Stop acting like you’re exempt from social distancing while exercising, now — or else
Dear Person Who Is Continuing to Behave on the Greenways As If the Coronavirus Is No Big Deal:
You were in my way yesterday.
Yeah, you.
I was running by myself on the greenway — adhering to the recommendation about getting regular exercise during the stay-at-home order — and you and two of your buddies were in my way. You were side by side by side, spaced maybe a foot or two apart, blocking the whole path, and as I approached, it was clear you were not going to move aside.
Now, pre-pandemic, the passive-aggressive part of me might have at least fantasized about weaving between you just to try to snap you out of your self-absorption. But I’m non-confrontational in general, and right now, in the time of the coronavirus, I’m even more so — at least in part because my wife works in a hospital.
So in this case, when you didn’t move, I veered off the trail and gave you a wide berth (at least 10 feet).
By the way, I’m sorry if it seems like I’m picking on just you. I’m not. You weren’t the only one in my way yesterday. There were plenty of people like you out there yesterday — and the day before that, and the day before that. In fact, pretty much every day since the social-distancing recommendations were issued, I’ve encountered all kinds of walkers and runners and cyclists and skaters taking up space together in the same ways they always have.
To which I would say this: Enjoy being in the way on the greenway while you can. Because if you keep it up, it’s possible that soon enough the only people you’ll be able to annoy on the greenway are police officers.
I mean, Mecklenburg County officials already have issued an explicit warning to you. Didn’t catch it? Here’s what they said earlier this week, in a nutshell: Tougher restrictions on public places like parks and greenways might be needed if people don’t practice better social distancing.
If you don’t think they’ll do it, go ahead and try them.
Just as an example: When the county’s stay-at-home order went into effect on March 26, it originally allowed for people to use its basketball, tennis, volleyball and other sports courts; then, after the county observed people flooding those courts and ignoring social-distancing guidelines over the weekend, officials closed them all, effective Tuesday.
(Also worth noting is that Anne Springs Close Greenway — the private nature preserve in Fort Mill, S.C. — announced Thursday that it will close to the public at the end of the day Friday “until the threat of COVID-19 has passed.”)
And when you consider the restrictions being placed on people who want to exercise in certain other parts of the world, you’ll realize that they’re actually going rather easy on you.
In Italy right now, people are only allowed to engage in outdoor sports on their own property, and if you want to walk your dog, you have to do so within 200 meters of your front door. The fine for violators in some cities? More than $3,000. In Israel, citizens are permitted to exercise only within 100 meters of their homes. And in Panama, men and women aren’t even allowed to be out at the same time anymore.
I know what you’re thinking. It sounds insane. That would never happen in the United States.
Come on, though. Think about all the things we would have scoffed at six weeks ago if someone had tried to tell us then what we would be dealing with now.
“A pandemic, here? Uh-uh.” “More than 4,500 dead, and close to a quarter-million sick? Yeah, right.” “A recession practically overnight and record unemployment? No way.” “No NCAA Tournament, no Masters, no Major League Baseball? Ridiculous.”“Average gas prices under $2 per gallon? Impossible.”
All bets are off, at this point.
Look, I get it. The rules are annoying. But in the grand scheme of things, I’d argue that the current greenway rules are a small price to pay for one of the few simple pleasures we’re still able to enjoy right now in public. And unfortunately, yes, they do apply to you:
- Stay out of tightly clustered groups unless you’re with people you live with.
- If you’re with someone you don’t live with, practice social distance (that’s six feet of spacing, at least).
- Whether you’re with others or going it solo, pay attention to your spatial relationships and move off to the side way ahead of time if you see someone else coming.
In other words — and I say this as politely and respectfully as I can, in the hopes of a brighter tomorrow — please stay out of the way.
It should be clear by now what the consequences are if you don’t.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
