2020-04-27

What Have We Done?

I can't believe we're not sending high school kids back to school. I can't. My daughter will have been home from March to September.  Let that sink in.

The reason? Kids use public transportation.

A poor decision in my view. Just from a mental health perspective.

And again like usual just arbitrary. Elementary and daycare kids have to go back citing mental health but not high school?

None of this is rooted in science, rhyme or reason. Same with the arbitrary progression protocols and the theatre of wearing masks and gloves. None of that will make a difference. The virus is out there and the best thing to do is just go on with our lives, take the precautions and let it ride its course.

Everything beyond that point is just politics and giving the illusion of doing something. My hunch is a lot of this barely moved the needled but I could be wrong.

Sometimes it's hard to not think something else is at play.

And we take it all in like sheep.

Go draw more rainbows and get those singers back. #CanadaTogether!

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We keep hearing how 'we're following the science' from politicians explaining whatever measures they have in place.

But are they?

It's looking less and less so and more and more foolish as more accurate data is proving the point this blog has been making all along: We were over reacting to faulty data.

As time moves on, people will begin to realize the shut down and all its unintended consequences was unwarranted and not backed by science at all.

All we did was sacrifice portions of our society and economy while others didn't share in the pain. We idiotically attempted to choose between "essential" and "non-essential" businesses much like how we pick winners and losers for bail outs.

It's a fool's game made for and by fools.

As if the preposterousness of shutting an economy down wasn't enough, we then took the added measure to quarantining healthy people.

The thinking, again completely devoid of what we have learned over centuries about infectious diseases, was to implement the precautionary principle as a means to an end.

What did we get as a result of these two stupid measures?

Secondary social malaises in the form of ruined businesses, bankruptcies which itself leads to the silent killer of stress and other diseases, divorce, domestic violence and now I've read stories of child molestation on the rise. Some of these will leaver permanent scars.

We did this 'following the science'.

The media, led by possibly the least intelligent class of people, will frame it as 'the virus has led to domestic violence'. Because, you know, the virus takes human form like in The Thing and forces people to commit acts of violence.

A more astute and sober mind will understand it's not the virus itself that did this. It's our reaction and decision to consciously cease economic activity that is the culprit. So if you supported it and called people 'yahoos' for daring to challenge the authoritarian orders of our masters, then you played your part in creating this sorry situation. Just like a person can spark a fight by going to a party where they weren't invited, people who cowered in their homes not exercising their skeptical senses listening to vapid shows like #CanadaTogether gave their tacit consent for the government to run over civil liberties.

If this wasn't a troubling and glaring example of how easily government can just take over our lives, I don't know what is. I suppose to someone who was gripped by fear the government's actions was appropriate. And perhaps early on it was as they tried to make sense of the virus.

But now we know much more about it and there's no reason to keep doubling down.

None.

If you indeed 'follow the science' then the science is telling us the shut down was overkill and unjust.

While you were baking your bread enjoying your paid vacation were you just taking orders like sheep or were you actually researching and asking questions about what's going on?

For example, did you not find it peculiar that you can go shopping a store with plenty of people but a small business was shut down? Did you actually think 'social distancing' had a meaningful impact or was it just theatre? How would we know? The sad part is we may never know and even when the studies come out (and I'm betting our scorch and burn approach will show was wrongheaded) it will be long after this passes and people won't learn a lesson. When it was clear the hospitals weren't being over whelmed and that no one speaks of 'flattening the curve' bur became a 'stay home, save lives' spin, did you notice this slight shifting of goal posts? Why was a 'one-size fits all' approach being used? Why did we think one approach in one jurisdiction was applicable in another? South Dakota isn't New York and Alberta isn't Quebec. Why were people not allowed to go into parks or go to the beach but go shopping? The idea we arbitrarily set 'maximum persons' is another example of letting fear triumph over reason.

Did any of you stop for a second and not question the hero-worshipping? The bizarre love of a medical bureaucrat who basically was wrong all along the way? Why can't we bring into question the competence of Dr. Fauci or Dr. Tam? How can you not conclude Tam wasn't compromised by the fact she seemed to take all her cues from the WHO and decided to go political when she alleged it was racist to close air travel from China?

Why didn't we isolate the vulnerable and compromised? Why didn't we use a much more surgical and efficient way of mobilizing society? Why would we ask people to weaken their own healthy immune system to stay home? Micro-Biology 101: Eat dirt. Get your vitamins. Be active.

Especially for kids which is why Quebec should have allowed all schools to re-open.

My concern is now we're allowing all these people out and there's a spike. Then what? Well, I say keep your head down and plough ahead. The coronavirus isn't murderous. It acts right in line with the flu. Influenza kills people every year and while it's true this virus has strange characteristic the bottom line is the bigger the list of people who have it, the lower the death rate.

That's why the idea of a gradual re-opening is silly. Either you open up or you don't. And quite frankly, a true and free society wouldn't have let itself be pushed around so easily. We saw pockets of places in America push back but not enough. Yet, they were still mocked by people.

If they tell your to wear a mask and glove, maybe it's a sign you should question that? These are tools of false sense of security. Not saying they're ineffective but this should be for people who are unhealthy. Those who are need not fear.

Where did our sense of toughness go? Are we this easy to break?

Instead, we hid behind 'Ca va bien aller' rainbows in a sophomoric attempt to soothe kids we frightened.

The entire West dropped the ball on this. Except Sweden. Germany pivoted quickly enough.

Quebec was on pace to be along those lines but I was disappointed today.

We had a chance to send a message to future politicians to not go down this route. My fear is we set a precedent and will learn all the wrong lessons and draw the wrong conclusions. If the government is going to go authoritarian then you go full authoritarian so as to not lose the plot on credibility. None of this half-ass garbage we saw which was obscenely unfair.

I learned we're divided along those who are sheep and those who aren't with the former forming a majority and wiling to mob it up to bring into line the latter.

I learned that there were people all too willing and happy to let the 'other person' pay the price for their fears as they sat at home with a paid vacation.

A really vibrant and healthy democracy will ask, 'what have we done'?

I know one thing.

We didn't follow the science.

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I think it's pretty rich Canadians go around on American website and mock Trump's handling of the virus while our own record wasn't exactly stellar. Outside Alberta and B.C. that did an excellent job and Quebec doing a solid one for the most part, the Federal Liberals have been a failure.

At each turn when they weren't playing identity politics, they misread the flow of other nations as they seemed to take their cues from the WHO.

They give the impression they're being run elsewhere rather than here. The perception the Liberals aren't acting in good faith and on our behalf is out there.

And what's with Moist's new voice? What's wrong with this guy?

*****

Quick word on Quebec. The disgrace of how we treat the elderly is a black mark here. Whether this leads to real changes I don't know but it should.

This travesty pumps up our numbers which strengthens the case for a full re-opening.

'Stay home, save lives' will go down as one of the most misguided health recommendations of our times.

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Politics operates by pandering to the lowest common denominator.

*****

I look at Sweden and compare it to Norway and Canada.

Here's what I see:

Sweden (pop. 10.3 million): Total cases: 18926;  Cases/per million: 1874; Deaths/per million: 225
Norway (pop. 5.4 million) 7554; 1393; 38
Canada (pop. 37.5  milllion) 48 229; 1278; 72

Just based on those raw numbers. Do you still think it justified a total shut down?

Now let's point out one key point. Sweden didn't shut down while the other two did. So the next question we can ask is, is the difference between significant enough so as to have a shut down?

Dunno 'bout you but Sweden comes out the clear winner here.

And they get to keep some modicum of dignity.

Sweden just proved their model was the way to go.







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