3 ms·

> I'm not sure why it's supposed to matter. This is major gaslighting by saying that. Of course it matters. It affects the priorities and the costs. If there

> I'm not sure why it's supposed to matter. This is major gaslighting by saying that. Of course it matters. It affects the priorities and the costs. If there was indeed a lab leak that caused the pandemic, you can justify having far more oversight, and more safety precautions even at great expense, because you have evidence that failing to do so killed millions of people. Also, this would call for greater scrutiny and regulation of organizations such as the Ecohealth Alliance that are providing funding for such labs. In addition, saying it doesn't matter rewards a coverup. If someone breaks your leg, saying you should eat more calcium and be careful walking down the steps, and it doesn't matter if someone actually hit your let with a tire iron, isn't that helpful.

ben_w 3y ago
> If there was indeed a lab leak that caused the pandemic, you can justify having far more oversight, and more safety precautions even at great expense, because you have evidence that failing to do so killed millions of people. If it's even reasonably plausible, and this is as good a chance as any to take a close look and find out, then you should spend this money to prevent such an outbreak even if COVID didn't happen this way. Likewise in reverse, that wet markets were already seen as likely to cause the emergence of a new zoonotic disease, they should be changed or closed anyway because that risk is exactly the same now as in 2018 regardless of whether or not it was the origin of COVID. > In addition, saying it doesn't matter rewards a coverup. Only for people whose attention span misses that I also wrote "both cases, it's a good idea to review and possibly improve biolab safety protocols". (I suspect this is quite a large percentage; people anchors on single points very easily, no matter how hard you try to make it clear "two things: what about both?") > If someone breaks your leg, saying you should eat more calcium and be careful walking down the steps, and it doesn't matter if someone actually hit your let with a tire iron, isn't that helpful In this case it's more like: Doctors and lawyers trying to work out if your broken leg was caused by the cage fights you do every weekend, or by your recent slip down a very long and excessively polished staircase in a building that might or might not have be up to code at the time. And the options are: "Stop fighting in cage matches", and/or "see if that building was up to code and if it was campaign for better building codes".

ben_w 3y ago

> If there was indeed a lab leak that caused the pandemic, you can justify having far more oversight, and more safety precautions even at great expense, because you have evidence that failing to do so killed millions of people. If it's even reasonably plausible, and this is as good a chance as any to take a close look and find out, then you should spend this money to prevent such an outbreak even if COVID didn't happen this way. Likewise in reverse, that wet markets were already seen as likely to cause the emergence of a new zoonotic disease, they should be changed or closed anyway because that risk is exactly the same now as in 2018 regardless of whether or not it was the origin of COVID. > In addition, saying it doesn't matter rewards a coverup. Only for people whose attention span misses that I also wrote "both cases, it's a good idea to review and possibly improve biolab safety protocols". (I suspect this is quite a large percentage; people anchors on single points very easily, no matter how hard you try to make it clear "two things: what about both?") > If someone breaks your leg, saying you should eat more calcium and be careful walking down the steps, and it doesn't matter if someone actually hit your let with a tire iron, isn't that helpful In this case it's more like: Doctors and lawyers trying to work out if your broken leg was caused by the cage fights you do every weekend, or by your recent slip down a very long and excessively polished staircase in a building that might or might not have be up to code at the time. And the options are: "Stop fighting in cage matches", and/or "see if that building was up to code and if it was campaign for better building codes".