Suppression of Free Speech on Covid

[Magic Man]

Yeah, it's super low for a pandemic that the entire world reacted to. For instance I believe there were about 329 million people in the US alone in 2020.

It's not super low at all. And the numbers we have are only as low as they are because of the extensive measures the entire world took when they reacted to it. The number would be much higher, if we hadn't shut things down, required masks, etc.

 

[Kathryn]

It's not super low at all. And the numbers we have are only as low as they are because of the extensive measures the entire world took when they reacted to it. The number would be much higher, if we hadn't shut things down, required masks, etc.

OK keep telling yourself that.

 

[SkepticThinker]

OK keep telling yourself that.

That's exactly how it went down.

I don't know how any person can dismiss over 7 million deaths as "super low." That just doesn't jibe with reality .

You don't remember how chaotic the pandemic was in the beginning compared to the middle and the end?

 

[Magic Man]

OK keep telling yourself that.

The truth? I sure will, thanks. I tend to like sticking to reality.

Ranked by number of deaths, Covid-19 is fifth all-time after the Spanish Flu, Bubonic plague in the 6th century, AIDS/HIV, and the Black Death. I'm going to say that's not "super low".

 

[Kathryn]

That's exactly how it went down.

I don't know any person can dismiss over 7 million deaths as "super low." That just doesn't jibe with reality .

You don't remember how chaotic the pandemic was in the beginning compared to the middle and the end?

You mean the pandemic that was forced on us, that we are still feeling the effects of? That one? The one we all got so tired of hearing about? That one?

 

[Kathryn]

The truth? I sure will, thanks. I tend to like sticking to reality.

Ranked by number of deaths, Covid-19 is fifth all-time after the Spanish Flu, Bubonic plague in the 6th century, AIDS/HIV, and the Black Death. I'm going to say that's not "super low".

Compared to the earth's population it is super low. Percentage wise, it's super low. The death rate among youngish adults was also super low.

 

[SkepticThinker]

You mean the pandemic that was forced on us, that we are still feeling the effects of? That one? The one we all got so tired of hearing about? That one?

No idea what this means. The pandemic was forced on us?

 

[Kathryn]

No idea what this means. The pandemic was forced on us?

Pretty much, yes. What I said, that we are still feeling the effects of, that we all got so tired of hearing about, that one. I lived in an area that didn't see hardly any deaths from COVID. A big area in fact. And yet we all went along with it. I myself got three shots but didn't keep getting them because I had such a severe headache after the third one, for four days. Ain't nobody got time for that. Also, my blood pressure went up and has stayed elevated after that third shot, though it's come down a bit.

Oh, and I broke my elbow very badly during COVID, and they had to reopen an entire ward of a hospital just for me, because so many joint replacements were considered to be voluntary surgery, but mine was involuntary. It was horrible actually.

 

[SkepticThinker]

Pretty much, yes.

Pretty much, yes ... what? What does "the pandemic was forced on us" mean?

What I said, that we are still feeling the effects of, that we all got so tired of hearing about, that one. I lived in an area that didn't see hardly any deaths from COVID. A big area in fact. And yet we all went along with it.

Did you stop to think that maybe you the area you were in saw "hardly any deaths from COVID" because you "went along with it?" and followed safety precautions?

I mean, that's basically what you just told me here.

I myself got three shots but didn't keep getting them because I had such a severe headache after the third one, for four days. Ain't nobody got time for that. Also, my blood pressure went up and has stayed elevated after that third shot, though it's come down a bit.

That's something you should discuss with your doctor.

 

[Magic Man]

Compared to the earth's population it is super low. Percentage wise, it's super low. The death rate among youngish adults was also super low.

It was not super low in any of those ways. It was very high. Yet again, it was the 5th deadliest pandemic in history.

Downplaying the severity of it is just a right-wing tactic, because they latched on securely to the anti-science agenda, because it helps promote the outrage they need to have any chance of winning elections.

