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I think that's exactly why the COVID pandemic has been so bad. The outcomes aren't as terrifying as say, ebola. If COVID had been ebola but with incredibly hi

I think that's exactly why the COVID pandemic has been so bad. The outcomes aren't as terrifying as say, ebola. If COVID had been ebola but with incredibly high transmission rate, people would have shut down hard. Everyone. Everywhere. With an extreme abundance of caution. I bet we would have stopped that early. Instead, you have this insidious disease that is so easy for people to compare to the flu and common cold, and it preys mostly on the oldest and most frail, so many people went with a "I'll be fine" attitude. And most of those folks did survive. And the virus just continued to spread, steadily doing its thing, killing millions of people worldwide.

xwolfi 5y ago
It s so easy to compare with common cold because both are coronavirii... Look I wore the mask like everyone in HK since the first day, but you have to admit you talk of it like it could kill you. It wouldn't, deaths are rare. Millions of people are not a big relative number... There are things that must kill way more that you consider absolute necessity, like coca cola, whisky or cigarets.
- wpietri 5y ago
  This line of argument is so tiresome. If death is not a big deal to you, you're welcome to give it a swing and see what you think. Or to take as much personal risk as you want. But people get to choose. If a recreational skydiver gets pancreatic cancer, that's still bad and I refuse to pretend otherwise.
  - sethammons 5y ago
    > Or to take as much personal risk as you want That’s the point that all people challenging the lock downs and mask are trying to make. It just kinda ignores the whole “this can cause it to be more likely to be encountered by a person who will handle it poorly” thing.
- lastofthemojito 5y ago
  That's exactly my point. I got COVID. It was a mild case and I survived it with no issues. My case did feel like a common cold, as did so many others. I also know someone who died of COVID. That's the sneaky thing. It's almost as if the virus plays eeny, meeny, miny, moe - a bunch of us get a sore throat, and one person gets absolutely ravaged. It's very tempting not to put your life on hold when there's a really good chance you'll beat it. Of course, when vast numbers think that way, the virus spreads widely and many die. As to your "millions of people are not a big relative number" point - at the peak of the pandemic in the USA, COVID became the leading cause of death.[0] That seems fairly major in a relative sense. [0] https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/slide/covid-19-now-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-united-states/ https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/slide/covid-19-now-...
wpietri 5y ago
And to that, a factor I'd add is "contempt for the weak". Umberto Eco mentions it as #10 here: https://www.openculture.com/2016/11/umberto-eco-makes-a-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html https://www.openculture.com/2016/11/umberto-eco-makes-a-list...

xwolfi 5y ago

It s so easy to compare with common cold because both are coronavirii... Look I wore the mask like everyone in HK since the first day, but you have to admit you talk of it like it could kill you. It wouldn't, deaths are rare. Millions of people are not a big relative number... There are things that must kill way more that you consider absolute necessity, like coca cola, whisky or cigarets.

wpietri 5y ago
This line of argument is so tiresome. If death is not a big deal to you, you're welcome to give it a swing and see what you think. Or to take as much personal risk as you want. But people get to choose. If a recreational skydiver gets pancreatic cancer, that's still bad and I refuse to pretend otherwise.
- sethammons 5y ago
  > Or to take as much personal risk as you want That’s the point that all people challenging the lock downs and mask are trying to make. It just kinda ignores the whole “this can cause it to be more likely to be encountered by a person who will handle it poorly” thing.
lastofthemojito 5y ago
That's exactly my point. I got COVID. It was a mild case and I survived it with no issues. My case did feel like a common cold, as did so many others. I also know someone who died of COVID. That's the sneaky thing. It's almost as if the virus plays eeny, meeny, miny, moe - a bunch of us get a sore throat, and one person gets absolutely ravaged. It's very tempting not to put your life on hold when there's a really good chance you'll beat it. Of course, when vast numbers think that way, the virus spreads widely and many die. As to your "millions of people are not a big relative number" point - at the peak of the pandemic in the USA, COVID became the leading cause of death.[0] That seems fairly major in a relative sense. [0] https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/slide/covid-19-now-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-united-states/ https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/slide/covid-19-now-...

wpietri 5y ago

And to that, a factor I'd add is "contempt for the weak". Umberto Eco mentions it as #10 here: https://www.openculture.com/2016/11/umberto-eco-makes-a-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html https://www.openculture.com/2016/11/umberto-eco-makes-a-list...