Stopping the spread of the virus demands the non-negotiable ethical imperative to push as many people as possible to remain in their homes.
This can take two forms: work from home, if your job allows it. If the nature of the work makes telecommuting impossible, the person is very likely laid off.
Statistics in news articles around this fact have already sharpened the intensity of that change across the landscape.
But firsthand accounts serve to shade in between the lines of that data. These Redditors humanize the numbers.
greensypoop asked, "People who lost their job due to this crisis what is your story?"
A Sacrificed Messanger
"F&B manager at a large hotel. GM and HR gave me a list of employees to call and inform them that they would all be furloughed."
"It was the hardest thing I've had to do in my life. I had to stop halfway through the list just to sit in my office and cry. I had to encourage grown men and women that everything would work out and be okay when I had no idea myself if or when it would be."
"I went to work this morning, worked my normal 10 hours, then I was laid off at the end of the day."
The Non-Material Demands of a Crisis
"I haven't been laid off, but I answer for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and we are having so many calls where someone is thinking about killing themselves because they were laid off. It's absolutely awful."
"I have no answers for these people, and I wish I had the power to provide for them."
-- prettysjwtbh
Relocation is Off the Table
"My wife and I live in New Zealand and had planned a two year working Visa in Toronto. We were supposed to leave in April, so we had obviously already handed in our notices of resignation to our bosses."
"Long story short, Canada shut it's borders and my boss has already hired my replacement."
-- Paranoid427
Everything on Hold
"Construction."
"The whole construction site was laid off, and with the way things are going, the company owner thinks it'll be at least a year before they consider hiring me back."
"Started 3 months ago, and that's at least 50 other people affected, just for this site. The company had several other sites that they laid off employees too."
"I'm just lucky I'm still living with my parents, and Dad works as online IT for the general public, so he's nice and busy."
-- termiAurthur
Rotten Timing
"Yeah i just got hired last week but i think that my first workday isn't gonna happen." -- jebbaok
"I hired three people a couple weeks ago; two servers and a host. I told them that I will reach out as soon as I can offer them training hours and then shifts. I got laid off a week later." -- thisonetimeinithaca
Reality Keeps Dreams, Dreams
"I just finished my training as a flight attendant for a major European airline. It's been a dream of mine and I have been putting my love and energy into this training for the past months."
"I'm in Cancun right now and it's bitter sweet because it's absolutely beautiful here, but at the same time this was my last training flight."
"I'm now a fully trained flight attendant and yet no one knows when me and my other new colleagues will actually be getting our work contract since the airline industry is suffering a lot right now."
"I think I will cry when landing back in Frankfurt tonight, because I don't know when will be my next flight."
Too Many People on that Stage
"Classical musician here. Every orchestra had to cancel concerts for the next 8 weeks. Unsure if any of the concerts will be reschedule."
"Many orchestras are waiting to see if the "act of god" clause will be applied. If that is the case, musicians will not be payed. Most summer orchestras are still programmed but there is high chance will be shut down as well."
-- elbrigno
Even the Lay Off Process is Impacted
"Just lost it about an hour ago. I'm a restaurant manager and they called me and told me to turn in my keys by the end of the day. I'm in quarantine and can't. They are sending me a UPS box so I can send in my keys and told me to file for unemployment."
"I never expected this to happen to me. I'm in shock idk what I'm going to do."
-- f*kyokarma
Multiple Year Ramifications
"My job as a barista was shut down for safety and because nobody is coming in, anyway. And my summer job (teaching kids how to swim at a sleepaway camp) is cancelled because the camp decided not to open."
"While I'm not in danger of losing my house or starving, I am now unable to afford to continue going to college next semester."
A Necessary Collectivist Spirit
"They wanted a coworker and I to reduce our hours to half each, because they could only afford one of us and didn't wanna make a redundancy. In the end, I took the redundancy."
"I'm 21 and live at home, meals provided. My coworker is a 30 y/o homeowner with bills and an unemployed girlfriend. Him loosing half his income for me seemed wrong."
"Better me than him."
-- edmidgley
What's Best for Em
"I was a bartender."
"The bars and restaurants were shutdown. I was actually relieved because, not gonna lie, I was afraid of dealing with so many people and all the glasses. People would've just kept coming too if the state hadn't shut us down."
