Coronavirus

[kirksnosehair]

They just announced this week that all Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted in MA starting on May 29th 

[Chino]

I'm so happy that the vaccines to seem to have really delivered.

I'm feeling legit anxiety, and dread, and severe depression about having to return to the office. I feel like a complete dick complaining about such a thing given people have worked throughout all of this, but I can't help it. Returning is a reality now.

[gmillerdrake]

I'm so happy that the vaccines to seem to have really delivered.

I'm feeling legit anxiety, and dread, and severe depression about having to return to the office. I feel like a complete dick complaining about such a thing given people have worked throughout all of this, but I can't help it. Returning is a reality now.

I read that there will be ‘ re-entry anxiety’ for a lot of people.

[Chino]

I'm so happy that the vaccines to seem to have really delivered.

I'm feeling legit anxiety, and dread, and severe depression about having to return to the office. I feel like a complete dick complaining about such a thing given people have worked throughout all of this, but I can't help it. Returning is a reality now.

I read that there will be ‘ re-entry anxiety’ for a lot of people.

I have no qualms with going back into the office because of health concerns, which I think is the anxiety a lot are feeling. I'd feel perfectly safe. I just think about the 2+ hours of sun-facing traffic I get to sit in each day again, and losing the $4K a year I'm currently saving in fuel and parking garage fees. I know this is a good problem to have, but the last time these people saw me was 85lbs ago. I'm really, really not looking forward to having basically everyone make a comment about it at some point. I don't like being center of attention, and it's a very personal thing, and everyone is going to ask about/comment on it.

[Stadler]

and I’m not saying there wasn’t any,  just that the media’s role was still to make us understand the stakes.

And they failed at that. In looking at the relative results in Florida and Texas - widely ridiculed by many, including the media, who sought to politicize this issue - they were ineffective.  They could have educated us rather than lecture. 

[Stadler]

It's a shame this thing was so politicized. If there were a unified front on this when it first came about we'd have reached this point quite some time ago. Once it was politicized and the media realized how much $$$ they could make off of fear mongering.....it snowballed.

See I don’t disagree with that, but I think it’s worth noting that part of having a unified front was having everyone take it seriously and realize how dangerous it is.  The media has to do it’s part to spread that message and I wouldn’t call that fear mongering but civic duty really.

Ehh...I certainly don't want to argue with you about the media. I get that the media has to do it's part. But when your 'Corona Death Ticker' disappears from your continual timeline scroll the day after Biden is sworn in and you spend a year pimping only the scariest...most random death stories associated with the virus....I can't get onboard with they were just spreading the message.

They exploited the heck out of it for ratings and they knew fear and death would get them the big numbers.

again I agree there was fear mongering, but part of the reason there wasn’t a unified front was that not enough people took it seriously.  So there’s a line here somewhere and they definitely went over it but where that line was supposed to be… I don’t know.

On what standard do you say "people didn't take it seriously"?   I'm struggling with this.  I think anyone looking at this from a purely non-partisan standpoint has to conclude that some of the perceived "right answers" weren't as conclusively "right" as many think.  Certain jurisdictions in Florida literally BANNED masks from public places for a period - to intense ridicule - and yet, on a state-by-state basis, their numbers were decidedly average (meaning, not nearly as bad as some states, like mine, who supposedly did "everything right").

I actually think that part of the reason there wasn't more unity was at least in part due to the fear-mongering.  It was so patently calculated to drive a reaction, as opposed to actually drive good behavior, that it backfired and cultivated distrust among the very people they were supposedly trying to reach.

[emtee]

Feels great to be turning the corner!

[gmillerdrake]

I'm so happy that the vaccines to seem to have really delivered.

I'm feeling legit anxiety, and dread, and severe depression about having to return to the office. I feel like a complete dick complaining about such a thing given people have worked throughout all of this, but I can't help it. Returning is a reality now.

I read that there will be ‘ re-entry anxiety’ for a lot of people.

I have no qualms with going back into the office because of health concerns, which I think is the anxiety a lot are feeling. I'd feel perfectly safe. I just think about the 2+ hours of sun-facing traffic I get to sit in each day again, and losing the $4K a year I'm currently saving in fuel and parking garage fees. I know this is a good problem to have, but the last time these people saw me was 85lbs ago. I'm really, really not looking forward to having basically everyone make a comment about it at some point. I don't like being center of attention, and it's a very personal thing, and everyone is going to ask about/comment on it.

Gotcha. That’s a while different aspect of it all as well.

[Orbert]

That's where I am as well.  I don't want to go back to the office because I don't miss the commute or the hassle, or the 1.5 hours a day spent in my car.  I'd rather keep working from home.  But our director is trying to get everyone back into the office because he believes that sharing the same space helps promote collaboration and cooperation blah blah blah.  I'm a programmer.  I don't want to collaborate.  I don't even want to see my coworkers.

