Whether government responded to Covid with draconian lockdowns (New York, the UK, Germany, Norway) or deferred to individual responsibility (most of the rural west), or skittered back and forth between both extremes (Italy, Sweden), Covid infection rates have seemed to exhibit the behavior of…
…well, respiratory viruses, waxing and waning along with weather conditions more than any government action, or lack of it.
But throughout, the pro-authoritarian (“Mascist”) wing of America’s response has had one consistent villain; Americans. “If they only followed the rules and wore their masks”, they whinge (when not whinging about the feds’ response), “we’d have already conquered this” – completely ignoring the fact that many of the places that “conquered” the virus with aggressive measures are still, or have started, suffering horribly of late).
Of course, it’s pure gaslighting. Even early in the summer, before the “Mask Wars” became part of the ongoing cultural bar brawl, Americans were wearing masks voluntarily at among the highest rates in the Western world.
And, studies show, they always have, and still are:
The data, released in [the CDC’s] weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report, is roughly in line with other polls showing that most Americans report wearing masks, at least when they are inside stores.
For example, Pew Research reported in August that 85 percent of 13,200 adults they surveyed said they wore masks in stores, up from 65 percent in June.
In a National Geographic poll released early this month, 92 percent of 2,200 Americans surveyed said they always or sometimes wore a mask when leaving the house.
Now, this thread isn’t about whether masks are or aren’t effective – that discussion has happened more than a few times in the comment section.
It’s about government – as it becomes ever more authoritarian – using “masks” as a vehicle to blame the average schnook for its own failings in dealing with the pandemic.
Which is only going to get worse over the winter.
One smear that refuses to die is the claim that New Zealand and Australia have low Covid rates, so obviously Orange Man bad, Americans are anti-science hicks. Yeah. Nobody goes to those countries, and being islands they can keep people out. No Statue of Liberty there.
Not only does this mask mandate stuff mask the real cause of the contagion, but it allows the dictatorial process to continue under the guise of “science.” It’s epic poppycock.
4% of world population. 20% of the deaths.
The U.S. has surpassed 300,000 coronavirus deaths.
Can one use “Winning” and “Carnage in the same sentence— asking for a friend….
300,000 deaths -:- 320,000,000 population = .0009375, expressed as a percentage, .09375 (less than one-tenth of one percent).
Rounded to the nearest whole number = ZERO.
Even using the phony numbers, Covid has killed ZERO percent of Americans.
The existence of the virus is not a hoax. The panic response is a hoax perpetuated by Democrats assisted by the media to terrify Americans into giving up their Constitutional rights, including the right to a free and fair election for President.
Shame on them.
Regarding the prevalance of COVID deaths, it would be interesting to see the data broken out not by overall death rates, but rather death rates by age, BMI, and diabetes, and the like. People will compare, for example, COVID death rates in the U.S. and Canada, but one big difference between the countries is that 40% of people are obese south of the border vs. only 25% by the maple leaf.
Looking elsewhere in the world, let’s remember that Europe has also gotten hammered by COVID (despite also lagging in obesity), and the only first world nations that haven’t are Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand–again, lagging in obesity.
It doesn’t make as easy of cheap talking points, but if we factor in that not everybody has the blessing of living to > 70 years with an extra 50 lbs, we might be able to figure out a far better explanation than “the guys we disagree with politically are evil.”
and the only first world nations that haven’t are Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand–again, lagging in obesity.
Gee, notice anything else about those nations?
MO: Except for South Korea and Taiwan, they drive on the wrong side of the road. :^)
Oh, and they live on islands or isolated peninsulas, I guess. And apart from Australia and New Zealand, they quarantine much better than do Americans.