Right now I see a lot of folks making light of Covid-19 by coming up with silly pun-based names for sites, groups, etc. and I totally understand why: Many of us (especially in tech, where layoffs have been less bad than other sectors) currently associate this event with staying indoors, being kinda bored, trying to find things to do to pass the time. People are intellectual aware that there’s a deadly virus out there, but haven’t really emotionally reckoned with it.
But I feel pretty confident that there’s going to be a whiplash change in public perception over the next month, as a large percentage of the population comes to know Covid-19 as the thing that killed friends or members of their families.
So if you (the reader, this isn’t necessarily aimed at GP) are considering naming something after Covid-19, Corona(virus) or the word “pandemic”: I understand where you’re coming from, but I’d advise you to think twice. You really don’t want your brand to remind someone of the month they spent tending to a loved one with fluid in their lungs.
I’m honesty quite fed up with how people are treating this like a fun vacation. I’m a wedding photographer. This is going to ruin me financially, the same year we were planning on doing IVF after trying for a baby for over two years.
In addition, my father is in his late 60s, has lupus, and recently finished cancer treatment. My mom has an “essential” job so there’s a risk of transmission from her.
In short, everyone please be aware of how this is affecting people. Don’t complain if you’re still getting your paycheck. It’s fine to make jokes, but for god’s sake if someone is talking to you about how it’s going to make life hard for them don’t say “yeah, it’s going to be hard on everyone.”
There are plenty of Hitler jokes out there, and a ton of hurricane jokes for every hurricane that blows through the US. Cancer patients are sometimes sardonic about their condition. I really don't think a death toll of 100,000 is enough to stop people from using gallows humor to cope. In fact, the higher the death toll, the more gallows humor you are likely to see.
Further evidence: Coronavirus jokes have not become taboo in China.
