5 ms·
Finding the worst crackpots and giving them a platform is not good journalism. Instead, Reuters should be reaching out to the >> 99% of churches that are sane a
by joncp 7y ago
Finding the worst crackpots and giving them a platform is not good journalism. Instead, Reuters should be reaching out to the >> 99% of churches that are sane and finding out what they're doing to help people being affected by the virus and recession.
... but interviewing sane people doesn't generate clicks.
- ceejayoz 7y agoSouth Korea’s initial big spike in cases came from a single superspreader going to a religious gathering. It’s not unreasonable to highlight the potential for that here.
- yters 7y agoHave you read much about the religious gathering to understand whether it is similar to a normal church service?
- ceejayoz 7y agoI’ve been to enough church services to know they’re a place germs can spread.
- dunham 7y agoI'm not familiar with South Korean church practices, but there is an instance of a choir practice in the US that spread COVID-19 fairly effectively. This suggests that singing, a common practice in US churches (in my experience), spreads the disease. An article on the event reports that the choir members attempted to distance themselves from each other and use hand sanitizer. https://nypost.com/2020/03/30/washington-choir-rehearsal-turns-deadly-after-coronavirus-kills-2/ https://nypost.com/2020/03/30/washington-choir-rehearsal-tur...
- yters 7y agoThe members also averaged 63 years old, right in the most likely age group to catch the virus.
- ceejayoz 7y agoAre you under the impression old people don’t go to church? Have you been to a church service?
- yters 7y agoYes, many. My point is the chorale group is not representative of all church group demographics. If people can shop safely, they can go to church safely.
- falcolas 7y agoSocial distancing in a church, given a 6’ distance requirement, 2’ per seat wide, and 3’ from center of one row to the next, would mean that 1/8 of the normal congregation could fit in the chapel. Half are immediately out, because you would need at least every other row empty. In a given row, 1 of 4 seats would be filled, to maintain 6’ between individuals. On Easter Sunday, churches are full to the point where they have multiple services throughout the day to accommodate everybody. So, while possible, it’s not reasonable to hold an Easter Sunday church service in these times.
- yters 7y agoWhy prohibit all services just because we cannot accomodate everyone?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- dunnevens 7y agoConsidering how the virus spreads, and how quickly, it makes perfect sense to cover and interview these people. If they were only hurting themselves, then maybe they could be ignored. But they're not. They're putting their families, and communities at risk.
- joncp 7y agoRight. Fine the hell out of them, but don't give them a platform.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- ewfjkllawjfa 7y agoyou are a crackpot if you believe any of this 'pandemic' bullshit
- happytoexplain 7y agoThat seems unreasonable. "Churches" is an enormous and highly general category. That's analogous to criticising a story on a business doing something controversial or dangerous instead of exclusively interviewing the thousands of businesses doing good.