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What people believe about other things is irrelevant. The fact that a lot of people are hypocrites for being dismissive of COVID-19 is true, but completely unr

What people believe about other things is irrelevant. The fact that a lot of people are hypocrites for being dismissive of COVID-19 is true, but completely unrelated to whether being dismissive of it is rationally warranted. Conservatives who thought starting wars because of terrorism was justified and liberals who think shutting down civilization for months because of a moderately lethal viral pandemic is justified might both be wrong.

maxerickson 6y ago
shutting down civilization Not a reasonable description of stay at home orders with electricity, running water and (for many anyway) grocery deliveries.
- umanwizard 6y ago
  Replace it in your mind with whatever term you think is appropriate. Doesn’t much change my point.
- SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
  For many people it is. Not everyone is capable of thriving when sitting at home all day. Imagine how you or I would feel if the Internet were cut off indefinitely; that's what a lot of people feel when they're told they can't go anywhere or do anything.
lukami 6y ago
Where did you get that it’s only the “liberals” who think that lock-down is necessary to combat this virus? Here are some countries that have imposed lock-down and can hardly be described as liberal: China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria, Pakistan. Interestingly, one of the most liberal countries in the world, Sweden, is the one that didn’t impose a lock-down.
- umanwizard 6y ago
  My comment is specifically about the US, where support for the lockdown is strongly correlated with support for one of the two major ideologies on the US-specific political spectrum. Sorry for not making it clear that what I was saying wasn’t intended to be applicable internationally.
  - api 6y ago
    It wasn't like that in the beginning of the pandemic. Any potential source of division in the US gets seized upon by the utterly massive partisan propaganda machinery (of both parties) and turned into a fault line with which to segment the electorate. Nothing is immune, and the process is advanced, scientific, industrial scale, and highly effective. The reason billions are spent to do this to us is that elections are largely decided by whose base is most fired up to actually bother to vote. That means it's less about debating issues or convincing anyone and more about firing up the base with fear, hate, or other base emotions that tend to translate easily to action.
  - lukami 6y ago
    Then what is the basis for your assumption that liberals [in the US] might be wrong when they support the lock-down if almost everywhere else in the world conservatives and liberals agree that lock-down is necessary?

maxerickson 6y ago

shutting down civilization Not a reasonable description of stay at home orders with electricity, running water and (for many anyway) grocery deliveries.

umanwizard 6y ago
Replace it in your mind with whatever term you think is appropriate. Doesn’t much change my point.
SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
For many people it is. Not everyone is capable of thriving when sitting at home all day. Imagine how you or I would feel if the Internet were cut off indefinitely; that's what a lot of people feel when they're told they can't go anywhere or do anything.

lukami 6y ago

Where did you get that it’s only the “liberals” who think that lock-down is necessary to combat this virus? Here are some countries that have imposed lock-down and can hardly be described as liberal: China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria, Pakistan. Interestingly, one of the most liberal countries in the world, Sweden, is the one that didn’t impose a lock-down.

umanwizard 6y ago
My comment is specifically about the US, where support for the lockdown is strongly correlated with support for one of the two major ideologies on the US-specific political spectrum. Sorry for not making it clear that what I was saying wasn’t intended to be applicable internationally.
- api 6y ago
  It wasn't like that in the beginning of the pandemic. Any potential source of division in the US gets seized upon by the utterly massive partisan propaganda machinery (of both parties) and turned into a fault line with which to segment the electorate. Nothing is immune, and the process is advanced, scientific, industrial scale, and highly effective. The reason billions are spent to do this to us is that elections are largely decided by whose base is most fired up to actually bother to vote. That means it's less about debating issues or convincing anyone and more about firing up the base with fear, hate, or other base emotions that tend to translate easily to action.
- lukami 6y ago
  Then what is the basis for your assumption that liberals [in the US] might be wrong when they support the lock-down if almost everywhere else in the world conservatives and liberals agree that lock-down is necessary?