COVID-19, part vi,...the first wave continues to surge

[Falls City Beer]

I think the narrative is more that "rednecks" are more likely to ignore the cautions and potentially catch the disease, not so much that they are more likely to die if they catch it. Living in a spot loaded with Rednecks, I can tell you that very few people around here act with caution. Businesses do and force the employees to (but the employees don't really comply so much when the boss isn't looking), but "every day people" aren't cautious. Little social distancing and few masks. I think people are too self centered in their thinking. The thought process is that it's up each person to decide the amount of risk they are willing to take and while that may sound reasonable, some one acting risky who catches the virus means they become a spreader who infects other people who aren't volunteering to take that risk. Taking a risk isn't a personal decision in this case. It's a societal issue that risks the health of everybody. I think public health has priority over personal risk tolerance myself. It's a pandemic. This isn't like deciding to over-eat or take junk in your body that only impacts you personally. This is a communicable disease and every person who gets it increases the risk to everyone.

But is personal behavior the driver of this is the question? Or are there other factors? Are white rednecks less likely to adhere to mask mandates than other races/demographics? Are white rednecks the spreaders of the disease? Or are they the whipping boy because they’re louder about their intransigence (and it’s acceptable in the media to go after poor white people)? That’s what I mean about narrative. What are the actual facts? We don’t know.

According to that NYT article I posted earlier in this thread, Americans are wearing masks at a much, much higher rate than Denmark, Norway, Canada, countries that have largely stopped the virus cold in its tracks. So what gives?

[RedTeamGo!]

Only someone from the far left would ever say that.

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Only someone from the far left would say that.


Personally, I'm as non-partisan as Wayne Morse and Mark Hatfield. The three of us think alike (they are long dead, but I carry the torch).

Curious: what are some examples of unbiased news sources in your opinion?

[RedTeamGo!]

Boy, so many teachers seem to want to speed at-home schooling and the gutting of their unions.

Teachers used to see themselves as part of the working class, now they see themselves as simpatico with entertainment lawyers and hedge-fund managers.

Good job!

This is incredible nonsense.

It blows my mind people believe this kind of stuff.

[kaldaniels]

But is personal behavior the driver of this is the question? Or are there other factors? Are white rednecks less likely to adhere to mask mandates than other races/demographics? Are white rednecks the spreaders of the disease? Or are they the whipping boy because they’re louder about their intransigence (and it’s acceptable in the media to go after poor white people)? That’s what I mean about narrative. What are the actual facts? We don’t know.

According to that NYT article I posted earlier in this thread, Americans are wearing masks at a much, much higher rate than Denmark, Norway, Canada, countries that have largely stopped the virus cold in its tracks. So what gives?

I’ve wondered that. I’m certainly not saying the US has done a good job in our behavior but have we really been so bad that the result is we are getting hammered compared to all other nations? I know there are countries who really stepped up but is the US deserving of “last place?” Granted last I checked the U.K., Spain, and a few other countries had a worse per capita death rate than us, but we are trending awful. I’m not looking at all to commend the US for anything here but it just makes me wonder.

[Falls City Beer]

I’ve wondered that. I’m certainly not saying the US has done a good job in our behavior but have we really been so bad that the result is we are getting hammered compared to all other nations? I know there are countries who really stepped up but is the US deserving of “last place?” Granted last I checked the U.K., Spain, and a few other countries had a worse per capita death rate than us, but we are trending awful. I’m not looking at all to commend the US for anything here but it just makes me wonder.

So far no one is asking these questions. It’s not even that scientists can’t tell us. It’s that the questions aren’t even being asked.

[kaldaniels]

That’s terrible. I can’t see shaming anyone who is working with the public during this pandemic. I see them as heroes who deserve to be paid more. I tip as much as I can, but I know it’s not enough. I’m actually hoping that after this is over, there will be a new found appreciation for service and other front line workers.

Not trying to ruffle any feathers (I’m not directing this at you) here but perhaps the initial comment wasn’t phrased the best. Yes, no one is shaming the workers to their face at the point of service, much the contrary. People are appreciative of them as you are. But many of those in the service industry do have the mindset that “we need to get back to work.” And when they share those thoughts outside of their work setting (say, on a message board), that’s where the shaming occurs. Basically, there are people who don’t mind others going back to work when it suits them, but once that’s out the window “everyone else stay home.”

