COVID-19 and the next election:

[milktree]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/social-distancing-culture/609019/

I have observed this exact phenomenon talked about in the article. Somehow "red state" people believe
they're gaining *something* by ignoring the warnings.


This part seems extra stupid:

“It feels very militaristic,” she said. “I’m just like, ‘What the hell, is this 1940s Germany?’”

Well, maybe, but perhaps it should be. In 1940s US .gov enacted curfews and spent enormous amounts
of money on defense and directed private industry on what they could and must manufacture and there
was rationing.

If we're the greatest country on earth and we won WW-II, maybe we should act like the greatest country on earth.


I have a suspicion that COVID-19 deaths will be split along two or three lines:

1) economic: If you can't afford to not work, or work from home, or if you're crowded in a house
with people who can't change their behavior, you're more likely to die.

2) educational: Most of the people who seem to think it's a hoax or "just a bad flu" or make
asinine comparisons to other diseases seem to be bad at logical thinking or are otherwise dumbasses.

3) political: The "red staters" who get some joy by thinking they're "owning the libs" by ignoring
the recommendations of the CDC and WHO.

I'm not sure how that's going to break down come election time, but (3) would suggest there might be
fewer conservative voters still alive.

Comments

[bikergeek]

4) Regardless of your political leanings, you have frequent close association with someone in one of the other three groups, by virtue of family, family status, living arrangements, occupation, part of the country you live in, or anything else. FSM help you if you're an educated liberal who happens to live in a red state. At least if you're a young person still living at home with conservative parents who aren't taking this thing seriously and you don't have any other comorbid conditions, you're likely to survive.

I hate that my survival at this point, and that of quite a few people I care about, depends so much on other people having common sense and not being fucking idiots.

[rmd]

Yep. Some of it is that some folks are so used to doing whatever they want without being told "no" or having to observe unwritten social conventions that the very idea that they might have to modify their behavior smacks of oppression like they've never experienced.

[milktree]

I think there's another factor here, too. the .gov has been crying "wolf" over so many bullshit things for so long, it's a small wonder lots of people don't believe the .gov and don't want to do what they say.

e.g.: comic books will cause violence, video games will cause violence, pot will make you a crack head, racy song lyrics are a threat to society, same sex marriage will bring on armegeddon, 11 rounds in a magazine will lead to blood in the streets, 32 oz soda cups will overwhelm the health care system with obesity and diabetes....