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That's not my reading of the grandparent - instead my reading was that COVID was closer to the (normal) flu than to the Spanish Flu, Bubonic Plague, or other su
by DuskStar 6y ago
That's not my reading of the grandparent - instead my reading was that COVID was closer to the (normal) flu than to the Spanish Flu, Bubonic Plague, or other such calamities - or at least that many people would feel that way.
- oblio 6y agoThe thing is, I've seen quite a few of those death graphs for 2020. Covid isn't the 1919 flu, but it's beaten all other causes of death for 2020 so far, with the whole world trying to stop it. Something that could kill 1-2% of the world's population in 6 months is a calamity!
- DuskStar 6y agoA calamity, but not something that would cause the collapse of civilizations, or meaningfully impact military strength a century ago.
- oblio 6y agoThe real issue is that's it's a silent killer. You don't bleed out of your eyes, there's nothing "exciting" about it (say, being an STD), it's not cool television. If an earthquake would kill 1% of the world's population, it would be the event of the century. Instead, here we are, debating Covid's significance and conspiracy theories...
- DuskStar 6y agoAt the same time, if 1-2% of the planet's population had died over the course of a day, with deaths more common among the old and unheard of in children, it would be in the news for years - but life would have gone on with minimal interruption, and I think it would have been almost entirely forgotten within a few generations. It's only because there's a chance of stopping COVID that everyone cares so much.
- oblio 6y agoAmong the old, the obese, the smokers, the asthmatics, the diabetics... You're also grossly underestimating the real impact of 1% of the population dying in a short time span.