[757690]

Of course, no one said anything like that, and I wasn't defending anyone. It's just that all you hear about in the news is Florida and Texas, when there are states that you don't even hear about have done a far more terrible job of containing this, and maybe it's worth figuring out why. But at least you left out the haircut meme this time.

We are hearing about Florida and Texas because they are the new hot spots. The east coast was a huge hot spot at the beginning and when that was the case, that was what the media focused on.

I mean, this is common sense. The news focuses on what is news, what is happening right now. Btw, the media is also focusing hard on California, because that is also a major hot spot right now.

[757690]

I’ve wondered that. I’m certainly not saying the US has done a good job in our behavior but have we really been so bad that the result is we are getting hammered compared to all other nations? I know there are countries who really stepped up but is the US deserving of “last place?” Granted last I checked the U.K., Spain, and a few other countries had a worse per capita death rate than us, but we are trending awful. I’m not looking at all to commend the US for anything here but it just makes me wonder.

I don’t want to get too political, but the answer seems obvious to me.

Check the countries that are doing poorly. Their national leadership ignored or downplayed the pandemic , and never developed a national plan to deal with it.

The countries with strong national leadership that took the pandemic seriously and developed and enacted a national plan. they are the ones that seeing a plateau now.

Worldwide, this hasn’t been about the makeup of the citizenry, it’s been about the leadership at the top.

[mth123]

But is personal behavior the driver of this is the question? Or are there other factors? Are white rednecks less likely to adhere to mask mandates than other races/demographics? Are white rednecks the spreaders of the disease? Or are they the whipping boy because they’re louder about their intransigence (and it’s acceptable in the media to go after poor white people)? That’s what I mean about narrative. What are the actual facts? We don’t know.

According to that NYT article I posted earlier in this thread, Americans are wearing masks at a much, much higher rate than Denmark, Norway, Canada, countries that have largely stopped the virus cold in its tracks. So what gives?

The Rednecks around here aren't really poor. Most of them are upper middle class, white collar types with their $50,000 truck with a gun-rack and Trump/Pence bumper sticker that they use to tow their boat to their vacation cabin in the National Forest not too far from here. Those are the people not wearing masks and not maintaining their distance for the most part.

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Curious: what are some examples of unbiased news sources in your opinion?

There is no such thing.

[RedTeamGo!]

I know, I’m just curious what kingspoint thinks about the question.

[Kingspoint]

Also WaPo ran an article yesterday recommending wealthy parents simply hire a teacher for their kid. Lol. But the media is still very much in tune with the average American. Laugh out loud.

That they so badly whiffed on the last election shows how truly out of touch they are.

[Boss-Hog]

Just a reminder: debating the political leanings of sources, and anything else not directly related to the virus, should occur in the politics forum instead of this thread.

[paintmered]

Also WaPo ran an article yesterday recommending wealthy parents simply hire a teacher for their kid. Lol. But the media is still very much in tune with the average American. Laugh out loud.

Except that the WaPo doesn't recommend the practice beyond reporting that families are seeking out private education arrangements. Instead, they criticized it as a way to further widen the gap between those who have and those who don't.

"Not everyone can afford truly private education, and these arrangements are raising concerns that this is just another way that the pandemic is exacerbating inequities that course through the educational system. Already low-income children struggle for access to computers and WiFi service and face pressures at home that wealthy families do not. Now this."

[WrongVerb]

I know, I’m just curious what kingspoint thinks about the question.

I think you can find fair fact based reporting at most reputable outlets. The problem we have in America (send other countries?) is that a lot of us conflate credible journalism with biased news analysis and opinion/editorial. Even worse, some news outlets purposely don't draw much distinction between those two realms. So you hear a story "reported" on an opinion show that is reported more robustly on a fact based outlet you've been conditioned to believe is "far left" and confirmation bias leaves you thinking that fact based outlet is biased against your politics.

[Boston Red]

Except that the WaPo doesn't recommend the practice beyond reporting that families are seeking out private education arrangements. Instead, they criticized it as a way to further widen the gap between those who have and those who don't.

"Not everyone can afford truly private education, and these arrangements are raising concerns that this is just another way that the pandemic is exacerbating inequities that course through the educational system. Already low-income children struggle for access to computers and WiFi service and face pressures at home that wealthy families do not. Now this."

If I could afford it, I'd 100% do that for my kids' schooling this year.