Bright side of the coronavirus?

[Early Sunsets 2,106]

Most news coverage of the coronavirus is bleak, but things aren't quite as dark as they seem. Some places are lowering or even halting payments on loans, including federal student loans (contact your loan holder. If yours is eligible, they can put you under forbearance if you ask. The period will be for at least sixty days, which means two months or more with no payments due or interest accruing). I've also heard stories of landlords temporarily cancelling rent payments, and my phone provider (Cricket) added extra data to wireless plans for no extra charge. There's also https://ponyfest.horse/ which is an online pony con made to help artists and such who were going to be vendors at cons that ended up getting cancelled because of the virus (that takes place today starting at 10am EDT). What do you think about all this? Have you heard any relevant positive stories as of late?

I think it's nice that people can get together and help each other out in times like this when everyone is hurting. It doesn't happen often, but society can show a good side sometimes.

[Venomous 18,813]

I was watching the news with my parents and there was a report on some homes taping things to their windows in an effort to create a scavenger hunt of sorts for the neighboring children. I’m unsure of the rules but it’s something fun for the kids to do!

[Flow 1,619]

One positive thing about the virus is that it caused the prices of gas to drop here. Normally, gas is much more expensive in my area, close to $5.00 per gallon, now it's dropped to somewhere around $3.45 per gallon.

[Will Guide 21,325]

It's given me more reason to stay home and catch up on my unplayed video games as well as getting some writing done for my potential blog

[Tao 6,735]

Getting back into writing and reading fanfiction.  

[Yakamaru 3,075]

Well, as mentioned, the price on gas have dropped hard. Other stuff have dropped in price too, one of them being cars as well from what I can gather. If you have the capital for it, now's a good time to get a hold of one, or you can wait a few more weeks until the prices drop even further for that matter.

Parents get to stay at home taking care of their kids. Do some proper bonding and activities together, forming more proper family cohesion and values. Which is very good in the long-term.

And it shows some very.. Interesting holes in the various systems we have in place, not to mention show where we can improve if not outright completely change how we do things.

Alongside price drops, I have a stupid amount of shit to do at work, which for me at least is rather awesome. More work more pay. More pay the closer I am to being able to buy the house I want in a couple of years.

[TBD 17,228]

Well..there’s one bright side but I don’t think my dark humor is welcomed for this case. So I’m just gonna keep it to myself..

Anyways, since the “mandatory stay at home” is in session, less people are on the street, no traffic, less people..that’s as far I will go when it comes to ‘dark humor‘ on the bright side on Coronavirus.

[Denim&Venöm 16,517]

People are being more sanitary now. 

And while it's a lousy time for companies, it's a great time to be a buyer. Go get yourself some stocks! Get in on that long game! 

[vampireponyprince 184]

staying inside with my pets having more attention and time to give to them !

[Divine plywood 1,232]

Due to everybody staying indoors private motoring have decreased. Air in the cities is much cleaner to breath and pollution rates have dropped significantly

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

I realize now that I don't need to go out all the time on my days off to be happy.  I was really upset when this stuff almost ruined my full-time promotion celebration dinner and stymied my plans to move out, but when I look at all the money I have now and compare it to my goal of independence, I realize now just how much more independence means to me than money.  

[Here No Longer 5,270]

Maybe... Just maybe... It will make more people question China. Also, wildlife's encroached a bit on the cities due to the quarantines (so the animals have more of an actual habitat to live in)... 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Angel_Dust

[Steve Piranha 28,782]

13 minutes ago, Angel_Dust said:

Maybe... Just maybe... It will make more people question China.

Hopefully. China lies, and they pay for people to billions to believe them 

 

Anyway, gas prices have gotten stupid-low. Less than 1.90$ in some cases. I work in an essential company now, so it’s a mixed bag. I’m working 10 every day for 6 days a week . Oh well, that have $ome perk$ at lea$t 

 

[SharpWit 2,472]

@Flow @Yakamaru @Steve Piranha I think the price of gas is actually due to a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia over the former's increased output of crude oil and is unrelated tot he virus, but it's certainly a plus for people who need that bit of extra savings and is lessoning the losses for airlines as well. Last place we filled up at was only $2.49

I've always been a bit of a prepper but never had the income or an excuse to stock up on anything until now. Don't worry, we've been responsible by not buying a lot of one single thing so it's not a detriment to anyone. However, we mostly shop at Safeway which is running their monopoly prize game, and we've been getting a lot of tickets though haven't won anything big. Also have nearly 6 gas rewards saved up! But I also enjoy putting that prep side of my brain to use.

My girlfriend's missing out on some long awaited things, but we've made good use of the time catching up on shows and movies together, making dinner and generally having a good time.

My mother runs a nonprofit and a community garden so is supplying more seeds to people than ever to start growing their own stuff from home at little to no cost with plenty of tips and tricks to do well.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,291]

It has exposed capitalism for what it really is and it has given us all a perfect look at how horrendous many of the systems in the US truly are. I sincerely view that as a positive, the downside is that nothing will be truly learned from this, at all. The US's rotten core has been fully exposed but once this is over we'll be right back to embracing that rotten core to its fullest instead of fixing it.

[Emerald Heart 24,588]

I mean, I get to read and write a lot of fanfiction under lockdown...

