Ok here's my covid hot take.
So obviously, people dying is bad. Obviously, taking a bunch of precautions to save lives is very good. Obviously, being as cautious as possible is super important.
But maybe...
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My mom's philosophy (for once) is yolo. She's like, if I get it, whatever. The risk of hospitalization/death isn't high enough to justify me living my life in fear. And she did get covid, and now she's better, and she continues on not wearing a mask or isolating.
And-
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Obviously this is bad. Obviously she put herself and other people's lives at risk. Obviously she should have been isolating, not hosting bible studies.
But maybeee she's kinda right. I sort of respect her, despite the fact I've been huddled in my house for nearly a year.
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She just was like "fuck this illness, my life goes on." And a part of me wonders, is this what all of us should be doing? Bite the bullet, face a wave of deaths, suffer, grieve, and move on?
Idk. I'm not doing that but I think if my peer group were more like her, I would be.
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...maybe we live in a society so we have to negotiate temporary limits on some of our freedoms to find maximum benefit for all.
The illness is not a big deal for many of us but if we don't consider the herd we can overwhelm the hospitals and that is a big deal for everyone.
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The problem, though, is that the coordination required to keep a free people on “sacrifice for the herd” mode is very difficult to maintain. You need a lot of trust, which you can’t hold without a clear plan. If the concern was beds, why didn’t they rush to build more hospitals?
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My big worry isn't death, but a) externalities - if I'm part of a causal chain where I end up killing someone's grandpa down the line, and b) live alone, family in city is all vulnerable in different ways, if I get moderately sick I'm SOL and taking care of myself. Sounds lame
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Also, beyond a point, the health effects of economic recession overtake that of the virus. Some would even argue that we are way beyond that point.
(Case in point: See the excess mortality rates from 2008-2010)
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I think she's right. We only develop proper immunity to viruses from repeat environmental exposure, and they should evolve to exist more harmoniously with us.
If vaccines don't lead to global herd immunity, we may be in this mess indefinitely. Or until we get bored with it.
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We do this Every. Single. Day. Get in a car and drive is probably the riskiest thing we do on a daily basis and we don't bat an eye about it. Lack of exercise, poor eating habits, smoking...
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