3 ms·
This comment is a great example of why it is so hard to fight pandemics. It is incredibly tempting to give in to the post-hoc rationalization of how things work
by snowwrestler 2y ago
This comment is a great example of why it is so hard to fight pandemics. It is incredibly tempting to give in to the post-hoc rationalization of how things worked out. Which then leads to a high degree of public complacency prior to the next pandemic.
On an individual basis, people who survive the pandemic (by avoiding infection or by surviving infection) are tempted to reason that the fear, doubt, and mitigations were all in fact overblown. After all, most folks got through it ok, right?
The reality is that COVID worked out way, way worse than even pessimistic guesses in early 2020. It killed over a million Americans, many of whom were in fact healthy adults without obvious risk factors. And the long-term legacy of “long COVID” impairment is still being learned.
- cogman10 2y agoIt nearly killed my sister-in-law who is a (relatively) healthy 20 something. Definitely gave her long covid and she definitely treated it with ivermectin. To this day, her and her husband will rant and rave about how dangerous the vaccine is (which my family and I all the boosters for). I've been told about the millions that will die any day now from the vaccines. And while I've yet to actually hear of a single person that took the vaccine who's died from either covid or the vaccine itself, I have multiple family members and friends family members that I know died from covid. I don't even doubt that there are people that have received the vaccine and later died from covid, I just don't personally know anyone that is in that category.
- motohagiography 2y agocalling high quality decisions about risk post-hoc rationalizations is like saying an athlete is just dumb and lucky.
- snowwrestler 2y agoThinking we “won” COVID like a skilled athlete seems like an example of the complacency I’m referring to.
- motohagiography 2y agothat's about the understanding of athleticism as well. people who take risks have a high performance mentality. a lot of covid policy was exploitative, and principled and intelligent people knew. some just don't fall in as easily. it was the imperious attitude that forfeited the credibility of institutions and will weaken another social response, and not the people who wouldn't be lied to. people talked about the unvaccinated as a risk, what about the people who for their eagerness to submit, their fearfulness, and their profound contempt for honesty, failed to be persuasive and credible in a crisis? some people used a flu to run a society wide milgram experiment and everybody knows now. nobody will listen again.
- doubleg72 2y agoWhat experiment? The irony of your comment on intelligent people is not lost on me.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]