The naming of covids

[liv]

Normal life up to February or March 2020 was clearly the Before Times. (I like that better than calling it BC for 'before corona', because the latter seems slightly offensive to Christians, and Before Times is ironic but immediately transparent.)

ironed_orchid pointed out that the period we're in now is clearly the Time of Isolation.

So what are we going to call the post-Covid future? Maybe we'll never really be post-Covid, any more than we are post-flu or post-TB, but I am daring to hope for a time when it's not the dominant feature of everybody's lives. Anyone heard a term as memorable and fitting as Before Times and Time of Isolation?

Comments

[ambyr]

We’re just calling it Later. The capital is generally audible.

[rmc28]

Yeah, we do a bit of talking about After, capital also generally audible.

[highlyeccentric]

I feel like the only people confident to talk about the future are those who think it will be Back To Normal...

[jae]

I keep trying to convince people that once there's a vaccine and things can finally stabilize again, THAT will be the much-vaunted "new normal" (as opposed to now, which is the actual crisis period, i.e. the polar opposite of "normal"). So maybe just The New Normal?

-J

[silveradept]

No, I haven't heard anything. I think it's because most people can't see past the long now to the future point where things start moving again.

[sfred]

I've been going with Before, All This and After.

[cjwatson]

How about the Reconstitution (cf. Anathem)? Which would make these the Terrible Events ...

[rmc28]

Accurate.

[jack]

That seems to optimistically suggest that society will be reconstituted better afterwards, which would be very good but I feel it's too early to tell.

[cjwatson]

I mean if you want less optimistic you could go for the US-historical analogy of Reconstruction, which started out with good intentions and was then squashed by too many racists. But I think we could do with optimism at the moment!

[jack]

Yeah, maybe expecting a reconstruction will help bring it about.

[simont]

Ha, I thought of 'Time of Isolation' too. If only I'd realised that posting it on DW would be worth credit :-)

[mrissa]

I've been saying "in the After Times," but that's not after-coronavirus, that's after-the-crisis. Such as, "I'm not sure I can get small craft scissors at the grocery store, hon; if you can't find them online you may have to wait for the After Times."

[serriadh]

The Reconnection?

[liv]

OK, I think we have a winner! I'm definitely calling the future times 'the Reconnection' from now on. Thank you for the awesome suggestion!

It needs a name: can I pick your Brian?

[hairyears]

Premergency, emergency, emergence and re-emergence.


There is something to be said for calling the first Social Distancing phase 'The Sodding'.

Re: It needs a name: can I pick your Brian?

[damerell]

I fear the post-COVID period will be "fucking Brexit".