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100,000 deaths from the Bubonic Plague in Marseille. 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 in America today. Of course, the two have vastly different populations, so 1

100,000 deaths from the Bubonic Plague in Marseille. 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 in America today. Of course, the two have vastly different populations, so 100k in Marseille speaks to a much larger fatality rate than covid19 (obviously, it’s the plague!). But it really shines a light on how poorly the US has done/is doing about COVID19. And the President golfs. Most poignant part about the article: “ While economic activity took only a few years to recover, as trade expanded to the West Indies and Latin America, it was not until 1765 that the population returned to its pre-1720 level.”

umvi 6y ago
> But it really shines a light on how poorly the US has done/is doing about COVID19 How, exactly, does a plague that killed 55% of the population of a city "shine a light" on how poorly the USA specifically is handling a disease that has killed (currently) <0.1% of its population? Also, the bit about the president golfing seems like flamebait. I bet if you went digging you could find instances of Obama taking a vacation or otherwise relaxing following Hurricane Katrina.
- saghm 6y ago
  > I bet if you went digging you could find instances of Obama taking a vacation or otherwise relaxing following Hurricane Katrina. Kind of surprised this needs to be said, but Hurricane Katrina occurred in 2005; Bush was still president then, not Obama. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
  - baddox 6y ago
    That shows the effects of partisanship on people’s memory and perception of reality. Partisanship is extremely powerful.
  - umvi 6y ago
    My mistake. <insert disaster/crisis> then, it doesn't matter. You can always criticize the president for <golfing/taking a vacation/relaxing> when you think they should be doing something else.
    - locopati 6y ago
      because, yeah, this is normal... 119 golfing days in 251 visits costing roughly $134m https://trumpgolfcount.com/ https://trumpgolfcount.com/
- fishtacos 6y ago
  "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" Hint: It wasn't Obama that used this phrase in support of FEMA's terrible handling of the Katrina disaster.
- jwilber 6y ago
  Yeah, hence my mention of fatality rates. It shines a light for reason that the magnitude of 100k is massive. It’s easy for us to lose sight of that, as it’s just another statistic to us (I’m guilty of this as well). My point with the comparison was that the same number of deaths (100k) for the bubonic plague helps out things into comparison. Make no mistake that the US’s reaction to the virus is objectively awful. I tried to get tested earlier this week and still have no progress. To assume a political stance on me (in this case, that I’m pro-Obama Democrat) seems like the real “flamebait” at hand. I hope getting called for writing something that’s clearly the product of partisan propaganda will cause you to reflect on your stances.
  - umvi 6y ago
    In an absolute sense 100k is massive. But it's not particularly useful to think in absolutes. It's more useful to think in relative terms, because relativity scales, absolutes do not scale. "300 people died" Is that a massive amount of people? Hard to tell without knowing the relative context "300 people died out of 1.2 billion in India due to prions" vs. "300 people died in an airplane crash. There were no survivors" One of those 2 things will probably result in outrage and calls for policy change/investigation, the other probably will not.
- yread 6y ago
  I agree about the golfing. COVID is here to stay for quite a while. Of course we should all try to keep our sanity by relaxing - we're going to be in this for a long time. If golf helps Trump, relax, recharge and start fucking listening to the scientists he should by all means do it. It probably won't though.

umvi 6y ago

> But it really shines a light on how poorly the US has done/is doing about COVID19 How, exactly, does a plague that killed 55% of the population of a city "shine a light" on how poorly the USA specifically is handling a disease that has killed (currently) <0.1% of its population? Also, the bit about the president golfing seems like flamebait. I bet if you went digging you could find instances of Obama taking a vacation or otherwise relaxing following Hurricane Katrina.

saghm 6y ago
> I bet if you went digging you could find instances of Obama taking a vacation or otherwise relaxing following Hurricane Katrina. Kind of surprised this needs to be said, but Hurricane Katrina occurred in 2005; Bush was still president then, not Obama. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
- baddox 6y ago
  That shows the effects of partisanship on people’s memory and perception of reality. Partisanship is extremely powerful.
- umvi 6y ago
  My mistake. <insert disaster/crisis> then, it doesn't matter. You can always criticize the president for <golfing/taking a vacation/relaxing> when you think they should be doing something else.
  - locopati 6y ago
    because, yeah, this is normal... 119 golfing days in 251 visits costing roughly $134m https://trumpgolfcount.com/ https://trumpgolfcount.com/
fishtacos 6y ago
"Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" Hint: It wasn't Obama that used this phrase in support of FEMA's terrible handling of the Katrina disaster.
jwilber 6y ago
Yeah, hence my mention of fatality rates. It shines a light for reason that the magnitude of 100k is massive. It’s easy for us to lose sight of that, as it’s just another statistic to us (I’m guilty of this as well). My point with the comparison was that the same number of deaths (100k) for the bubonic plague helps out things into comparison. Make no mistake that the US’s reaction to the virus is objectively awful. I tried to get tested earlier this week and still have no progress. To assume a political stance on me (in this case, that I’m pro-Obama Democrat) seems like the real “flamebait” at hand. I hope getting called for writing something that’s clearly the product of partisan propaganda will cause you to reflect on your stances.
- umvi 6y ago
  In an absolute sense 100k is massive. But it's not particularly useful to think in absolutes. It's more useful to think in relative terms, because relativity scales, absolutes do not scale. "300 people died" Is that a massive amount of people? Hard to tell without knowing the relative context "300 people died out of 1.2 billion in India due to prions" vs. "300 people died in an airplane crash. There were no survivors" One of those 2 things will probably result in outrage and calls for policy change/investigation, the other probably will not.
yread 6y ago
I agree about the golfing. COVID is here to stay for quite a while. Of course we should all try to keep our sanity by relaxing - we're going to be in this for a long time. If golf helps Trump, relax, recharge and start fucking listening to the scientists he should by all means do it. It probably won't though.