> This is maybe the strangest section. Why does this just talk about a hero culture related to real scientists? Do we think that people are more likely to think some nerdy scientist is a hero rather than our heroic manly president? This seems like it should be a point in support of lockdown to me (tbh, it seems like it shouldn't be a point at all, it's just an attempt to discredit experts).

Sorry to bombard you with replies, but I realized I never addressed this.

I think you might have a different idea of what "hero" means, basically all I meant is that we tend to elevate these figures (Fauci in this case) up as "heroes" and therefore act like they are infallible and thus you cannot express an opinion that contradicts them. That is what I was arguing against.

It's not about "hero" in the sense of, like, what a young child would imagine a hero is. So in the sense I'm using it, people totally do view the "nerdy scientist" (Fauci) as a hero. And I understand why they do.

> This seems like it should be a point in support of lockdown to me (tbh, it seems like it shouldn't be a point at all, it's just an attempt to discredit experts)

No, it's not discrediting them, it's just saying: evaluate policies and statements on their merits, not based on simply who said them.

I hope that makes sense.

Thanks again for all your thoughtful feedback. You clearly put time into it (and a good bit of frustration, understandably :P)