Why can’t we talk about the Great Barrington Declaration?

The spectator used to be really good. But since brexit, it's rapidly becoming like fox news. I'm centre left but I used to listen to their podcasts because it was challenging and well reasoned and some alternative to my usual bubble. Not anymore alas.

I think it must be tempting to just talk to like minded people and rail against strawmen. But the lack of self restraint ultimately leads to these sorts of personality cult, beliefs>facts bs (the article and the "declaration" are both examples of this) we've had for the last few years on both sides of the Atlantic. Maybe this is just the cycle of democracy, and in 10 years people will wake up and realise? I hope so.

"This is why we can't have nice things."

The well has been so contaminated with BS that public discussion of health choices has become impossible. If the WHO adopts GBD, good. We can only hope no public health issue arises that does need nuanced public discussion to get somewhere; if it happens, we are SOL.

“Can’t talk”? Talk is all the blathering rubes and crooks do.

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/great-barrington-declaratio...

Oh boy.

First up, for those not in the UK, Toby Young is one of the most predictable and idiotic commentators in print media in this country. And no, that's not hyperbole.

For example, he has a stock template article ready to go whenever there's any whiff of controversy on Twitter involving anything remotely "woke". He'll change a few words, hit publish and there's his new hatchet job complaining about The Youth of Today and Those Bloody Woke Leftists. Does it matter what the actual issue is? Nope!

You might think that this is an ad-hominem atatck on Young, and it partially is. But his article is just an appeal to authority, why not dismiss it on the exact same grounds.

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Now on to the actual subject matter: What is the GBD? What revelatory text have these three scientists (along with support from Dr Johnny Bananas etc. al.) produced?

It's plain, old fashioned, let-the-virus-rip herd immunity. Sacrifice some unlucky people so you don't have to bother wearing a mask.