[Ben_Jamin]

and I’m not saying there wasn’t any,  just that the media’s role was still to make us understand the stakes.

And they failed at that. In looking at the relative results in Florida and Texas - widely ridiculed by many, including the media, who sought to politicize this issue - they were ineffective.  They could have educated us rather than lecture.

Biden called them and their mask mandate lifting..."Neanderthal Thinking"....

It's a shame this thing was so politicized. If there were a unified front on this when it first came about we'd have reached this point quite some time ago. Once it was politicized and the media realized how much $$$ they could make off of fear mongering.....it snowballed.

See I don’t disagree with that, but I think it’s worth noting that part of having a unified front was having everyone take it seriously and realize how dangerous it is.  The media has to do it’s part to spread that message and I wouldn’t call that fear mongering but civic duty really.

Ehh...I certainly don't want to argue with you about the media. I get that the media has to do it's part. But when your 'Corona Death Ticker' disappears from your continual timeline scroll the day after Biden is sworn in and you spend a year pimping only the scariest...most random death stories associated with the virus....I can't get onboard with they were just spreading the message.

They exploited the heck out of it for ratings and they knew fear and death would get them the big numbers.

again I agree there was fear mongering, but part of the reason there wasn’t a unified front was that not enough people took it seriously.  So there’s a line here somewhere and they definitely went over it but where that line was supposed to be… I don’t know.

On what standard do you say "people didn't take it seriously"?   I'm struggling with this.  I think anyone looking at this from a purely non-partisan standpoint has to conclude that some of the perceived "right answers" weren't as conclusively "right" as many think.  Certain jurisdictions in Florida literally BANNED masks from public places for a period - to intense ridicule - and yet, on a state-by-state basis, their numbers were decidedly average (meaning, not nearly as bad as some states, like mine, who supposedly did "everything right").

I actually think that part of the reason there wasn't more unity was at least in part due to the fear-mongering.  It was so patently calculated to drive a reaction, as opposed to actually drive good behavior, that it backfired and cultivated distrust among the very people they were supposedly trying to reach.

Precisely and it just fell apart and blew up in their faces. Hence, where we are currently.

I'm more amazed at the fear that they have instilled onto people, that these people now have a thing called "re-entry anxiety".

[XeRocks81]

god forbid anyone has trauma from global pandemic

[TAC]

OK, I'm reading the last page or so with regard to the media.

Didn't a lot of people die?
Didn't the hospitals overflow? The morgues?
Didn't the bring in refrigerated trucks to NYC for the bodies?
Were these things made up by the media?

I tend to ignore whatever CNN or FOX reports, but I watched a lot of my local news, and everything they reported seemed legit. They quoted the President, the Governor, the CDC, Fauci, etc...the major players.



I will say that one thing the cable news networks did that bugged me were the running case and death totals, like this was some sort of telethon.

[Orbert]

TAC, if you're saying that "fearmongering" is too strong a word for what the media was doing in the past year or so, I agree.  I don't think they were trying to spread fear and panic; to me it was more like they were trying their damnedest to get people to take it seriously, because a lot of people were dying and hospitals were overflowing.  And it still only had limited effect, because people are stupid.

[jingle.boy]

Silly goose.

Yes I do feel silly now 

Silly for not taking a vaccine, no not the covid of which I got the first so far.
Silly for not taking the Shigles vaccine, oh well hopefully I got it diagnozed quickly enough that the antivirals will help.

Had I taken that vaccine I would not have to worry (not too much).

Hot damn man.  I had an old colleague contract that, and he said it was the worst and most painful experience of his life.  Once we can, both mrs.jingle and I will be getting that vaccine too.  Hope you have a not-terrible experience with it.

[soupytwist]

OK, I'm reading the last page or so with regard to the media.

Didn't a lot of people die?
Didn't the hospitals overflow? The morgues?
Didn't the bring in refrigerated trucks to NYC for the bodies?

There was a lot of doubt about the ability to create a vaccine when these predictions were made.  The fact we've had the vaccines created, tested and rolled out so quickly is absolutely incredible.

[lonestar]

Silly goose.

Yes I do feel silly now 

Silly for not taking a vaccine, no not the covid of which I got the first so far.
Silly for not taking the Shigles vaccine, oh well hopefully I got it diagnozed quickly enough that the antivirals will help.

Had I taken that vaccine I would not have to worry (not too much).

Hot damn man.  I had an old colleague contract that, and he said it was the worst and most painful experience of his life.  Once we can, both mrs.jingle and I will be getting that vaccine too.  Hope you have a not-terrible experience with it.

