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We are closing in on 780,000 total deaths from Covid in the US. More than a quarter of those were working age adults two years ago.
I don’t know if people are generally any more stupid now. I think it’s just that our media elevates these uninformed voices and amplifies these stupid points of view, treating both sides as possibly right, when one is so obviously wrong.
The people who believe this nonsense still aren't a majority, but they are now a large enough constituency to affect actual public policy. They are enabled by another large group who choose to ignore the insanity because it is politically convenient for them. I find all of this beyond terrifying. I stand by my statement: Smallpox could never be eradicated in 2021.
That's not new, though, really; it's new for the US, but it's a pretty common thing in the developing world (and was somewhat common in Europe pre-WW2).
The right sort of leader could absolutely have caused a similar reaction in the US 70 years ago, and the US _did_ have another weird political moment around that time; the McCarthyist panic. If McCarthy had been a weird narcissistic president rather than a paranoid, and then lost re-election, what do you think would have happened?
It’s certainly worse in the US than it is in Germany. That much is clear.
False dichotomy.
Also what if you are wrong? You seem very certain. Why? No meaningful discussion is allowed, so how is it that you feel you have all the information you need to make the decision -- first for yourself, and second, for every other person in your country? It seems like you are just thankful your fears about your neighbors have been tranquilized? Where did those fears come from again?
You’re simply wrong. You’re entitled to your wrong opinion, but you’re no longer entitled to force the rest of us to suffer for it.
Are you so sure they are right this time? You are probably no expert so it seems like you are just taking their word for it. Good thing they are telling you it's the right thing to do!
> You’re simply wrong. You’re entitled to your wrong opinion, but you’re no longer entitled to force the rest of us to suffer for it.
The only one making you suffer is you not some 'other'. You are choosing to let fear become a wedge.
As a moral exercise, consider that when you force people against their will to do anything, you necessarily assume responsibility for the results, unless you are an immoral person. Are you willing to assume that responsibility? The manufacturers of the products are not. This in particular is a big red flag.
How would you feel if the roles were reversed and it was you who did not want some medical procedure? What if others just discounted your position out of hand?