I can't stress enough how downplaying COVID has emboldened the far right.
When you tell people "you do you" or say that schools don't need public health protections, you shift the Overton window, making it easier for anti-vaxxers to say it's fine to spread measles.
@luckytran Bingo. There was a type a few years ago that used to chortle all the time about how dumb and wrong the anti-maskers were. But the anti-maskers WON. They freakin' won.
@luckytran
There's a quote that has been (mis)attributed to a shitload of people "Your right to swing your arms ends just where the other man’s nose begins.”
Since I literally know exactly who gave me covid, because the uncouth motherfucker coughed directly ON ME, I'd include spattering people with germs in that sentiment. I suspect I would have been fine had he observed simple courtesy and turned his head, rather than enshrouding me in a cloud of virus-laden spittle.
That said, my immune system is amazing against viruses. Not everyone is so lucky, but their lives don't have any less value than mine.
@luckytran I work for medical records at the moment. I can’t tell you how many percentage of new parents are eschewing vaccinating their children altogether. 40% here?
@luckytran I love how they pretend it's "personal choice." One person has the "personal choice" to spread disease uncontrolled. Countless others have their personal choice to NOT be sick taken away from them. Why does one choice outweigh countless other choices? They don't get personal choice to not be sick.
The only thing I can think of is the far right likes this because the poor and minorities have worse healthcare so are more likely to be seriously harmed or die from "personal choice."
@luckytran I think it's really interesting that the primary reason that the antivaxxers are so adamant is they have an (unfortunately well founded) belief that things like measles are less likely to be fatal to their children than underprivileged ones. So they see other groups suffering more, and think that's fine. Trading on no consequences.
@luckytran Centrists are what the far right used to be so I despair when people call the extremists far right when the centrists are pretty fucking terrible humans.
The people in the "center" are in part reacting to their corporate employers not being required to significantly improve working conditions in the office, and a general prohibition on confrontational politics in the workplace. Plus the implicit threats if anyone is required to do something. So generally I blame two things, one, corporate lack of leadership and consequences, and two, ordinary people who don't want to have to be the ones to confront anyone about something they're already getting pressure to handle by not handling.
I also blame the entire medical system for completely caving to their right-wing corporate owners and lawyers and not requiring continual masking in medical situations until COVID-19 is entirely eradicated.
@luckytran the Lefts own version of having a tiger by the tail.
Hold on to the tail and downplay COVID... Emboldens the right
Let go of the tail and keep necessary COVID measures and likely elect Trump again.
Neither good options but the latter will be far far worse long term. The Dems are playing politics with the science by not following actual good practices, but if you do it severely hurts Bidens popularity which is, insanely, not that great to start with.
I think even Fauci played into it by downplaying masks early on to save them for Frontline workers. That seeded the doubts of masks as the right could say even Fauci said they weren't needed.
Life is politics almost entirely. The skill is positioning so that the political decision is also the 'good' decision. Def not easy
@luckytran it's why I hold "moderate centrists" in as much contempt.
The "center" would have been using the moment to implement universal healthcare, alongside a strong public health campaign encouraging prevention and vaccines, empowering people to make informed decisions about their bodies, allowing the market to develop for supportive therapies and technologies.
Instead they insisted on yielding to the antimasker antivaxxers entirely and redefined a whimsical PH response as "the center" 🤬