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I wish they had treated the public like adults: "Listen, we believe masks are effective but we don't have enough for medical personnel who need them right now
by caseysoftware 6y ago
I wish they had treated the public like adults:
"Listen, we believe masks are effective but we don't have enough for medical personnel who need them right now so unless you absolutely need one please stay home, stay safe, and leave them to doctors, nurses, and other emergency personnel."
No misinformation and the vast majority of people would have complied.
Lying to everyone just cost them credibility and probably lives when this is all said and done.
- tacon 6y ago"And, by the way, there is plenty of toilet paper." I bet that would have stopped the panic buying, too.
- colordrops 6y agoAlways this talking point whenever anyone suggests they should tell the truth. What else should they lie to us about because the public supposedly won't react well?
- crocodiletears 6y agoIt's a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more the state lies, the less we listen to it, and the more we start looking out for ourselves, and disregarding the public good. Government officials see us behaving like this, they assume we're too dumb and self-centered to do the right thing, so they attempt to manipulate us in order to get us to behave properly.
- Mirioron 6y agoI don't think the public would've acted like adults though, but I don't think it would've changed anything either. Even with them saying that masks don't work, there was a mask shortage almost everywhere.
- caseysoftware 6y agoThen the worst case: Still a shortage and no misinformation (aka lying) to undo. Still a major win over our current situation.
- kingofpandora 6y agoBut the shortage would have been worse ...
- caseysoftware 6y agoHow does a shortage get worse than "we're all out"?
- nicholaides 6y agoThe duration can differ. A shortage lasting a week is better than a shortage lasting months.