 

[Kathryn]

Pretty much, yes ... what? What does "the pandemic was forced on us" mean?

Did you stop to think that maybe you the area you were in saw "hardly any deaths from COVID" because you "went along with it?" and followed safety precautions?

I mean, that's basically what you just told me here.

That's something you should discuss with your doctor.

I did, and ended up filing a complaint against that doctor and the hospital, which I never do, and the hospital administrator ended up calling me and listening to my concerns. Oh well. What's done is done.

My area "went along with" masks and home schooling and shutting down the economy and all that but we weren't happy about it, I'll tell you that much, because the death rate was ALREADY LOW AND REMAINED LOW.

 

[Magic Man]

Pretty much, yes. What I said, that we are still feeling the effects of, that we all got so tired of hearing about, that one. I lived in an area that didn't see hardly any deaths from COVID. A big area in fact. And yet we all went along with it. I myself got three shots but didn't keep getting them because I had such a severe headache after the third one, for four days. Ain't nobody got time for that. Also, my blood pressure went up and has stayed elevated after that third shot, though it's come down a bit.

The pandemic wasn't "forced on us", except in the sense that it was a pandemic, which by definition is "forced on a population". The measures to mitigate the threat of the pandemic were forced on the population in order to, you know, mitigate the threat of the pandemic. If there were "hardly any deaths" in your area, count yourself lucky. Probably going along with it contributed to that low death toll greatly.

If you had a negative reaction to a vaccine, it's best to report it, in case it's a reaction to the vaccine. The answer isn't to just stop getting vaccines.

Oh, and I broke my elbow very badly during COVID, and they had to reopen an entire ward of a hospital just for me, because so many joint replacements were considered to be voluntary surgery, but mine was involuntary. It was horrible actually.

I'm sure that was horrible. I count myself lucky I my family and I didn't need emergency medical attention during the height of the pandemic. I'm not sure what it has to do with what we're talking about, though.

 

[Kathryn]

The pandemic wasn't "forced on us", except in the sense that it was a pandemic, which by definition is "forced on a population". The measures to mitigate the threat of the pandemic were forced on the population in order to, you know, mitigate the threat of the pandemic. If there were "hardly any deaths" in your area, count yourself lucky. Probably going along with it contributed to that low death toll greatly.

If you had a negative reaction to a vaccine, it's best to report it, in case it's a reaction to the vaccine. The answer isn't to just stop getting vaccines.

I'm sure that was horrible. I count myself lucky I my family and I didn't need emergency medical attention during the height of the pandemic. I'm not sure what it has to do with what we're talking about, though.

I did report my negative reaction to the shot, for the record. I also stopped getting them and I feel great. When was your last COVID shot? I got COVID just a few weeks after my last shot, by the way, which (COVID) was a big fat nothing. People can say that was because I had the shot but the thing is, I also knew people who got COVID before the shots came along and they were fine too. Like I have said before, the only person I know who died of COVID was 1) elderly, 2) had COPD, 3) had five shots against COVID.

 

[Kathryn]

Now if you will excuse me, I am sorry, but I am sick of this topic. FIGURATIVELY sick!

 

[Magic Man]

I did report my negative reaction to the shot, for the record. I also stopped getting them and I feel great.

I'm glad you feel great, but that doesn't mean it's because you stopped getting the booster.

When was your last COVID shot?

In the fall.

I got COVID just a few weeks after my last shot, by the way, which (COVID) was a big fat nothing.

The shot doesn't prevent you from getting Covid. It lessens the symptoms. In other words, there's a strong chance the shot you got was precisely WHY you call it a "big fat nothing".

People can say that was because I had the shot but the thing is, I also knew people who got COVID before the shots came along and they were fine too. Like I have said before, the only person I know who died of COVID was 1) elderly, 2) had COPD, 3) had five shots against COVID.

For most people who contracted Covid, it wasn't severe.