 

[Oleks 1,983]

I don’t have to go to the office every workday, so I can sleep an hour more. But on the other hand, I’m actually getting more work now, because my manager knows that I have nowhere to go on weekends. Also, many people actually started to wash their hands more often, and the world got a tiny bit less gross.

Some people may mention that the global quarantine is also good for the environment, but I think it’s a temporary effect. I only hope that when the next pandemic, a bigger and deadlier one, comes, the world won’t be so unprepared.

[TBD 17,228]

1 hour ago, Kyoshi said:

It has exposed capitalism for what it really is and it has given us all a perfect look at how horrendous many of the systems in the US truly are. I sincerely view that as a positive, the downside is that nothing will be truly learned from this, at all. The US's rotten core has been fully exposed but once this is over we'll be right back to embracing that rotten core to its fullest instead of fixing it.

First thing comes to mind is this 

(Karl Marx.)

[Brony Number 42 9,931]

It shows how awesome capitalism is, how private businesses have stepped up to help out. It shows how great America is. It also exposes the ungtateful people who can't take care of themselves and blame others for their problems.

[TBD 17,228]

13 minutes ago, Brony Number 42 said:

It also exposes the ungtateful people who can't take care of themselves and blame others for their problems

And that’s why sometime coronavirus isn’t a bad thing after all for that very reason.

There. I said it.  

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,291]

Gonna quote myself here:

4 hours ago, Kyoshi said:

the downside is that nothing will be truly learned from this, at all. The US's rotten core has been fully exposed but once this is over we'll be right back to embracing that rotten core to its fullest instead of fixing it.

 

2 hours ago, Brony Number 42 said:

It shows how awesome capitalism is, how private businesses have stepped up to help out. It shows how great America is. It also exposes the ungtateful people who can't take care of themselves and blame others for their problems.

^ Case in point

[Flow 1,619]

4 hours ago, SharpWit said:

@Flow @Yakamaru @Steve Piranha I think the price of gas is actually due to a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia over the former's increased output of crude oil and is unrelated tot he virus, but it's certainly a plus for people who need that bit of extra savings and is lessoning the losses for airlines as well. Last place we filled up at was only $2.49

I've always been a bit of a prepper but never had the income or an excuse to stock up on anything until now. Don't worry, we've been responsible by not buying a lot of one single thing so it's not a detriment to anyone. However, we mostly shop at Safeway which is running their monopoly prize game, and we've been getting a lot of tickets though haven't won anything big. Also have nearly 6 gas rewards saved up! But I also enjoy putting that prep side of my brain to use.

My girlfriend's missing out on some long awaited things, but we've made good use of the time catching up on shows and movies together, making dinner and generally having a good time.

My mother runs a nonprofit and a community garden so is supplying more seeds to people than ever to start growing their own stuff from home at little to no cost with plenty of tips and tricks to do well.

So I read this article, and you are right. It just seems to be that, and it happened before the pandemic.

[Early Sunsets 2,106]

The point of this topic is to spread positivity in the grim situation the world is in right now. Can we please not get snide here? Only good vibes from here on out.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Booker

[Nsxile 25,682]

There isn't much of an bright side of this tbh.

53 minutes ago, Brony Number 42 said:

I have no idea what your point is. But I'm too busy with my job right now, making something of my life.

Good for you. But not all of us have the luxury of job security these days and just because you're doing OK, doesn't mean everyone else is.

3 hours ago, Brony Number 42 said:

It shows how awesome capitalism is, how private businesses have stepped up to help out. It shows how great America is.

Really? What exactly have they done to help the average working class person exactly? Telling them to ignore quarantine measures and continue working at the risk of getting the virus and potentially dying from it (and wrongly classifying staff as essential workers) or be fired and have no income to survive on? Private businesses have done nothing to help and the USA's cases are currently skyrocketing. There's also the fact that those who will be hospitalised will be forced into crippling debt because of USA's free market health care system (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-latest-cost-us-healthcare-covid-19-treatment-health-insurance-a9415641.html). Not exactly something to be proud of when other first world countries provide treatment without bankrupting their citizens or causing them financial distress. Nor is attempting to buy off a group of german vaccine developers to manufacture a vaccine for the US only, rather than having it distributed across the globe (https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-confirms-that-donald-trump-tried-to-buy-firm-working-on-coronavirus-vaccine/).

4 hours ago, Brony Number 42 said:

It also exposes the ungtateful people

What do people have to be grateful for exactly in a system that is exploitative of its citizens?

4 hours ago, Brony Number 42 said:

who can't take care of themselves and blame others for their problems.

Insulting those who criticise the US does not in any way help the validity of your statement. 

[Will Guide 21,325]

2 hours ago, Booker said:

The point of this topic is to spread positivity in the grim situation the world is in right now. Can we please not get snide here? Only good vibes from here on out.

Spreading positivity is what I usually do. For example, whenever a lot of people see a bad movie like the Disney Live-action remakes and just look for ways to complain about it, I prefer looking at a bad movie and looking for a little good in there. I thought if there's some good to come out of something bad I say the bad stuff is worth it. It's not always that simple but it is one of my philosophies of life. 

And this coronavirus is no different; someday we're going to get through this and we can start to become more appreciative of life.