Fear mongering

Is it just me or is anyone else sick of the fear mongering going on? I'm trying to be hopeful that society will beat Covid and then I see some article on the lines of "society will never return to normal", or "why the vaccine won't work" or some other fear inducing article and I'm back to being depressed. It also seems to be that we keep failing on some new Covid metric. I'm no longer even seeing articles related to vaccine progress. This might be why drug abuse and suicides are rising. If you think I'm an emotional snowflake, tell me how you are staying strong. 

 

I feel you, I really want school to open back up by the time spring come around and then I see some article saying saying this is what the world will be like from now on. It’s just not true, we’ve been through worse then COVID and things went back to normal. This too will pass. I feel a lot of the fear mongering has some other agenda that’s being pushed. COVID fucked a lot of people up but other than being bored and alone, I’m doing okay. So you gotta keep some perspective, it’s helped me stay positive. Having said all of that, I can’t wait for things to open back up fully and hopefully that will be sooner rather then later.

 

Me too! Every time I start thinking about how my life used to be before the pandemic, I feel very depressed. Also really aching to go back to NY. Hugs <3

 

There is progress, it's just not broadcasted as much. You're in IB, so I figure you've got some business sense.

Who's writing the articles? Media comapanies. Are these companies for profit? Answer is obvi yes. Ok what drives profits? Increase site traffic generating advertisements or subrscribership. 

Ok now mix in some psychology. Disaster is something that draws the human mind towards. Even if it's a flight or fight situation. If you here a loud BOOM, you're gonna wonder what the fuck just happened. That's attnetion. Media profits off that. 

I think you catch my drift. It's the media's job to get you to click, NOT to disseminate truthful unpartisan info. 

 

This is unironically my biggest reason to vote for Biden. If trump wins, I’d bet my savings that the “harsh winter” hits where “cases see unprecedented spikes” and we get locked the fuck up for the next 4 years

 

You're right. This is a pretty good illustration of his discipline with masks:

Jokes aside, my post was meant to be read sarcastically. Once the election is over, if Biden wins and we see a blue wave, the dems will drop the act of pretending that all of these things are so essential and necessary, and you will see a gradual relaxing of all these strict mandates and things they have to this moment been taking hard stances on (mostly in opposition of anything that Trump stands for).

A quick example of this is to look at the fact that Trump and reps have been opposing lockdowns and favoring opening up. The dems have been the total opposite. You can look at the data for states that were hard lockdowns versus those that have been more relaxed and see whether or not there is a difference favoring those states that were stricter in locking down. Funny enough, you have the WHO (whom the dems say we must listen to unequivocally) coming out just in the last couple of days against lockdowns. Again, if Biden wins, announcements from the WHO like that would be taken seriously and then you could expect lockdowns to ease up much sooner, but not while Trump is still in office.

 

I never realized the Democrats controlled a good portion of Europe and Asia too. Crazy right! Interesting how they convinced South Korea to take lockdown seriously, then take spikes seriously, and then allow them to return to normal but sabotage the US to own the bad orange man. I think everything seems political because the US is becoming a dumpster fire. I’m here because it’s the best country to get rich in, but I’m second guessing raising a family here.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

It's exhausting. The media profits off of fear mongering. I think back to April when children were having cardiovascular issues from COVID. It was all over the news. These stories and headlines generated clicks/views because it attracted concerned parents. They never mentioned that these issues were EXTREMELY rare. As time went on, people learned that they were extremely rare, and the headlines stopped.

So it goes, if it bleeds it leads.

 

During any great period of change you'll hear doomsday predictions & naysayers, but destruction and rejuvenation is a natural cycle. Will be lost some great restaurants, some historic? Yes. But we've lost countless historical restaurants in times past. They will be replaced and many will be the historic restaurants the world 200 years from now. We'll also gain things. Uber / Airbnb / etc and many others were founded around GFS, we'll also have some great things coming out of this.

