Even during the worst of the Spanish Flu, nobody was 'locked' anywhere.
Quarantines were logical and enforced by those too ill to get out of bed in the first place. The family and friends taking care of them were always free to come and go.
This. My grandparents lived through that in Philly. This is exactly what they said. The "bodies stacked like cordword" were mostly regular deaths that didn't get picked up in a few instances in the slums because the funeral directors or whatever didn't want to go into the filthy slums. But the newspapers made up a bunch of hysteria about it.
My grandfather was a West Point man and an engineer. Very rational and calm under pressure.
He said that "Spanish flu" was mostly a hoax and that the original "virus" was some kind of biological agent from a government program. I thought he was just being a wacky elder...till learning much more about all that within the past ten years. Grandpa, forgive me for not being able to hear you then! Though admittedly I was like eight years old.
Even during the worst of the Spanish Flu, nobody was 'locked' anywhere.
Quarantines were logical and enforced by those too ill to get out of bed in the first place. The family and friends taking care of them were always free to come and go.
But we know so much more now about viruses than back then. (Rolls eyes)
We've unironically regressed.
This. My grandparents lived through that in Philly. This is exactly what they said. The "bodies stacked like cordword" were mostly regular deaths that didn't get picked up in a few instances in the slums because the funeral directors or whatever didn't want to go into the filthy slums. But the newspapers made up a bunch of hysteria about it.
My grandfather was a West Point man and an engineer. Very rational and calm under pressure.
He said that "Spanish flu" was mostly a hoax and that the original "virus" was some kind of biological agent from a government program. I thought he was just being a wacky elder...till learning much more about all that within the past ten years. Grandpa, forgive me for not being able to hear you then! Though admittedly I was like eight years old.