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Whether you call it celebrating or properly recognizing, I feel they were doing a public service. Go back and read it, and you will see a distinct pattern, repe

Whether you call it celebrating or properly recognizing, I feel they were doing a public service. Go back and read it, and you will see a distinct pattern, repeated literally hundreds of times. The same arc of (often vile) right-wing memes, conspiracy theories, and bravado, giving way to "tested positive, COVID is no joke", then to "calling all prayer warriors", and finally giving way to "X was the best, most generous person I ever knew". People who were obviously kind and good-hearted in their personal lives, but who had bought into, and propagated, the right wing disinformation loop. A generation from now, when history majors in US universities take their required course on the COVID-19 pandemic, I expect that the HCAs will be required reading.

ifyoubuildit 3y ago
What was this public service? The best interpretation of this that I can come up with is that somehow, HCA would shame some number of at risk people into getting the vaccine and saving their lives. I wonder, are you familiar with any estimates on number needed to treat to prevent a death? In other words, how many people would need to be shamed into taking tbe vaccine to save one life? Realistically, it was a schadenfreude circle jerk. I obviously can't know this for sure, but I'm willing to wager that the number of people saved this way was negligible. It was just yet another place for the in crowd to shit on the out group and cheer each other on while they did it.
- jewayne 3y ago
  I already told you. When historians ask "Why did the US do so much more poorly in the pandemic than other first-world countries?" they will have a ready-made compilation of testimonials. This is tremendously important for future generations to know. Did the HCAs convince large numbers of people to get vaccinated? Almost certainly not, because these people were way beyond convincing. Yes every single person working in the ICU saw an instance where an unvaccinated patient wanted to get the vaccine after they were already on their death bed with COVID. But beyond that, I think almost no Team Hoax people changed their minds about the vaccine.
  - ifyoubuildit 3y ago
    Ok, so the public service was in "documenting" some scenarios of unvaccinated people dying, if they can manage to figure out what is actually real and what was just karma farming from an audience that is very hungry for exactly that kind of content. And this will somehow be useful (tremendously important even) in the next pandemic. We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I think it's about as important as Fox news keeping old men angry and scared. HCA served the same purpose just for a different demographic.

ifyoubuildit 3y ago

What was this public service? The best interpretation of this that I can come up with is that somehow, HCA would shame some number of at risk people into getting the vaccine and saving their lives. I wonder, are you familiar with any estimates on number needed to treat to prevent a death? In other words, how many people would need to be shamed into taking tbe vaccine to save one life? Realistically, it was a schadenfreude circle jerk. I obviously can't know this for sure, but I'm willing to wager that the number of people saved this way was negligible. It was just yet another place for the in crowd to shit on the out group and cheer each other on while they did it.

jewayne 3y ago
I already told you. When historians ask "Why did the US do so much more poorly in the pandemic than other first-world countries?" they will have a ready-made compilation of testimonials. This is tremendously important for future generations to know. Did the HCAs convince large numbers of people to get vaccinated? Almost certainly not, because these people were way beyond convincing. Yes every single person working in the ICU saw an instance where an unvaccinated patient wanted to get the vaccine after they were already on their death bed with COVID. But beyond that, I think almost no Team Hoax people changed their minds about the vaccine.
- ifyoubuildit 3y ago
  Ok, so the public service was in "documenting" some scenarios of unvaccinated people dying, if they can manage to figure out what is actually real and what was just karma farming from an audience that is very hungry for exactly that kind of content. And this will somehow be useful (tremendously important even) in the next pandemic. We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I think it's about as important as Fox news keeping old men angry and scared. HCA served the same purpose just for a different demographic.