5 ms·

The pandemic has been awful. But imagine it had struck 20 years ago

4 points by incanus77 6y ago

GenerocUsername 6y ago
They didn't have the tech to engineer the virus 20 years ago.
- howlong 6y ago
  Nor the tech to spread fear and panic so efficiently.
- soylentcola 6y ago
  Nor the channels to spread cynical conspiracy theories so easily.
  - Apocryphon 6y ago
    Those channels existed, but the audience wasn't there yet. Back after 9/11 there were lists of dead, allegedly assassinated, microbiologists floating around the internet.
- zygotic 6y ago
  Nor the economic power to extract money on a global scale
cheaprentalyeti 6y ago
The last time I checked Worldofmeters.com for the number of deaths in Cambodia and Laos, Cambodia had one and Laos zero. GUESS why. The cult of the expert and the censored internet has been used to make this outbreak much much worse than it had to be.
- ecf 6y ago
  > Cambodia had one and Laos zero > GUESS why > censored internet You answered your own question. Governments censoring the death count to downplay it to their citizens.
  - cheaprentalyeti 6y ago
    The Laotian and Cambodian government didn't downvote me. HN's commentariat is trained to oppress themselves. Laos and Cambodia are both malarial zones. They aren't going to throw away the drug that keeps parasites from eating their brain just because Saint Anthony Faustci tells them to.
goldenchrome 6y ago
Now that we’re on the tail end of this global cultural experience, we’re starting to see stories that reassure us that we did the right thing after all. I don’t buy it. If the pandemic had struck 20 years ago, we wouldn’t have had the technology to work/play/live from home so we simply wouldn’t have stayed indoors for over a year. The (not very deadly) virus would have run its course and we’d be back to normal faster than now.
- ecf 6y ago
  > The (not very deadly) virus would have run its course and we’d be back to normal faster than now. 1) I’m sure family members of those that died from the virus are reassured to hear it isn’t very deadly 2) The amount of hubris required to make a statement that the virus would be gone if we had taken a different path is entertaining to watch. Hindsight is 20/20.
  - goldenchrome 6y ago
    The problem with discussing our options is that anyone can play the "people are dying, so you're being inconsiderate" card. I agree that the virus has caused excess suffering, but our actions to prevent people from living life have caused suffering too. It's not clear that pausing our collective lives, ruining countless small businesses (while large businesses reach sky-high profits), driving up mental health issues, making policies that disproportionately hurt the poor (while providing nearly zero financial assistance), and promoting mask use to the point where citizens are default distrustful of each other for over a year of our short lives was worth it. Given the very low risk of dying from the disease, it seems that the biggest impact of the virus was its ability to remind us all that we're going to die.
- incanus77 6y ago
  ?? Covid was the third leading cause of death in the US last year as it was. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7014e1.htm?s_cid=mm7014e1_w https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7014e1.htm?s_cid=mm...
  - 6y ago

4 points by incanus77 6y ago

GenerocUsername 6y ago

They didn't have the tech to engineer the virus 20 years ago.

howlong 6y ago
Nor the tech to spread fear and panic so efficiently.
soylentcola 6y ago
Nor the channels to spread cynical conspiracy theories so easily.
- Apocryphon 6y ago
  Those channels existed, but the audience wasn't there yet. Back after 9/11 there were lists of dead, allegedly assassinated, microbiologists floating around the internet.
zygotic 6y ago
Nor the economic power to extract money on a global scale

cheaprentalyeti 6y ago

The last time I checked Worldofmeters.com for the number of deaths in Cambodia and Laos, Cambodia had one and Laos zero. GUESS why. The cult of the expert and the censored internet has been used to make this outbreak much much worse than it had to be.

ecf 6y ago
> Cambodia had one and Laos zero > GUESS why > censored internet You answered your own question. Governments censoring the death count to downplay it to their citizens.
- cheaprentalyeti 6y ago
  The Laotian and Cambodian government didn't downvote me. HN's commentariat is trained to oppress themselves. Laos and Cambodia are both malarial zones. They aren't going to throw away the drug that keeps parasites from eating their brain just because Saint Anthony Faustci tells them to.

goldenchrome 6y ago

Now that we’re on the tail end of this global cultural experience, we’re starting to see stories that reassure us that we did the right thing after all. I don’t buy it. If the pandemic had struck 20 years ago, we wouldn’t have had the technology to work/play/live from home so we simply wouldn’t have stayed indoors for over a year. The (not very deadly) virus would have run its course and we’d be back to normal faster than now.

ecf 6y ago
> The (not very deadly) virus would have run its course and we’d be back to normal faster than now. 1) I’m sure family members of those that died from the virus are reassured to hear it isn’t very deadly 2) The amount of hubris required to make a statement that the virus would be gone if we had taken a different path is entertaining to watch. Hindsight is 20/20.
- goldenchrome 6y ago
  The problem with discussing our options is that anyone can play the "people are dying, so you're being inconsiderate" card. I agree that the virus has caused excess suffering, but our actions to prevent people from living life have caused suffering too. It's not clear that pausing our collective lives, ruining countless small businesses (while large businesses reach sky-high profits), driving up mental health issues, making policies that disproportionately hurt the poor (while providing nearly zero financial assistance), and promoting mask use to the point where citizens are default distrustful of each other for over a year of our short lives was worth it. Given the very low risk of dying from the disease, it seems that the biggest impact of the virus was its ability to remind us all that we're going to die.
incanus77 6y ago
?? Covid was the third leading cause of death in the US last year as it was. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7014e1.htm?s_cid=mm7014e1_w https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7014e1.htm?s_cid=mm...
- 6y ago