Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
Pretty much where I stand.
Covid today is far more of a mental illness than a physical one. I would liken it to a new religion, or perhaps a kind of cult. It’s an excuse to usurp societal norms and to achieve long sought agendas by certain previously marginalized groups.
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I liken it to wearing a seat belt a couple of decades ago. Some people just wouldn't do it--it wasn't macho, it took an extra second or two when you were in a hurry, you knew you were a good driver and wouldn't have a crash anyway.
But the over-arching government MADE you. It took away your RIGHTs to endanger yourself. In fact, unlike covid where enabling yourself to get infected causes the virus to spread and clearly endangers others, not wearing a seat belt if you were driving alone just endangered YOU.
All this auto safety stuff--air bags, seat belts, cushioned steering wheels and dashes--was a kind of cult the government was mandating that added hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars to the cost of cars. A previously marginalized group, the auto safety fanatics (led by the arch villains at Consumers' Union), were pushing it. Real men (and women) didn't need it.
But we got used to it. We will get used to getting periodic coronavirus shots (hopefully ones that cover a broader spectrum than just SARS-CoV-2) and some of us chosing to wear a mask in certain public situations. It's hard to see the day right now, but I think it will come, when cases of covid become rare enough through the combination of vaccination and post-infection immunity, that we can drop a lot of the compulsion. But I don't think some of the societal changes like an aversion to dense crowds among some people, a willingness to mask up under certain circumstances (and others not finding that particularly strange--except perhaps TUP who I bet wears a mask sometimes at work because he knows they are effective when there infection risk) and the need to add a coronavirus shot to annual flu shots, tetanus shots every 5-10 years, shots for pneumonia, meningitis, shingles etc at certain times of life, and the battery of shots needed for some travel or school.