Some good things to come out of COVID a year from now:

- Remote work. You'll be able to spend more time with family & friends who are not geographically close to you as you work out of their places for several weeks / months of the year. No longer are many folks tethered to ungodly high COL areas like SF

- E-commerce. Why does this benefit you? Sites like AMZN get significant volume discounts which are mostly, if not all passed on to the end consumer so greater e-com penetration means more savings for you on those sites where you have widest selection / high transparency on quality with reviews / etc 

- Vaccine & FDA Approvals. A vaccine which would have taken 10yrs do make will pretty much be ready in under 2yrs, shows that a lot of this stuff can be accelerated more so than was thought before. Means faster solutions on a lot of other diseases moving forward assuming funding is there 

Many, many more good things will come out as well. Sure, a vaccine realistically won't be available till at least April / May of next year. More likely a good vaccine comes out in the summer or maybe even fall. Don't have absurd expectations, getting a vaccine from nothing to mass distribution in 1.5yrs is miraculous. We will beat COVID in some way, whether that's having a vaccine or a treatment that works 90+% of the time. Stop worrying about it

 
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I live in the South and honestly, everything's back to normal here. Our FL Governer just lifted all restrictions so bars, nightclubs, restaurants, etc. are all at 100% capacity. No one is wearing masks, maybe like 10-20% of people on a good day. Everything's completely fine down here. 

The best way to deal with the "fear mongering" at this point is to just embrace reality. If you do get Covid and you're in your 20s or 30s, it's not the end of the world (given you don't live with anyone 50+). After those 14 days and 99.5% odds of survival, remember that you've got a whole life ahead of yourself. 

Here's a fun exercise: Look back into news articles March-April talking about how "deadly" and "lethal" Covid is, and how it's going to be the end of the world for us. I'd say a good chunk of the "scientific experts" claims back then are wrong now (lockdowns, economy, masks, treatments, death count, asymptomatic, etc.) What makes you think they're all-of-a-sudden accurate right now?    

 

Right on the money. Again, my belief is that if the "correct" party wins the White House and congress this November, all of these facts and data that are currently being ignored will suddenly become very relevant to the discussion. People just need to wake up, stop being so naïve and look at the numbers.

I assume you mean Donald Trump?  Because only one party seems to really care about "facts and numbers" even disregarding COVID, and those people do not sit in the White House right now.

 

arxs_17

Here's a fun exercise: Look back into news articles March-April talking about how "deadly" and "lethal" Covid is, and how it's going to be the end of the world for us. I'd say a good chunk of the "scientific experts" claims back then are wrong now (lockdowns, economy, masks, treatments, death count, asymptomatic, etc.) What makes you think they're all-of-a-sudden accurate right now?    

Because in March and April we knew relatively little about the virus, and now we know a great deal more?  That's sort of how the scientific process works.  It's kind of scary that you don't know this.

Also, ongoing COVID tallies don't accurately capture the true impact of the virus.  From March to May 2020, the number of deaths attributable any cause increased by 122,000, which is 28% higher the the reported number of COVID deaths (95,235).  It's obviously possible there is some other statistical noise in there, but it implies that the current count of ~216,000 should be more in the lines of 275,000.  And whether that represents a really high or really low number compared to whatever estimate you have in mind, that is a substantial amount of Americans, not a number to be shrugged off.  

 

I cringe everytime I hear "the new normal." I thought the point was to get a handle on this, move forward a bit, vaccine, return to normalcy. I have read that there was a coronavirus in 1968 or '69 that killed ~1mm. Would have to imagine that generation had a better grip of reality. It is possible the younger generation never really recovers from this mentally. 

 

AXIS495

It's absurd. People are acting like it's the end of the world yet they're the ones imposing this nonsense on themselves

For at least 216,000 Americans, it was the end of the world.  If half the country (the at risk ones that live in densely populated areas) hadn't imposed this "nonsense" on themselves, it would be worse.  People are acting like race riots are "the end of the world" despite them causing aa tiny fraction of the damage in lives and economic output, and being justified by a far better cause.  Shouldn't you be complaining about coverage of that, before calling the pandemic which has killed about 3x more Americans than every war since WWII combined "nonsense"?

 
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Life is going to go back to normal. Trump will rein in this whole fiasco when he wins again on November 3rd. This whole "pandemic" has been a major overshoot from  beginning to end; I find it sick that the Democrats want to launch their politics from people's deaths

Are you getting paid to shill, or you just do it for free?

