There were protests in the state Capitol today against stay at home orders. People of this mentality give a really strong support to ideas of succession, separation. It is not a political issue in my state currently, succession, but in a general sense I mean. If some people want to proceed as though they are invincible against covid they should have a right to do so, but very far away from others who do not want to make that choice. Their bad choices should NOT be allowed to effect the larger community, but by the nature of the illness it will. They could name their portion of the state "Invinciblandia" but are not welcome to cross the border.
And some of us wonder why we're so disrespected in other parts of the world. Friends in Kenya were just emailing me to ask why Americans are so self-centered and childish. I told them that these're spoiled children and it's time to grow up!
I wouldn't be surprised if there are people all over the world who are breaking stay at home orders and would not specifically call out Americans as self-centered or childish. I do understand people want life to be normal again, but the hard-headedness is not something all should have to pay consequences for. The more political pressure that is exerted the more likely we are to cave. Just trying to find a talk I started listening to on the beneficial side of being a more disciplined, rules based society in going through a pandemic.
Additionally, ideas of separation are not just limited to this pandemic, but what about other behavior certain people want to engage in and others want no part of such as drug use or criminal behavior. Certain behaviors do pour over and negatively impact the larger society. For some it is acceptable, others want no part ,but are forced to deal with the consequences. Borders clearly define here and there. Separation is important in some ways.
@Bobby9 Bobby, I've traveled all over the world and I know that, in many cases, Americans are spoiled, self-centered and unwilling to see ourselves from other nations' viewpoint. Kenyans are among the most charitable, caring and warm people I've ever known. How much time have you spent there?
@Flowerwall Exactly! The cult of the pustule encourages them to rant and rave about their ''religious freedoms" and ''personal freedoms,'' which apparently allow them to disregard all social responsibility. Wonder how many will wash down their Kool-Aid with bleach?
If you stay at home and away from such people, how could their actions possibly affect you then? Furthermore, in absence of any hard evidence such people are infected with Covid-19, how could you conclude they pose a danger beyond any doubt? As an atheist I go by evidence, not assumptions. Prove to me beyond any doubt those protesters are indeed carriers of Covid-19 and then I'd agree with taking action against them.
I will assume a certain portion of a group that contains thousands of Americans are INDEED infected with covid. When you consider the number of infected in our nation right now it is very highly improbable NOONE in the group was infected. Of course it's not possible to prove anyone has covid unless have undergone testing. Do not forget the large percentage of infected who are asymptomatic. They have chosen to break government orders to stay at home and have increased the risk of transmitting the disease to themselves and everyone they are coming in contact with in their communities - for instance at the grocery stores. I view the behavior as irresponsible. Why not protest in your cars? Find another way to get the message out.
@Flowerwall It's interesting to note that most of the states with the highest number of documented cases of infection are states that lean to the left politically speaking and that of which a majority of the citizens are not out protesting, yet that didn't minimize new infection cases. Point is, we should be questioning just how effective these lockdown measures really are. We shouldn't arrive to any conclusion absent of evidence. I also suspect that if most of those protesters were to be tested and the results negative, people would still be complaining that they are ignoring government orders, because people need something to complain about. Fear can be a powerful motivator, and fear is certainly in play in regards to the lockdown. Also keep in mind quite a few of those protesting just want to go back to work in order to support their families, as they don't fancy living off of government stimulus checks. It's never bad to question things.
@Flowerwall I can agree with you that it would be more ideal to protest in a car, if one felt the need to protest.
@SpikeTalon It's not bad to question things. But it is bad to break the rules of a stay at home order in the midst of a pandemic. Stay in your car, post your message posters on the hood, windows, form a procession. It's just very bothersome to know at some point the government is going to encourage resuming activities before we should. The disease will spread once again.
@Veteran229 Here is the American reluctance to forego individual liberty even in the face of a pandemic that I have been talking about in other posts! Yes Sir, or Maam, (sorry I do not know your gender) we are in the middle of a pandemic. We are going to have a certain portion of our citizens, between 1.?% to 4.4% die, and until you are willing to approach a group of 100 American citizens and tell us which 2 to 4 people the group deserves to succumb to covid, and then do it over and over again, you need to learn how to FOLLOW RULES. If you are a veteran you have already existed in a culture that is highly adept at following rules, the military. Think of this in THOSE terms. The high level of discipline that achieves the ends of military goals and the accompanying respect and accomplishment that comes with that. You have a duty to your fellow countrymen.
@Veteran229 Okay so if we assume there is some type of misreporting inside our country (I don't think there actually IS, beyond the typical skewing that is always present in some degree) how could death rates in other nations be explained? For instance Equador has seen total deaths skyrocket from 1,000 to 6,700 in first half of April. They don't have the ability to test for covid sufficiently, so the official numbers of covid are low, but what would explain the increase of 5,700 deaths? [usnews.com]
@Veteran229 And the high prevalence of people experiencing covid like symptoms is a coincidence? You can't get diagnosed with Aids unless you get tested for it. So does that mean there are no undiagnosed cases of AIDS? NO, it means they have not been diagnosed. Likewise a nation like Ecuador, where the cost of covid testing is too high and medical resources extremely scarce, is piling up dead bodies. Combine that fact with what is occurring in nations all over the world and you know it is covid. Unless there is another growing pandemic there of different cause, which I have heard no news of.
@Veteran229 From what I heard pneumonia drops of at this time of year normally. There would be no point to testing for it first. With covid being the more infectious illness, the first thing they would probably look for is covid. I do not believe they have stopped counting all non-covid pneumonia. Please site a reputable source to back up your claim.