Ed Yong is a science writer at the Atlantic, so you might think that he’d take a relatively rational approach to the omicron variant.
Nope:
I turn 40 today. I was planning to have a party but I canceled it last week because of Omicron.
I wrote about why I made that call, and how I thought about the risks—to myself, to my friends, and to our society. 1/https://t.co/291iKgULwZ
— Ed Yong is on sabbatical (@edyong209) December 17, 2021
This piece isn't a lecture or advice column. It's just me walking through my thoughts as I try to apply the lessons learned from my reporting to my own life.
I know many people are struggling with decisions about gatherings so maybe this might help. 2/https://t.co/291iKgULwZ
— Ed Yong is on sabbatical (@edyong209) December 17, 2021
(Just had to jinx it, didn't you, kiddo?)https://t.co/2E4E7pjDQD
— Ed Yong is on sabbatical (@edyong209) December 17, 2021
Um, Ed, you still could’ve had a party this year.
The infectious nature of a virus means that a tiny bad decision can cause exponential harm, but also that a tiny wise decision can do exponential good. We still have agency. And we can still do this, one step at a time. 3/https://t.co/291iKgULwZ
— Ed Yong is on sabbatical (@edyong209) December 17, 2021
Of course we have agency. We have the agency to decide to get vaccinated or not get vaccinated.
We have the agency to have a freakin’ birthday party if we want to.
And here is my thread on my other Omicron piece, which provides the high-level view for some of what’s in the more personal essay. 4/https://t.co/L0LPRoB2a5
— Ed Yong is on sabbatical (@edyong209) December 17, 2021
Last year I joked that the pandemic had finally forced me to write a listicle. This year it’s Personal Essay time. Who knows what literary horrors 2022 will unleash? https://t.co/J1wxsxINYy
— Ed Yong is on sabbatical (@edyong209) December 17, 2021
Recommended
We’re not sitting on the edges of our seats waiting for Yong’s 2022 contributions to the scientific and medical discourse. Hard pass.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 17, 2021
Would anyone have even gone to his party? He sounds like a real Debbie Downer.
Same way I thought myself through the decision to cancel my romantic getaway to Padre Island with Salma Hayek
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) December 17, 2021
Yeah, I uh canceled my date with Gina Carano because of Omicron.
— Danny (@DannyPace) December 17, 2021
Who among us?
Is because of omicron, or because journalists don’t have friends?
— Rob Hamilton (@Rob1Ham) December 17, 2021
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) December 17, 2021
That’s Ed.
— John 'pro-norms' Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) December 17, 2021
Ed might want to talk to someone about this.
The fact that people think Omicron is as dangerous as OG COVID or Delta really shows a media and government failure. https://t.co/IVfI95vzOd
— Ashe Short (@AsheSchow) December 17, 2021
If this was your thought process, believe me the people you were going to invite "thanked you" for canceling.
— Sean Griffin (@sgrif97852) December 17, 2021
Maybe they’ll even send him a card.
tl;dr: He isn't afraid of covid, he's afraid that his guests will spread it to their families at Christmas. He knows they're informed adults but "the logic of personal responsibility only goes so far."
Imagine being patronized by your friends like that.https://t.co/nsileqmfyc
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) December 17, 2021
Hopefully his friends will find someone less insufferable to hang out with.