Imagine a new Covid variant comes out. Let’s call it Omega. We learn these things about it.
- Vaccinations don’t prevent infections.
- Neither masks nor lockdowns stop the spread, and it spreads very rapidly. I.e., infections skyrocket.
- It’s not as lethal as the original virus. Hospitalizations and deaths drop, but it will send some people to the hospital, and it will kill some people. Most people will just get the sniffles.
- It’s taking over — the other variants are dying off.
It’s possible Omicron has these properties, but never mind that for now.
The rational response to this variant is to forget about masks and shutdowns and just go on with life. There’s nothing you can do about it. You’re probably going to get it eventually, and you’ll probably be fine. But some people will die.
Are we even capable of that sort of a response any more?
I don’t think so. I think we’re too addicted to fear, and we’re too addicted to the “somebody save me” mindset.
QUOTE: The rational response to this variant is to forget about masks and shutdowns and just go on with life. There’s nothing you can do about it. You’re probably going to get it eventually, and you’ll probably be fine. But some people will die.
Death is indeed a part of life but the question we must ask is…was it necessary for 800,000 to die in the US and 5.4 million worldwide? The rational response is to find “reasonable” ways to mitigate the virus spread and “unnecessary” loss of life.
QUOTE: I think we’re too addicted to fear, and we’re too addicted to the “somebody save me” mindset.
I suspect that attitude is shared by people like Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick…as he did say, “there are more things than living.” I’m still waiting to see what actually is…since I didn’t see him put himself at personal risk. That said, I wonder if the likes of Herman Cain, Marcus Lamb, Phil Valentine, Marc Brenier, Dick Farrel and their families would still agree that we are far too addicted to saving life. For those who hold this attitude, I sincerely hope they never have to experience the devastation that can come from this virus. Believe me, it’s not pleasant, at all.
I’ve been thinking about your last paragraph and I don’t think it’s very persuasive.
As written, it seems to prove too much: you could have written exactly the same paragraph in response to any freedoms with associated risks. You could ban non-emergency driving, and when people point out the consequences, list names of victims of car crashes and suggest that people in favour of cars don’t understand death and suffering like you do and if they did they would change their attitudes.
I’m well-situated for this particular comparison, because I live north of a large city with a decent transit system and don’t actually own a car. Given my circumstances it would just be a waste of money. But it also means I can’t be accused of being willing to risk the deaths innocent people for the sake of getting to the grocery store a few minutes faster and murdering the environment, unlike some other people I could name. Anyone who drives around a three-thousand pound killing machine has decided there are more things than living, and not having to suffer minor inconvenience is among them.
You’re free to object to the particular nature of the tradeoffs being made (e.g. say you’ve done the number-crunching on the number of people who will die prematurely from undiagnosed and consequently untreated cancers, or who will die as a result of correlations with unemployment and depression, etc., and decided what level of shutdown you’re happy with), but you can’t pretend that these tradeoffs don’t exist, or claim people who do so pretend must be “addicted to saving life” or that you can’t understand there are things other than simply living we need to consider.
QUOTE: I’ve been thinking about your last paragraph and I don’t think it’s very persuasive.
LOL! :-). That said, I had the same reaction to your commentary.
QUOTE: As written, it seems to prove too much: you could have written exactly the same paragraph in response to any freedoms with associated risks.
As written, your commentary completely missed my point. So much so, we are speaking two very different languages. As such, it’s likely no point in continuing this exchange. Yet, if you address the point I was making, it might be worthwhile following-up.
Depends a lot on the “we” in question, I think.
A lot of Canadians — a minority, the polls say, but a large one, and a majority of those not in the laptop class — are *already* done with everything and would be fine with a complete relaxation of restrictions. If it was announced that Omega was inevitable (sounds like a quote from some B-movie!), honestly, they’d shrug.
LargeCanadianCity’s province has seen an explosion of cases lately, and we might beat our peak incidence soon, but mortality has been stable since the summer. Canadian disobedience usually takes the form of halfhearted obedience, and the number of people whose masks don’t even cover their mouths, much less their noses, has been growing steadily despite the drumbeats. Now that even our chief health officer is saying “yeah, that mask you’re wearing is useless, you need to upgrade to SuperMask(tm)”, it’s hard to take it seriously.
I was driving to my parents’ home this week and there was 3+ mile line of cars waiting to be Covid tested. It appears the same has been happening in other parts of the country. Why now??? What has happened that has caused this sudden run on test sites?
Haven’t we seen this movie several times? There’s a major holiday or event. People discard Covid protocols and approximately 4-5 weeks later the cases rise significantly, followed by increased hospitalizations and deaths. This patterns seems very apparent by this point. I understand people are exhausted, but that doesn’t change how the virus behaves. What makes them believe they won’t be at risk of contracting or spreading the virus…especially the militant unvaccinated? It’s all fun and games until it isn’t. Why get concerned after the horse is already out of the barn? If they really believe Covid isn’t a big deal…why get tested or treated for it? Stay away from the testing centers, urgent care and hospitals and leave unencumbered access for those who care and need those resources.
I think the sudden rush for tests has to do with the increased transmissibility of Omicron.
Unfortunately, another one bites the dust and joins the ranks of Herman Cain, Marcus Lamb, Phil Valentine, Marc Brenier, Dick Farrel and others. Ms. Kelly Ernby, a rising Republican political star in California, rolled the dice against Covid and lost. Albeit I’m sympathetic to Ms. Ernby losing her life at age 46, my greater sympathies lies with her family and loved ones. As well, to those who have been influenced by her rhetoric without genuinely taking stock of the potential risks, outcomes and impacts upon others.
It appears Ms. Ernby actively advocated against government vaccine mandates. I’m still trying to wrap my head around how people like Ms. Ernby balance matters such as this. On one hand, it’s considered a personal choice and the government has no right to force people to take measures to protect their lives. Yet, on the other hand, they advocate for the government to make laws to take away personal choice in an effort to protect life. Albeit, I don’t agree with the “pro-choice” abortion crowd, I can understand how they could be skeptical of and confused by those who hold a position like Ms. Ernby. As well, how they will use this to continue advocating for their pro-choice position.