Wuhan Corona virus

[Biffster]

We have these, but they are outshouted by internet charlatans and politicians.  Our own elected leaders are a major part of our problem.  They see the pandemic as a useful political tool, rather than the crisis is that it is.  As a result, they don't do much to stop it.  Granted there is a large dopey constituency out there to play to, but there is no immediate personal gain in actually helping, when fanning the flames of ignorance is so much more rewarding in the short term.

I think they’re called libertarians. Nothing is more important than personal freedom.

[SGOS]

I think they’re called libertarians. Nothing is more important than personal freedom.

Even at the expense of everyone else's freedom.

[Mr.Obvious]

Aye. Penn jilettz used to be one.
Glad to read he didn't follow in the anti mask libertarian sweep.
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From his wiki:
In 2020, Jillette distanced himself from aspects of right-libertarianism, particularly surrounding COVID-19. In an interview with Big Think, he stated, "[A] lot of the illusions that I held dear, rugged individualism, individual freedoms, are coming back to bite us in the ass." He went on to elaborate, "t seems like getting rid of the gatekeepers gave us Trump as president, and in the same breath, in the same wind, gave us not wearing masks, and maybe gave us a huge unpleasant amount of overt racism."[53]
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Personally, ideologically i identify as socialist because our duties to one another are just as, if not more, important than our personal liberties. And i know freedom is extremely important and should always be strived for, but it becomes a meaningles concept in a world without rules.

Total entropy isn't freedom. Total chaos isn't freedom. Anarchy isn't freedom. All they are, are power vacuums, void of structure and meaning where the strong may prey on the weak and the dumb and many may supress anyone different.
Libertarianism, though habing merrits in it's positive ideals, is in practice  advocacy for these repressive lack of systems, imho.

[Cassia]

Even at the expense of everyone else's freedom.

That's the part they just don't get.

[SGOS]

That's the part they just don't get.

As an ideology, it assumes that if people have are given total freedom, they will all act responsibly.  In such a climate, it may be a perfect utopia.  But all people do not act responsibility, and they never will. Libertarian government has this fatal flaw, and it will always fail.  Tweak it to make the necessary corrections, and it fails because freedoms are compromised.  Tweak nothing and society fails.

[Mermaid]

That's the part they just don't get.

Or don't give a flying fuck about. They only care about themselves. Nothing has made that clearer than this pandemic.

[drunkenshoe]

I think it is both.

[Hydra009]

Alabama had more deaths than births last year due to covid (pop not growing for the first time in its recorded history)

Alabama has the grim distinction of being the third least vaccinated state in the country (Wyoming and Idaho are less, at just over 40% vaccinated)

57,641 total births
64,714 total deaths
_____
-7,073 growth (7,182 deaths officially attributed to covid)

According to the article, half of US states are in a similar situation of deaths outnumbering births.

[SGOS]

Alabama had more deaths than births last year due to covid (pop not growing for the first time in its recorded history)

Alabama has the grim distinction of being the third least vaccinated state in the country (Wyoming and Idaho are less, at just over 40% vaccinated)

57,641 total births
64,714 total deaths
_____
-7,073 growth (7,182 deaths officially attributed to covid)

According to the article, half of US states are in a similar situation of deaths outnumbering births.

“Our state literally shrunk in 2020,” Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s state health officer, said at a news conference on Friday. There were 64,714 total deaths in the state last year, compared to 57,641 births, Dr. Harris said.

Such a gap had never been recorded, not even during World War I, World War II and the flu pandemic of 1918, Dr. Harris said. Going back to the earliest available records, in 1900, “We’ve never had a time when deaths exceeded births,” he said.

This is chilling.  The 1918 pandemic was a bad one.  Some say it was worse than Covid, but we don't know that yet because the Covid pandemic isn't over.

That aside, the states getting clobbered right now are giving 1918 a run for being "worst imaginable scenario," and what disturbs me most is that we are not living in those dark ages of medical science when we didn't even have antibiotics or a fourth of the medical knowledge available today.  The vaccine for polio had not even been invented.   It's just that people refuse to do what needs to be done out of self righteous stubbornness and ignorance.  They are killing each other, and they seem determined to do it.

[Cassia]

Alabama, ♫♫ ♫your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch and wheel on the track....♫♫ ♫

[Dark Lightning]

Alabama, ♫♫ ♫your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch and wheel on the track....♫♫ ♫

That's just what I was thinking!

I don't think that this virus will ever be eradicated.

[PopeyesPappy]

This is chilling.  The 1918 pandemic was a bad one.  Some say it was worse than Covid, but we don't know that yet because the Covid pandemic isn't over.

That aside, the states getting clobbered right now are giving 1918 a run for being "worst imaginable scenario," and what disturbs me most is that we are not living in those dark ages of medical science when we didn't even have antibiotics or a fourth of the medical knowledge available today.  The vaccine for polio had not even been invented.   It's just that people refuse to do what needs to be done out of self righteous stubbornness and ignorance.  They are killing each other, and they seem determined to do it.

Not that I'm defending Alabama's position here as one of the least vaccinated states because I'm not, but one of the main differences between now and earlier high death rate events is the birth rate is considerably lower now than it was during those earlier events.

[Mermaid]

That's just what I was thinking!

I don't think that this virus will ever be eradicated.

Sadly, it's gotten to the point where it's just endemic because we didn't stop it in time.
I absolutely blame Trump and his acolytes for that.

[Hydra009]

Not that I'm defending Alabama's position here as one of the least vaccinated states because I'm not, but one of the main differences between now and earlier high death rate events is the birth rate is considerably lower now than it was during those earlier events.

This is true, though there would (barely) be positive growth without covid.  And that's just from the official deathtoll, which is likely less than the actual deathtoll.

[Cassia]

("⛪" = ðŸ'µ) + "🙏" + ðŸ'ŽðŸ'‰ =  ⚰️