 

When title said fear mongering, I thought it would be about taking away guns, shipping jobs to China, Stealing ballots, dead people voting, sending poor homeless black people to suburb, Mexicans killing white girls, Hondurans running over walls, autism from virus, baby killing for stem cell research, or at least child sex ring in local pizza parlor - among many other potential fear mongering tactics. Instead seems like we are stuck at masks and how newspapers with firewalls make money w headlines. Don’t think poor people are signing up for NYT or WaPo for few hundred dollars to read breaking fear stories. They do read Fox News for free though

 

Is it just me or is anyone else sick of the fear mongering going on? I'm trying to be hopeful that society will beat Covid and then I see some article on the lines of "society will never return to normal", or "why the vaccine won't work" or some other fear inducing article and I'm back to being depressed. It also seems to be that we keep failing on some new Covid metric. I'm no longer even seeing articles related to vaccine progress. This might be why drug abuse and suicides are rising. If you think I'm an emotional snowflake, tell me how you are staying strong. 

Flip side, if people hadn't been so insistent that all this was "fear mongering," we might be in a better position than we are.

I understand it's depressing and numbing but at some point you need to stop being such a baby, suck it up, and adjust to a new normal - and yes, that might be forever.  We keep failing at this because half the fucking country isn't actually trying - it's like complaining that your favorite football team keeps losing when they won't even put a defense on the field.  No shit they're losing.

I'm staying strong by accepting that this is what it is and making the best of it.  I still have a job, I'm grateful that those members of my family who have remained healthy have done so, I still manage to see friends and have a bit of a life, even if we have to do it on a walk outside instead of getting blasted in a bar.  If you can't find even a few good things to focus on, then you're life probably wasn't much to dwell on before COVID, either. The world doesn't owe you the cushy bubble you had this time last year, and as I said, if more people had taken all of this seriously, taken precautions, and prioritized the health of their overall community instead of their own desire to label it a hoax or fearmongering, we might be in a position where you could enjoy a meal inside (depending on where you live), or at least the pleasure of reading about positive progress.

 

Exactly. Even Trump's CDC Director stressed that the pandemic would be under control within 4-8 weeks if the entire American population wore masks. People whine about "liberal bias" in how the health precautions are promoted but the fact remains that any qualified public health official even within Trump's administration believes in them as well. 

Array
 

ebitduhhh_1

Might be forever?!? Are you nuts?! You do realize that this isn't the first pandemic to happen to the human race right? See: 1969 Coronavirus that killed >1mm people 

It's a figure of speech.  Since no one is saying "this will all be over by December 7th, 2020" maybe we should all just assume this is what we're going to be doing for the foreseeable future?

Moreover, with the increasing pace of globalization, it's absolutely possible that we end up having to do this every couple years, and while I would hope lessons are learned, I doubt that much will be different if we have the current crop of anti-science, anti-expert conservatism in charge.  

 

What is strange to me is the lack of ability to place this into the context of human disease. Humans have a host of diseases that plague them. Once there is a vaccine, COVID will join the ranks of other diseases where people are inoculated to prevent it. The cat is not going back in the bag, COVID is something that is now apart of the list of things that is a detriment to health (should you catch it, should you not be asymptomatic, etc).

The idea of a "new normal" because of this is asinine once there is a viable, widely available vaccine. See: Swine Flu, H3N2 1968 (killed more than 1mm people), H2N2 1957 (>1mm people), HIV/AIDS (36mm people)...Life isn't supposed to end forever. Call this childish, but still can't understand why this can not be placed into the context of other pandemics. Maybe it is because of how many idiots have a voice on the internet and the media and how generally fragile everyone is. 

 

Your last big pandemics that hit the US hard and were similarly quickly lethal and not a long-term chronic illness are like from 50+ years ago. This isn’t something we are used to dealing with in general, and the only pandemic similar to this in recent memory was the Spanish influenza, which of course was a lot more lethal in its day. Also, a lot of people aren’t taking it seriously which frankly makes it a bigger issue than it would be if we all were.

Also, perhaps you haven’t been personally impacted by this, but I know a lot of people at this point who have lost loved ones and I think I’ll probably be pretty lucky if I don’t lose a family member to this before its over with. A lot of them are older and not in the best of health, and are frankly not taking all of the recommended precautions.

