Smart People Being Idiots

I just can't with my family right now.

Good grief.

I'd like to apologize on behalf of my State-side family members. It's not a valid apology, because they don't even seem to realize the danger they are to others and themselves, but I'm apologizing all the same.

I'm sorry about my parents - 79 and 80 - who are only now stopping going to their "Strength for Seniors" fitness class at the Y... because their governor finally declared a ban on non-essential travel. And truthfully, if they hadn't gotten a message from the Y stating that "due to the ban" the class will be cancelled, they'd probably still go. 
I just can't.

They are currently caring for my nieces, too - 8 and 11. My brother is a single dad in the National Guard, and works as a driver during most days. He is, at least, trying to keep his kids safe by not bringing germs home to them. I bet he didn't expect our parents to be part of the problem!

I'm sorry about my sister, who took both of her sons - 18 and 10 - down to 18's college to clear out his dorm room now that his spring break is turning into... distance learning? Summer vacation? Not sure on details. Imagine dorms clearing out. I hope the school was smart enough not to force all students to clear out on the same day. Still. 18 has a car. A nice, snazzy, vintage Mustang. Couldn't he have done his own moving out? 
I just can't.

I know my sister is smart. There must have been a reason she had to go down... and bring her younger son along. But I can't imagine what could be more important than protecting your family right now.

I don't have a bead on my older brother's situation, but I've just tasked my niece (22) with urging her parents to stay in. He's a school administrator, and when I spoke to him last week, they'd had a meeting - trying to keep some distance between each other - and afterward he had asked an upset teacher if she would accept a hug. He didn't have a problem with it. Thank God she did! 
I just can't. 

I know they are trying to get SIL's mom to stay in, though - what is it with that generation! They have a lot going on without even thinking about a pandemic. 

[After finding their son's dead body in the attic, they have finally moved back into their house, which they can't sell until they finish the renovation to the kitchen that had started before his death. So... life is hard to begin with, and I know - from words of my SIL - that there's a bit of a "what's the worst that can happen? The worst has already happened," mentality in that family. It's heart-breaking.]

It's also heart-breaking to think that they might be cavalier about social distancing, and I might lose my big brother because he just doesn't care anymore! (Just messaged him. He says he's trying not to die, so... okay?)

{UPDATE: Just talked to him, and they are doing what they can, running over to MIL's house everyday, and feel like the country is better than I think, because there are way fewer cars on the road.}

My only living sister can't be around me for more than a day without screaming at me, and my younger brother doesn't talk to me. Not to be mean, but now that Big Sis died, if Big Bro died too, I might as well not have a family at all.

We're not stupid! I swear!
I come from a high-IQ family. I know we are all intelligent human beings. But poor choices are not relegated to idiots. In fact, maybe it's a case of doing the math and playing the odds. 

Except for the fact that the numbers are skewed by the fact that NO ONE knows much about this virus, and frankly, the American media does not seem to help. 
(We watch American news. We also watch international news. Try it sometime.)

Stay safe, people.
Stay home.
It's the only way to end this.