What Do We Do About a Neighbor Who Breaks the Distancing Rules?

Should I convey my disapproval?

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story August 15, 2020 Illustration by Tomi Um   The Ethicist What Do We Do About a Neighbor Who Breaks Distancing Rules? The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how to respond when your neighbor keeps having large gatherings during the pandemic — and more. By Kwame Anthony Appiah We live on one side of a duplex in a densely populated urban area of Seattle. Three weeks into the shelter-in-place order, our neighbor who lives on the other side of the duplex had multiple people coming in and out all week, and then held a barbecue on his small patio with several people where it was impossible to remain six feet apart. He lives alone, and the guests seemed to be friends. It bothered us that he appeared to so brazenly disregard guidelines put in place to protect the community. We hardly know this neighbor. We took strict precautions ourselves, so did not feel personally at risk. But was it our ethical obligation to ask him to stop having people over? Read the Ethicist’s response here. THIS WEEK’S MAGAZINE Doug Mills/The New York Times   Feature Unwanted Truths: Inside Trump’s Battles With U.S. Intelligence Agencies Last year, intelligence officials gathered to write a classified report on Russia’s interest in the 2020 election. An investigation from the magazine uncovered what happened next. By Robert Draper Illustration by John Karborn   Feature How Covid Sends Some Bodies to War With Themselves Many Covid-19 patients may be dying from their immune response to the virus, not from the virus itself. Can science figure out how to save them? By Moises Velasquez-Manoff Jovelle Tamayo for The New York Times   Feature The Scramble to Pluck 24 Billion Cherries in Eight Weeks Every single one needs to be picked by hand — even in a pandemic. Seasonal workers say they may be essential, but they feel disposable. By Brooke Jarvis Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT MORE FROM THE MAGAZINE Recipes, essays and columns Photo illustration by Bráulio Amado   Talk Mark Cuban Wants to Fix Health Care, the N.B.A. and Maybe Everything Else "I’m just looking to say — and this may be arrogant — how can I solve this problem?" By David Marchese Heami Lee for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.   Eat The Particular Texture and Joy of Homemade Ice Cream The moments spent watching and waiting for this chocolate-flake raspberry ice cream to form capture a childish delight that we could all use right now. By Dorie Greenspan Photo illustration by Gabriel Zimmer   Letter Of Recommendation The Spiritual Power of Fat Is it any surprise that when survival became a theme of daily life, I immediately thought of making cultured butter? By Alexandra Kleeman Photo illustration by Najeebah Al-Ghadban   Screenland The Fandom Around R.B.G. Is Out of Step With Reality ‘The Notorious R.B.G.’ memes hit like relics as the symbol of progressive change looks more like a regular person for whom justice was not served. By Amanda Hess Video by HunterGatherer   Issue 8.16.20 Behind the Cover: Unwanted Truths A look at the turmoil and compromises of the American intelligence community under President Trump. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Stay in touch: Follow us on Twitter (@NYTmag). Appreciated this email? Forward it to a friend and help us grow. Loved a story? Hated it? Write us a letter at magazine@nytimes.com.Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here to get the magazine newsletter. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Check us out on Instagram, where you’ll find photography from our archives, behind-the-scenes snippets from photo shoots, interviews on how we design our covers and outtakes that don’t make it into the issue. Learn more about the experiences and costs of war. Sign up for the At War newsletter to receive stories about conflict from Times reporters and outside voices. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The New York Times Magazine from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018