Agreed about unintended consequences, which is why we need people to realize that some of these issues are complicated and can't be explained or solved in a sound bight, especially from those who are trying to pin blame or push a political agenda. You bring up the example of bus drivers. I heard an interview with a bus driver the other day, and she was talking about how miserable a job driving buses is. Add to that the fact that a lot of school districts don't have any separation between drivers and school children plus several states make it illegal for school districts to enforce wearing masks on school buses where children can't be vaccinated, where they may be asymptomatic and of course social distancing isn't possible. Sure maybe there are some bus drivers out there who could have gotten by without their low wages from driving a bus with their stimulus checks and unemployment benefits, but I also don't begrudge a bus driver who doesn't want to place themselves in a tin can full of germs, especially if they're in a high risk group. IMHO, people who spread misinformation about vaccines and who cloak their selfishness in the guise of freedom of choice are much more to blame for our flagging economy then any of the stimulus packages. I agree we need to be patient, and that means putting up with the inconvenience of wearing masks and socially distancing for a few more months and not engaging in the spread of misinformation around vaccines.

--
Christopher (AKA CJ)
Chaltain at Outlook

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Pietruk <[log in to unmask]> 
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2021 9:53 PM
To: Christopher Chaltain <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] Unhappy with Freedom Scientific Technical Support

Chris 

There is plenty of blame that can be placed on all political spectrums.
What is unfortunate is the unintended results.
Many schools have resorted back to remote learning?
Why?  Can't get enough bus drivers, of all things.
Need a car repair; it may be difficult to get parts.
And that may be the very problem the blind tech companies could be facing in some instances.
And there are all sort of anomalies at pllay right now that give the U.S., in some instances, the feel of a 3rd country.
And if that is the direction we're heading in, many of the businesses people on this list depend on, will cease to exist.
And we'll be worse off for it.

So, I guess, we need to show some patience in many of our demands and hope and pray that those businesses we depend on for our software, hardware, services and the like can simply survive and get through this.

And, if formalized tech support declines, hopefully the companies that run the email groups can keep their heads above water as we'll be more than ever dependent on the peer-to-peer support lists can and do provide.

Right now, my heart goes out to small businesses as their bottom lines are more tenuous than bigger firms who might have a bit more leverage and a base to spread things over.

I'm glad that Dan was able to figure out his JFW problem; and for the moment, we may find tech support, in general, not what we expect in a lot of places given all that has happened including the pandemic which stopped many things dead in their tracks.


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