There’s been a lot of talk of amnesty lately for those who got it wrong throughout the pandemic, and we just got yet another reason to say, resoundingly, absolutely not.
According to the CDC, alcohol-related deaths soared in the US between 2019 and 2020. In fact the number of these deaths increased by 26%. Historically, that percentage-change year over year has never been greater than 7%.
But for no group was this increase more pronounced than for women between the ages of 35 and 44. This demographic saw a shocking 42% increase in their death rate for alcohol-related causes.
Alcohol-Related Deaths Surged Among Middle-Aged American Women During Pandemic, Study Finds https://t.co/OqawKryOmJ
— People (@people) November 4, 2022
Honestly, and unfortunately, this should surprise no one. The people behind COVID, Inc. locked people in their homes, banning everything from beaches to churches. They isolated people, separated them from their families and external support systems. They trapped people in domestically abusive situations. They shutdown schools and forced parents to become full time caretakers and teachers while still trying to balance remote work (or in-person work for those in “essential” fields). They took away people’s businesses and pushed them into economic uncertainty. They kept people from sitting with loved ones in hospitals, from attending the funerals of their parents. They turned nursing homes into death chambers by sending sick people to die there. They forced people to put new medicines in their bodies, threatened their ability to work, and made it difficult to obtain basic goods like baby formula.
It’s amazing anyone got through this experience without a drink, really.
And for women between the ages of 35-44, women who were most likely to be balancing motherhood and work, these policies were particularly pronounced.
"The new data released Friday from the Centers for Disease Control shows that the death rate for American women between the ages of 35 and 44 spiked by 42%" Note the age group- and it's easy to see why/how this group felt hopeless. Just devastating. https://t.co/3dZw6fuzPi
— Brittany (@bccover) November 4, 2022
I remember talking to friends without kids during the pandemic and they'd shrug off a lot of the pandemic "policies" as not a big deal. And it wasn't, for them. It didn't impact their lives the same way it did ours.
— Brittany (@bccover) November 4, 2022
Same went for empty nesters. There was this sense that it was "inconvenient", but not a huge deal. Again it wasn't, for them.
— Brittany (@bccover) November 4, 2022
That 35-44 age group. Lots of them pregnant and going alone to prenatal appointments, toddlers that are isolated and missing developmental milestones, parents to elementary kids struggling with remote learning, etc.
— Brittany (@bccover) November 4, 2022
It was this demographic that was trying to balance work, becoming a full-time teacher, and the majority of child-rearing. (Despite now more than carrying their weight in the workforce, women continue to also do the bulk of the work in the home, in their relationships, and in the child-rearing process).
And it was this demographic that was left to grapple not only with their own anxiety and depression in the face of uncertain times and economic upheaval, but also the reaction of their children to these things. And given the data around child mental health issues during the pandemic, this was no easy task. Mental health related ER visits for kids ages 5 to 11 increased 24% in 2020. They increased by 31% for kids ages 12 t0 17 from 2019 to 2020.
Women in the 35-44 age group were unable to meet work deadlines because they needed to be there for their kids full time. That led to financial hardship. Then prices skyrocketed.
— Brittany (@bccover) November 4, 2022
Do NOT belittle what women in my life stage went through and are STILL going through. Women 35-44 are still impacted by the lockdowns. Every tutoring appointment for their kids struggling in school is a reminder. The speech delays are a reminder.
— Brittany (@bccover) November 4, 2022
The ultrasound on the fridge from the appointment they went to alone is a reminder. The photo of them holding their baby for the first time with a face mask is a reminder.
— Brittany (@bccover) November 4, 2022
They forced women to give birth wearing a face mask. I feel like we don't talk about how crazy that was enough.
— Brittany (@bccover) November 4, 2022
Ignorance and arrogance have consequences, and these alcohol-related deaths are merely one of those. This is why people should always, always support a limited government—especially in times of uncertainty. No one has the moral authority or the knowledge to decide what’s right for 330 million people. And when you try to centrally plan people’s lives, ultimately, people die and are harmed in a myriad of other ways.
At this point we can say with certainty that the response was absolutely, resoundingly, worse than the disease itself. So no. We won’t be extending amnesty to the people who perpetrated these crimes against humanity. There must be accountability. There must be policy-reforms. There must be certainty these crazy Karens never get the chance to do these kinds of things to people again.
If you are having problems with substance abuse, please contact an Alcoholics Anonymous near you.
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