What if everyone just acknowledged no one has been through this before?

Oh sure, this isn’t the first pandemic that has happened in history. This isn’t the first time there have been quarantines. This isn’t the first time people have gotten sick or died, and it won’t be the last.

But this is the first time most countries on the globe have closed things down in an effort to combat a disease on this scale — at least within the lifetimes of anyone working on it right now.

So what if we just reined in the lawsuits for right now? At least, could we pull back on the ones that castigate businesses or agencies for how they are aiming at a moving target? And in return, maybe those businesses and agencies could find a way to work with individuals.

Giant Eagle is being sued for its mask policy. A minimum of seven suits have been filed against the grocery chain in federal court alleging the stores are violating the rights of disabled shoppers under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Giant Eagle didn’t enact an unreasonable policy. It complied with a state guideline issued by the governor, at a time many businesses are trying to thread the needle of customer service and keeping the licenses that let the doors stay open.

At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics put the number of Pennsylvanians dealing with disabilities at 23.9% of the population, so maybe grocery stores should have a proactive expectation that up to a quarter of shoppers might have some issue with masks — something Gov. Tom Wolf did allow for in his order — and put a process in place for handling that.

A California University of Pennsylvania student from Greensburg is suing her college for a tuition refund because classes switched from in-person to online.

Again, this didn’t happen because Cal U just decided to close up shop. Universities all over the state — and the country — closed their doors because of social distancing and to stop spread of the disease. Classes did go on via the internet, and plaintiff Ashleigh Coffman not only finished the year but graduated.

A lawsuit such as this forces universities to look backward when they should be focusing their attention on the semesters ahead to decide how to best provide education come fall when the pandemic is still under way.

Maybe it is motivated by the anger and disagreement people feel over how the government is handling pandemic response at the state and national levels. But the lawsuits are taking out that anger on entities that are navigating new and evolving demands in a constantly changing landscape, which seems unfair.

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