We have ways if we have the will to use them.
Screaming “FIRE” in a crowd or otherwise Inciting panic without cause is non protected speech. Screaming " Voter fraud" when none exists should be similar.
2 Likes
“Learning isn’t compulsive.
Neither is survival.” - Demming
Give it time… It’s been a long while since our species had a biological selection pressure upon it.
1 Like
For the 17th time, this is NOT “skepticism.” Skepticism means the person might doubt, but is persuadable. Same with climate “skepticism.” In both cases, it is deliberate dismissal based on rigid ideology.
And in some cases, I’m not even sure they doubt the efficacy of vaccines. Rather, they are like the Joker: they get their insane jollies by sowing chaos and destruction, even if it includes themselves. They live such shitty, empty lives that there is probably a suicidal component to it; the problem is that they have to take the rest of us with them out of hatred and revenge.
6 Likes
I am saddened and disappointed by the lack of critical thought among so many people (friends and family included). As we see here, magical thinking isn’t confined to trumpers trumpeting fraud. I wish I had a way to simultaneously cuff millions of people in the head and convince them to apply Sagan’s baloney detection kit to their wild claims. Alas, the best I can do at the moment, is to reach out to those magical thinkers close to me with the gentlest wisdom I can muster and hopefully implant at least some doubt.
3 Likes
I hear that if you wear one 12 hours a day like I do that you should be careful with the garlic…
1 Like
Dr. Kessler is an excellent choice for this job. Getting a vaccine like this isn’t as simple as we might expect. Both vaccines are a new type and require special handling (ultra low freezers). I hope the shots aren’t sitting warm on a shipping dock somewhere.
3 Likes
I can attest that many (but far from all) people who end up in the hospital with COVID complications are stupid slobs, lol. Cough right in your face w/ no attmpt to cover up. Attempt to refuse to wear their mask when staff in the room.
1 Like
Any good scientist should be a bit of a skeptic. As in “show me the evidence”. It’s baked into the fabled “scientific method”. So it’s not necessarily a bad thing as you indicate. But insane conspiracy theory is something else entirely
Trump is the branch of our current insanity, the root being how he was enabled by right wing media and his addiction to social media (twitter, instagram, facebook etc). Few there were who seriously called out his tens of thousands of lies anywhere in the various information outlets.
Hopefully when trump is gone the country can begin its decade or two of healing.
3 Likes
i will watch CNN, MSBNC… i also watch local news…there was a piece on GMA the other day about people coming to Florida for the vaccine…it is called’ vaccine tourism’…i took it with a grain of salt until it hit local tv and was confirmed by people who had travelled here for the vaccine… add to that…our Rep. GOV, DESANTIS denied it was happening…that made it true…seniors are standing in line for hours and this S.O, B. allows out-of - state people to get the vaccine, me. i’m hunkering down and wearing the mask…i’ve been doing it for a year so its become a way of life.
2 Likes
Yes, and he’s no doubt having a pretty thorough psych eval done, too. There are not too many forensic neuropsych practitioners available…
1 Like
i really miss batboy.
4 Likes
I hear they became targets when the Capitol was invaded.
IKR… I have always had a problem with how we interpret and regulate “free speech.” It is supposed to work to our advantage (a wide range of discussion on controversial issues between/among citizens), but only if these citizens are able to think critically. We have not had that ability in probably the last 50 years, if ever, in this country. across the board. The movement to teach critical thinking skills is good, but it won’t happen in closed, conservative, parochial schools, or a lot of the alternative and charter schools. And it won’t happen when we all sit and read our own social bias platforms on our devices, instead of talking or listening to fair, unbiased, reputable news organizations. If there are any left. JMHO. It is a tough issue to fully and fairly address in any detail in a short post. And I am not in expert in any sense of this topic.
3 Likes
Wonderfully said! Thank you. 
1 Like
Agree, completely
1 Like
Which is why local newspapers are so important. They provide the same set of facts to the entire community. This was stated and explained by Prof Timothy Snyder of Yale. I can see it in our rural community. Some of the LTEs are nutty, but at least there is a dialogue of sorts because the owner and publisher, who is Republican, realizes that without broad support the paper would go broke.
1 Like
Some excerpts from an article-- “Why Facts Don’t change People’s Minds”
by James Clear–
There is another reason bad ideas continue to live on, which is that people continue to talk about them.
Silence is death for any idea. An idea that is never spoken or written down dies with the person who conceived it. Ideas can only be remembered when they are repeated. They can only be believed when they are repeated.
Each time you attack a bad idea, you are feeding the very monster you are trying to destroy. As one Twitter employee wrote, “Every time you retweet or quote tweet someone you’re angry with, it helps them. It disseminates their BS. Hell for the ideas you deplore is silence. Have the discipline to give it to them.”
And an idea of what to do instead:
Your time is better spent championing good ideas than tearing down bad ones. Don’t waste time explaining why bad ideas are bad. You are simply fanning the flame of ignorance and stupidity.
The best thing that can happen to a bad idea is that it is forgotten. The best thing that can happen to a good idea is that it is shared. It makes me think of Tyler Cowen’s quote, “Spend as little time as possible talking about how other people are wrong.”
“Feed the good ideas and let bad ideas die of starvation”.
2 Likes
If there is no justice, equality, and equity, there will be no understanding, peace ,and prosperity.
True, especially They provide the same set of facts to the entire community. And it’s always interesting to get local news. But the quality of the reporting is pretty bad most of the time. As is the case with local radio and TV news. There are really good writers and reporters, but it is a rarity. Mediocre is pretty much the rule. But, never forget the importance of consistency.
I’m sorry I missed the story last night on one of the news shows, but mixed in with the feds inability to get vaccines out is individual states’ distribution woes with the doses they have received, including concerns of spoilage as doses are defrosted, but eligible recipients are always available.
2 Likes