3 ms·

It's interesting to see our desire for blame kick in. If Earth was hit by an meteor two weeks ago, or if there was a major earthquake in California, I'm sure w

It's interesting to see our desire for blame kick in. If Earth was hit by an meteor two weeks ago, or if there was a major earthquake in California, I'm sure we'd see similar blame coming from the media. Someone that has been warning of meteors or earthquakes for two decades would get on TV and talk about how negligent everyone in power is for ignoring their warnings. Agencies would argue that with more funding they could have responded earlier. Everyone who already hates Xi Jinping or Trump or Johnson or Pelosi will attach new narratives to their favorite villain blaming them for the event and the response. Maybe sometimes shit just happens, and we should skip the blame game and focus on improving our response. The best thing about this story was that it's was self-reflective on the media's 180 on this issue. That's something I don't see often in media. Just four weeks ago all the major media outlets were downplaying everything, and now those same outlets are placing blame for not taking things seriously on everyone but themselves.

madhadron 7y ago
Note that this is an op-ed by a professor at UNC Chapel Hill, not something by a journalist.
mindslight 7y ago
> If Earth was hit by an meteor two weeks ago COVID-19 has been a looming problem in the US for over six weeks. I personally stocked up on nonperishables four weeks ago when it was clear that government was doing nothing to attempt to control or even just monitor domestic spread, and the blowup was only a matter of when. Framing this situation as if it just suddenly occurred is preposterous. It only seems that way to people who were asleep or pushing the agenda to stay asleep, much like how a drunk driver thinks whatever they hit just "came out of nowhere". Many institutions and influential people are jointly and severally responsible for pushing the narrative of denial and inaction. None of them get absolved simply because other ones were doing the same while wearing different team jerseys. And the ones that continue to stonewall, distract, and disrupt deserve the most blame.

madhadron 7y ago

Note that this is an op-ed by a professor at UNC Chapel Hill, not something by a journalist.

mindslight 7y ago

> If Earth was hit by an meteor two weeks ago COVID-19 has been a looming problem in the US for over six weeks. I personally stocked up on nonperishables four weeks ago when it was clear that government was doing nothing to attempt to control or even just monitor domestic spread, and the blowup was only a matter of when. Framing this situation as if it just suddenly occurred is preposterous. It only seems that way to people who were asleep or pushing the agenda to stay asleep, much like how a drunk driver thinks whatever they hit just "came out of nowhere". Many institutions and influential people are jointly and severally responsible for pushing the narrative of denial and inaction. None of them get absolved simply because other ones were doing the same while wearing different team jerseys. And the ones that continue to stonewall, distract, and disrupt deserve the most blame.