 

We are at the point in the U.S. where the WHO is urging local governments to re-open their states. Not hearing much 'listen to the science' about it. The marginal health benefits being realized are not nearly as significant as the marginal economic, which leads to marginal health costs of what is going on. 

 

I'm pretty sick of all the fear-mongering with covid. Now that we're several months into it, it's pretty clear we have a better handle on it. We know which groups of people are most at risk and the arrival of a safe vaccine should only bring more relief. Taking your mind off of it may be hard, but fill it with things, new hobbies, or goals to work on. Achieve a fitness goal, build up cooking skills, pickup a language, work on a new wardrobe, online games, really anything. Reach out to friends and family to talk. People are still lonely so make efforts to reach out and you'll be surprised they're calm about things and it might rub off on you. I think isolation really is not good for us, we thrive off of interactions with people so make efforts to connect with people.

If you still need to read up on the news, I recommend Newsvoice. For all the stories being thrown out in the news, newsvoice shows how multiple sources are framing these stories (left, right, center, europe, asia, etc.). I've been using it for a few weeks so far. I like it, most of it feels more level-headed, not too far in one direction.

 

The amount of people who are just accepting this as the new normal is disgusting.

We need to stop threatening lockdowns every other day when cases go from 200 to 205. Deaths and hospitalizations are nothing near March/April yet we have seen months where cases were double yet deaths more than half less. Live on with life, take necessary precautions and let our immune systems attack the virus while keeping those vulnerable more cautious. It’s freakin virus. It spreads. Locking down and hiding from it isn’t doing shit in long term as shown in Europe.

 

The concept of people accepting COVID as no big deal is contributing to the continued spread of it.  It is a big deal and it is not a typical virus. It is very contagious and can result in ongoing impairment and/or death.   Should we be locked down?  No...   Should we pack the bars and clubs?   Of course not...This is one of the reasons, the virus continues to spread.  I totally get that the risks are low for someone who is young with no preexisting conditions but not everyone fits into this category. Your are putting your older family members at risk when ignore the warnings.    What is going on in Florida is very irresponsible.

 

My question on this: how are you putting your older family members at risk if you are intelligent enough to either not see them or visit them outside while staying apart? This argument rests on everyone interacting with people in the 70+ range. Not looking to be a you know what...just saying not getting close to at-risk people is or should be apart of the wash hands, don't go to public places if you are not feeling well, etc category. 

 

I hate what's happened and how things have been turning out; I'm sick of it, but I wouldn't call it fear mongering. The Covid  situation has led to somenegative outcomes in my personal and career life. I need to go out there hang out with people, but I do know that covid is real. I wouldn't want to be the one that transfers it to a family member, friend or colleague who may suffer severely from it. I also don't want to be one of the unlucky ones that has to deal with consequences of long term effects that will impact me somewhere down the line.

We're all making sacrifices here.

 

Is it just me or is anyone else sick of the fear mongering going on? I'm trying to be hopeful that society will beat Covid and then I see some article on the lines of "society will never return to normal", or "why the vaccine won't work" or some other fear inducing article and I'm back to being depressed. It also seems to be that we keep failing on some new Covid metric. I'm no longer even seeing articles related to vaccine progress. This might be why drug abuse and suicides are rising. If you think I'm an emotional snowflake, tell me how you are staying strong. 

Fear mongering gets clicks. That's how the internet has worked for the past 15 or so years. I don't mean to be flippant about this, but come on, man. If you're not seeing articles about vaccine progress and are only reading negative things, then perhaps you need to add some different sources. 

The reality is though that most of the COVID-related news is bad. 200,000+ people have died in our country alone. Millions have lost their jobs. Millions more are depressed because they can't live life like they used to. We as a country did fail in almost every way imaginable, and for a country that always tells itself that we're the best, it definitely is harrowing. 

My wedding and honeymoon were postponed. My career got slapped with a huge pause button. My comp this year will be half what it was last year. I haven't seen my family since last Christmas since I live far from them, and I probably won't be seeing them this Christmas either so I don't kill my grandparents. One of my family members tried to kill themselves this year multiple times. Part of being an adult, however, is realizing that even when times are fucking awful, you need to press on. 

While there are people trying to make a buck off of fear mongering, it isn't fear mongering to say shit is shit. That's just the reality of 2020. I'm sure we all hope that 2021 is better and 2022 is better than that. 

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