of all the long-term effects of the pandemic on society, one that i don't see talked about much is the gutting of public hangout spaces

multiple local parks yanked out their benches in 2020 and have not put them back

multiple local coffeeshops have rearranged their layouts to eliminate couches, circles of chairs, etc., and have no plans to put them back

oof

i get why and it's small potatoes when compared to actual death, but it's so sad

the benches are especially ludicrous, considering outdoor hangouts were the safest place for people to gather for the past few years!

you should be encouraging people to spend time together outside, if they're going to get together.

yeah! when things were really raging they wanted to discourage people from different households meeting up and then sitting in close proximity for lengthy periods of time (as opposed to walking six feet apart)

which i get, but

Losing those kinds of spaces for community connection is so terrible. Like: not dying is also important! But making human connections to other people in your community really matters

And something America is already pretty bad at tbh

yeah I've noticed this... it really bums me out. I don't go to my favorite coffee shop anymore because of this

too true :/

yeah, i've definitely noticed that....

In my experience it was already happening, the pandemic just sped up the process/gave them an excuse

Seconding that loosing the outdoor spaces is especially ridiculous.

I get so sad when I wait to feel really comfortable in public transportation again...

on the other hand, we as a country no longer give a crap about covid, so every little bit helps :Y

yeah, the loss of outdoor seating... covid was just an excuse to try and make the outdoors less human friendly and punish the unhoused, sadly

and I'm not sure I'll ever feel really comfortable indoors again, especially not unmasked