4 ms·

It's easy to point fingers from the sidelines. I'm curious how this would've progressed if the virus had originated in the US instead and how much better it wou

It's easy to point fingers from the sidelines. I'm curious how this would've progressed if the virus had originated in the US instead and how much better it would've been handled.

aianus 7y ago
These viruses don't originate in China by random chance. Although, ironically, they originate in China because of too little government control over hygiene in wet markets and game meat, not too much authoritarianism.
- DyslexicAtheist 7y ago
  > originate in China because of too little government control over hygiene in wet markets and game meat China isn't unique here, it's also the case for most of Africa and other South East Asian countries.
  - aianus 7y ago
    I didn't say it was unique, just that it's not random that it happened in China and not America.
- smileysteve 7y ago
  > These viruses don't originate in China by random chance China (country), India and Africa (continent) each separately have > 1/6 of the World Population. So, even if human disease came randomly, it would have a 50% chance of being from these 3 areas. What is surprising is that the high population densities of the Philippines haven't correlated to disease.
  - jethro_tell 7y ago
    The last few have all come from miss handled wild and exotic meats/animals. Countries that have proper handling of meat, and rules around what can be eaten and owned don't have these problems. Granted, there's an underground in every country I'm sure, and if all things were equal with the rules and enforcement, your argument would be much more reasonable.
  - himinlomax 7y ago
    Isn't it interesting that these deadly viruses don't tend to originate from India? Even though they're supposed to have worse sanitation and are poorer, and a similarly large population, both in density and total. The Chinese government promotes "traditional medicine" for nationalistic reasons, and I suspect it's playing a significant role in these zoonotic diseases -- not to mention the extinction of rhinos and whatnot.
datashow 7y ago
> I'm curious how this would've progressed if the virus had originated in the US instead and how much better it would've been handled. The federal and local governments in the U.S. do not have the same power as CCP to suppress the "rumor". The eight doctors would not have been reprimanded by the local police for discussing the new virus in private online groups. The Trump administration would not have power to tell the CDC to shut up. The Trump administration would not have power to force the CDC to under-report counts. The states would not cooperate with the federal government to under-report counts.
- billfruit 7y ago
  You should remember how the AIDS epidemic was handled in the US. A lot of people died before govt even acknowledged it was a problem, there was much lack of coordination between the federal and state/city governments in handling it.
  - bobthepanda 7y ago
    AIDS had the unfortunate coincidence of (at least initially) mostly targeting marginalized groups that governments at the time had no problem with throwing under any bus that came. COVID-19 is spreading to everyone who can catch it across all socioeconomic groups.
- Ma8ee 7y ago
  And there’s no way in hell a few states with a total population of 50 million would agree to be quarantined. Imagine they’ll tried to stop all flights from O’Hare and Detroit.
  - selimthegrim 7y ago
    50m
    - Ma8ee 7y ago
      50 million people, yes, thank you. Edited.

It's easy to point fingers from the sidelines. I'm curious how this would've progressed if the virus had originated in the US instead and how much better it would've been handled.

aianus 7y ago

These viruses don't originate in China by random chance. Although, ironically, they originate in China because of too little government control over hygiene in wet markets and game meat, not too much authoritarianism.

DyslexicAtheist 7y ago
> originate in China because of too little government control over hygiene in wet markets and game meat China isn't unique here, it's also the case for most of Africa and other South East Asian countries.
- aianus 7y ago
  I didn't say it was unique, just that it's not random that it happened in China and not America.
smileysteve 7y ago
> These viruses don't originate in China by random chance China (country), India and Africa (continent) each separately have > 1/6 of the World Population. So, even if human disease came randomly, it would have a 50% chance of being from these 3 areas. What is surprising is that the high population densities of the Philippines haven't correlated to disease.
- jethro_tell 7y ago
  The last few have all come from miss handled wild and exotic meats/animals. Countries that have proper handling of meat, and rules around what can be eaten and owned don't have these problems. Granted, there's an underground in every country I'm sure, and if all things were equal with the rules and enforcement, your argument would be much more reasonable.
- himinlomax 7y ago
  Isn't it interesting that these deadly viruses don't tend to originate from India? Even though they're supposed to have worse sanitation and are poorer, and a similarly large population, both in density and total. The Chinese government promotes "traditional medicine" for nationalistic reasons, and I suspect it's playing a significant role in these zoonotic diseases -- not to mention the extinction of rhinos and whatnot.

datashow 7y ago

> I'm curious how this would've progressed if the virus had originated in the US instead and how much better it would've been handled. The federal and local governments in the U.S. do not have the same power as CCP to suppress the "rumor". The eight doctors would not have been reprimanded by the local police for discussing the new virus in private online groups. The Trump administration would not have power to tell the CDC to shut up. The Trump administration would not have power to force the CDC to under-report counts. The states would not cooperate with the federal government to under-report counts.

billfruit 7y ago
You should remember how the AIDS epidemic was handled in the US. A lot of people died before govt even acknowledged it was a problem, there was much lack of coordination between the federal and state/city governments in handling it.
- bobthepanda 7y ago
  AIDS had the unfortunate coincidence of (at least initially) mostly targeting marginalized groups that governments at the time had no problem with throwing under any bus that came. COVID-19 is spreading to everyone who can catch it across all socioeconomic groups.
Ma8ee 7y ago
And there’s no way in hell a few states with a total population of 50 million would agree to be quarantined. Imagine they’ll tried to stop all flights from O’Hare and Detroit.
- selimthegrim 7y ago
  50m
  - Ma8ee 7y ago
    50 million people, yes, thank you. Edited.