-- hurtsdonut_
Unnecessary, Though Understandable, Guilt
"My husband got laid off on Tuesday. He works about 3 minutes down the road from my work. He showed up at my work with tears in his eyes, apologizing to me for not doing good enough to be kept."
"He works at a car dealership as an auto technician, where they let go of four techs that day cause of decreasing business. They're letting go of more people this Saturday. My brother is a mechanic there, and is scared to lose his job too."
"They told my husband that when business picks back up, they "might" call and ask him to come work for them again."
-- Tazzybugg
When it's for the Best
"My mom works in vacation rentals doing housekeeping, she's 61, diabetic and has COPD, and lives in a state that has mandatory shutdown of all non essential businesses."
"When she was informed they'd be laying people off, but also staying open, she told them she's afraid of getting the virus and they laid her off so she could collect unemployment and continue to pay her bills while staying home safe."
Another Approach, Still Not Ideal
"I haven't lost my job, but my small software company instituted 30% paycut across the board. They say it'll be re-evaluated every month. Clients keep cancelling or postponing projects."
"So I'm good this month, but could easily lose it next month. I'm just happy they decided to cut pay instead of fire 30% of the workforce, so everyone can keep their health coverage."
"That and I'm not sure I wouldn't have been part of that 30%."
-- TummyDrums
Nothing to Advertise
"I was laid off from my 5 year graphic design job, working for a screen printing and promotional products company. About half of our business involves schools, sports, and events."
"Obviously none of that is happening currently, so our business has stagnated. They are going to try to operate with a skeleton crew for the next couple months."
"The hope is to bring everyone back eventually, but I'm not optimistic."
-- wogwai
Ghost Towns Need No Fill-Ins
"I'm a substitute teacher. If you are aware that most schools are closing if they haven't already, then that should explain why all subs are now effectively unemployed."
"It's unlikely that schools will return during this situation, so yes, thousands of people are out of work just from that alone."
"Subs don't make salary, so any employee who is hourly or paid by day now needs to scramble."
-- codenteacher
An Untimely Family Industry
"I was laid off indefinitely from 2 different hourly paying line cooking jobs on Monday(~50hrs combined/week)."
"I helped clean out one of the restaurants Wednesday. We discarded a lot of stuff. I helped clean out all of the coolers and throw away A LOT of prepped food that people didn't/couldn't take home. Employees we're encouraged to take what they wanted; produce, dairy, meat, etc."
"The place is almost completely empty, it's surreal."
"My spouse was laid off indefinitely Wednesday. She manages a restaurant and is salaried w/ benefits (~50hrs/week). She was told that management will not be paid until the place reopens."
"Our family currently has no work or income. We have a young child. These are very uncertain times."
Left Scrambling for the Basics
"Wife and I both work in the restaurant industry. Both laid off unpaid indefinitely. She's a type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetic, and we've got 2 young kids."
"We have no idea what we are going to do. Insulin and supplies were already killing us. The thought of not being able to get her insulin is horrifying."
Everyone has their travel bucket list.
The list of places they absolutely must visit before they die.
There are those, however, who also have a rather different list of destinations.
The places that have no intention to visit.
Be it for safety concerns, language barriers, or simply that there's nothing at these places that calls to them, there are places some wouldn’t dream of spending the time and money to visit.
Redditor TrooperJohn was curious to hear which places were at the very bottom of the list of travel destinations for his fellow Redditors, leading them to ask:
"What is a popular tourist destination you have no interest in visiting?"
Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
Mountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
Hustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
Some dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
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When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"

Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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Being home alone isn't always the most tranquil thing.
No one is there to help or protect you.
And things that go "bump" in the night... sometimes they do more than bump.
Redditor ag9910 wanted to hear about the times home felt like an unsafe place to be. They asked:
"What is the scariest, strangest, most unexplainable thing that has happened to you while home alone?"
I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
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The human body is still such a mystery.
How much do we really know?
Not a lot apparently. We're learning more all the time.
And most of it is gross.
Redditor BathNo7713 wanted to discuss the ick factor of anatomy. So they asked:
"What is the most disturbing fact about the human body?"
The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
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