you really aren't one of those hysterical "libs." DCP has walked a fine line between being a Never Trumper and a good conservative. His lack of fealty to Trump is a problem for a lot of his Trumplican readers. Blogging about his CDC-flouting journeys will reassure his people that he has not lost his mind. It also serves to set off his "librul" critics and stalkers.

It's interesting that you say that, Reverend. Not long ago, I saw a meme on social media that compared mask-wearing with the people who fought in WWII. The person who posted the meme was trying to make the argument that, back in WWII, people were brave because they were willing to confront the threat posed by the Axis Powers, whereas today, people are "cowering" behind masks due to their fear of the coronavirus.

I thought the argument was fundamentally flawed, though. Our shared enemy today *is* the coronavirus, and if we're trying to emulate the heroes of "The Greatest Generation," then we ought to come together to do whatever we can to fight the virus: including wearing masks and staying at home. Seen in this way, people who refuse to wear masks are actually more like Nazi sympathizers.

Bearing that in mind, it seems to me that Prof. P. occupies a kind of middle ground. Vacationing while wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer, and social distancing isn't the same as being a Nazi sympathizer, but it *is* sort of like the person who shrugs and says, "Yeah, I can see how the Nazis are bad, but I have to get on with my life." Think Oskar Schindler but without the demonstrated moral conscience or sacrifice.

Personally, I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed. Honestly, he should not be traveling. I would not want him or his spouse to get COVID, and I don't want them to be vectors for the virus. But, if he is going to do it, he might at least keep his travels to himself and not stand as an example of someone taking unnecessary risks with his own life and the lives of others.

It is a fundamentally boastful and selfish act. There is no way to justify what he's been doing on any other grounds besides selfishness.