Current pandemic vs Past ones

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Chrisinmd

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The way people are acting and are fearful during this current pandemic makes me think how terrified people most have been during previous ones. Imagine being alive during the Bubonic plague or black death when people had no understanding of how or why this was happening. Or how to prevent it. Must have been so terrifying.

Thoughts?
 
First you would have known of it would be a rumour or when someone had it.

Sometimes I think we know too much.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
However during the Middle Ages, death was something that was far less strange to people than it is now. People were both more superstitious and more religious. There were always epidemics of some kind, people died from a small cut on their hand and the childbirth mortality was huge. Death was with them every day, you can see this in the art and the writings of the times. While they feared, it was the fear of the familiar rather than the fear of something new. There were plagues just about every year, it came in seasons and the people on the whole resigned to it, unable to prevent it other than to isolate, the way they lived contributed enormously to the spread of disease.

'Filth running in open ditches in the streets, fly-blown meat and stinking fish, contaminated and adulterated ale, polluted well water, unspeakable privies, epidemic disease, - were experienced indiscriminately by all social classes.' (Holt and Rosser, The English Medieval Town, (1990))

Later in the 18th century Samuel Pepys wrote in his dairy. Samuel Pepys Plague extracts

Some people however were heroic and are still remembered.
The Derbyshire village that self-isolated during the plague
 
WARNING TO ALL USERS

Every past thread on this topic quickly became political and had to be locked. Please do not make us lock this one. Breaches of this rule may result in warnings, and points may be issued.

Play nice.

Gerry Seymour
MartialTalk Moderator
@gpseymour
 
gpseymour said:
WARNING TO ALL USERS

Every past thread on this topic quickly became political and had to be locked. Please do not make us lock this one. Breaches of this rule may result in warnings, and points may be issued.

Play nice.

Gerry Seymour
MartialTalk Moderator
@gpseymour
Click to expand...
it might help if you put a working definition of what is and isnt political. it would be of even greater help if you differentiated between politic ( small p) and POLITICS (capital P) and even more use if you recognised that this isnt an american only forum and things that you consider Political are not such else where in the world

at the moment its a total crap shoot, with political opinion that agree with main stream america ( well right wing america) being not only tolerated but encouraged, and political opinions that agree with main stream Europe being shut down ie its only judged political if one or more mods disagree with your view
 
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Gnarlie said:
First you would have known of it would be a rumour or when someone had it.

Sometimes I think we know too much.
Click to expand...

You would have known about it when all the bodies started piling up. A lot of your friends and family and people that you knew. I guess you would have heard rumors from other areas who had been hit before it got to you. News didnt travel near as fast as today but it still got around eventually.

Here is a good article on What It Was Like To Be A Body Collector During The Bubonic Plague
What It Was Like To Be A Body Collector During The Bubonic Plague
 
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Tez3 said:
There wasn't just the one 'plague' though, https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/application/files/5014/5434/6066/london-plagues-1348-1665.pdf

https://www.history.com/news/6-devastating-plagues

Plague surveillance | CDC
Click to expand...
true, not just one.
but at certain times it cleared the countryside of a majority of the people
Some scholars suggest that the depopulation was - sorry mods, political side road - elemental in bringing the Rennaisance and a change in political thinking, or social awareness with them! the pressure to produce as much food from a parcel was lifted, and surplus enabled pursuit of the arts and philosophy.
At the same time old social structures crumbled, and the knights and nobility were forced to find alternative means of income because they did not have the skill to provide for themselves, or figured it was below their stand. The peasant revolts are believed by some to be a result of this. 'dude, you wanna eat, you better plow a field!'
because there were not enough people to do the forced work anymore either.

And apparently we always had global traffic, it was just slower....

(and we don't know as much as we think we do, depending on the sources we frequent)

Unfortunately, this IS a highly political topic, as the government response dictates how badly the population will be influenced.

in historic times there was a call to prayers, spreading the disease like wildfire.
Now it is the supply of medical supply and implementation of precautionary measures.
Or not, because stock markets take priority....
 
If you're really interested In Understanding this topic, I would highly recommend Albert Camus's novel "The Plague".

I won't be re-reading it right now because I'm chosing lighter entertainment options, but it's the source for those who want to delve.
 
The Black Death brought about the end of feudalism and brought in a system where you actually paid workers!
 
jobo said:
it might help if you put a working definition of what is and isnt political. it would be of even greater help if you differentiated between politic ( small p) and POLITICS (capital P) and even more use if you recognised that this isnt an american only forum and things that you consider Political are not such else where in the world

at the moment its a total crap shoot, with political opinion that agree with main stream america ( well right wing america) being not only tolerated but encouraged, and political opinions that agree with main stream Europe being shut down ie its only judged political if one or more mods disagree with your view
Click to expand...
With this topic in specific, I would avoid discussions on healthcare-the political aspect that has caused the other threads to shut down is when the topic has gone into an argument about what healthcare systems in general are better.
 
Tez3 said:
The Black Death brought about the end of feudalism and brought in a system where you actually paid workers!
Click to expand...
Tez3 said:
The Black Death brought about the end of feudalism and brought in a system where you actually paid workers!
Click to expand...
its a very good time to buy stuff second hand, all those folks on unpaid leave, needing cash, im watching the classifieds for a laptop,they have dropped 100 quid in a week, and i might get a mountain bike as well,, and maybe a tv
 
jobo said:
its a very good time to buy stuff second hand, all those folks on unpaid leave, needing cash, im watching the classifieds for a laptop,they have dropped 100 quid in a week, and i might get a mountain bike as well,, and maybe a tv
Click to expand...

or they could sell their loo roll!


kempodisciple said:
when the topic has gone into an argument about what healthcare systems in general are better.
Click to expand...

It shouldn't have been an argument because it's obvious which is and in coming days we will see for sure. ( that's only half a joke)
 
kempodisciple said:
With this topic in specific, I would avoid discussions on healthcare-the political aspect that has caused the other threads to shut down is when the topic has gone into an argument about what healthcare systems in general are better.
Click to expand...
it wasnt an argument about which is better, i never mentioned the uk system at all, it was a statement of fact about the US system, no politics just hard facts , are facts banned ?
 
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jobo said:
it wasnt an argument about which is better, i never mentioned the uk system at all, it was a statement of fact about the US system, no politics just hard facts , are facts banned ?
Click to expand...


What arguments there were on there were not between the US and the UK, as Jobo says no mention was made of the UK system, it was Americans arguing between themselves.
It's also probably not a good idea for a mod to post on the same subject ie a 'political' post on the thread then his next post is locking the thread because of 'politics'.
 
jobo said:
it wasnt an argument about which is better, i never mentioned the uk system at all, it was a statement of fact about the US system, no politics just hard facts , are facts banned ?
Click to expand...
You direction is unbecoming. This thing is worldwide and it is quite easy to derive the same stats you mention about almost any country, including yours.
Just not cool at all.
 
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