Yet again, downplaying the severity is just part of the right-wing playbook to help stoke outrage. The pandemic was devastating. Covid filled hospitals with people to the point they couldn't handle it. Many hospitals had nowhere to store the dead bodies and resorted to all kinds of makeshift measures. Rewriting history to make it seem like it wasn't so bad only makes things worse. It only means that next time, when right-wingers use that narrative to avoid measures that will mitigate a pandemic, all of it will be even worse than this was.

Whether or not you personally had a bad case. Whether or not your town was hit hard by it. Whether or not most people who died from it had other conditions. None of that matters. It's all just part of a concerted campaign against anything supposedly "liberal", just like the republicans' entire platform now.

 

[SkepticThinker]

I did, and ended up filing a complaint against that doctor and the hospital, which I never do, and the hospital administrator ended up calling me and listening to my concerns. Oh well. What's done is done.

My area "went along with" masks and home schooling and shutting down the economy and all that but we weren't happy about it, I'll tell you that much, because the death rate was ALREADY LOW AND REMAINED LOW.

I responded to this already by pointing out that the deaths in your area seem to have remained low because you all followed safety protocols, as per what you just said here and in the last post. You just told me here that you all masked up, home schooled, social distanced, etc. which means that you were all following safety protocols. The whole point of the safety protocols was to keep deaths as LOW as possible, so as not to overwhelm the healthcare system. It sounds like it worked exactly as planned in your area. Do you not see this?

I still don't know what "the pandemic was forced on us" means.

 

[SkepticThinker]

I did report my negative reaction to the shot, for the record. I also stopped getting them and I feel great. When was your last COVID shot? I got COVID just a few weeks after my last shot, by the way, which (COVID) was a big fat nothing. People can say that was because I had the shot but the thing is, I also knew people who got COVID before the shots came along and they were fine too. Like I have said before, the only person I know who died of COVID was 1) elderly, 2) had COPD, 3) had five shots against COVID.

This is why anecdotes aren't evidence.

 

[Kathryn]

This is why anecdotes aren't evidence.

Sorry, I already said it and I'll say it again, I am sick of thinking about this topic.

I responded to this already by pointing out that the deaths in your area seem to have remained low because you all followed safety protocols, as per what you just said here and in the last post. You just told me here that you all masked up, home schooled, social distanced, etc. which means that you were all following safety protocols. The whole point of the safety protocols was to keep deaths as LOW as possible, so as not to overwhelm the healthcare system. It sounds like it worked exactly as planned in your area. Do you not see this?

I still don't know what "the pandemic was forced on us" means.

We followed the instructions because it was the law, no other reason. Like I said, and have said many times, our death rate was already low and remained low. Good grief I am so sick of thinking about all this. People wore their masks wrong by the way.

 

[SkepticThinker]

Sorry, I already said it and I'll say it again, I am sick of thinking about this topic.

Okay. Anecdotes still aren't evidence and you've just help illustrate why that is.

We followed the instructions because it was the law, no other reason. Like I said, and have said many times, our death rate was already low and remained low. Good grief I am so sick of thinking about all this. People wore their masks wrong by the way.

You're missing the point. It's not about whether you wanted to follow the safety protocols. That's irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that you DID follow safety protocols, which most likely contributed to the infections and/or deaths in your area remaining low. Which was the entire point of the safety protocols in the first place. So, you all successfully followed safety protocols, and as a result, you were successful in keeping infections and/or deaths very low. It's almost like scientists and doctors actually know what they're talking about.

 

[Kathryn]

Okay. Anecdotes still aren't evidence and you've just help illustrate why that is.

You're missing the point. It's not about whether you wanted to follow the safety protocols. That's irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that you DID follow safety protocols, which most likely contributed to the infections and/or deaths in your area remaining low. Which was the entire point of the safety protocols in the first place. So, you all successfully followed safety protocols, and as a result, you were successful in keeping infections and/or deaths very low. It's almost like scientists and doctors actually know what they're talking about.

As I have said, people wore their masks wrong. You know what I found to be disturbing? The fact that churches were shut down but mass demonstrations weren't.