I actually think since I never had chicken pox, that I can't get shingles yet. Right.

[Stadler]

OK, I'm reading the last page or so with regard to the media.

Didn't a lot of people die?
Didn't the hospitals overflow? The morgues?
Didn't the bring in refrigerated trucks to NYC for the bodies?
Were these things made up by the media?

I tend to ignore whatever CNN or FOX reports, but I watched a lot of my local news, and everything they reported seemed legit. They quoted the President, the Governor, the CDC, Fauci, etc...the major players.



I will say that one thing the cable news networks did that bugged me were the running case and death totals, like this was some sort of telethon.

That was a constant here in the Hartford area.  We have four local stations:  Fox61 (Hartford), CBS3 (Hartford), NBC30 (West Hartford) and ABC8 (New Haven).  I switch between Fox61 and NBC30, almost exclusively because Fox61 has the lovely Erica Arias, and because I like the weather people (Rachel Frank on Fox, Ryan Hanrahan on NBC).  I can't tell you how many times I heard a bumper - the ad for the upcoming broadcast - lead with "New information today on the fight against COVID", then we'd get to the broadcast and either Ben Goldman (Fox61, and who is very good) or Kevin Nolan (NBC30, and who is a douche) started with "New information today in the fight against COVID-19:  <somber voice> x new deaths, and more than y new infections."  Maybe I'll give you that "fear mongering" is a shade heavy terminology, but it was less about educating than it was about establishing the appropriate gravitas and hooking eye-balls.   

[Stadler]

TAC, if you're saying that "fearmongering" is too strong a word for what the media was doing in the past year or so, I agree.  I don't think they were trying to spread fear and panic; to me it was more like they were trying their damnedest to get people to take it seriously, because a lot of people were dying and hospitals were overflowing.  And it still only had limited effect, because people are stupid.

Any chance we can stop with the default to "stupid"?    I'm anything but stupid, and that constant assault on the senses was tuned out by me; I am an educated, informed man, and COVID (in part; some of it was the same tactic in the political arena) "forced" me to stop watching cable news entirely - ANY station - and to curb my local news intake.   Again, not because I'm STUPID, but because I saw through the tactic.  I didn't need my local station hammering me with negativity in order to do what I felt was - or was not - right.   It didn't EDUCATE me, it DEPRESSED me more in an already unhealthy psychological environment.

I don't say this to Orbert, I say it generally: just because someone disagrees with us DOES NOT MAKE THEM STUPID.   

[Stadler]

Silly goose.

Yes I do feel silly now 

Silly for not taking a vaccine, no not the covid of which I got the first so far.
Silly for not taking the Shigles vaccine, oh well hopefully I got it diagnozed quickly enough that the antivirals will help.

Had I taken that vaccine I would not have to worry (not too much).

Hot damn man.  I had an old colleague contract that, and he said it was the worst and most painful experience of his life.  Once we can, both mrs.jingle and I will be getting that vaccine too.  Hope you have a not-terrible experience with it.

I know two people that had it.  One, my dad, is handicapped and has lived in almost constant pain since he was 35.  He's had something like 20 surgeries for various things, and has beaten cancer twice, and he STILL says "shingles" was the one thing he wouldn't like to go through again.

[SwedishGoose]

Silly goose.

Yes I do feel silly now 

Silly for not taking a vaccine, no not the covid of which I got the first so far.
Silly for not taking the Shigles vaccine, oh well hopefully I got it diagnozed quickly enough that the antivirals will help.

Had I taken that vaccine I would not have to worry (not too much).

Hot damn man.  I had an old colleague contract that, and he said it was the worst and most painful experience of his life.  Once we can, both mrs.jingle and I will be getting that vaccine too.  Hope you have a not-terrible experience with it.

I know two people that had it.  One, my dad, is handicapped and has lived in almost constant pain since he was 35.  He's had something like 20 surgeries for various things, and has beaten cancer twice, and he STILL says "shingles" was the one thing he wouldn't like to go through again.

Oh, oh..... I do hope the antivirals do their job now (worry heigthened)

One thing I do worry a bit about is the antivirals lessening the effect of the Pfizer shot I got just over two weeks ago. I mean, it has not reached it's full potential yet.

[Dublagent66]

That's where I am as well.  I don't want to go back to the office because I don't miss the commute or the hassle, or the 1.5 hours a day spent in my car.  I'd rather keep working from home.  But our director is trying to get everyone back into the office because he believes that sharing the same space helps promote collaboration and cooperation blah blah blah.  I'm a programmer.  I don't want to collaborate.  I don't even want to see my coworkers.

That's about where I am too.  All my work is done on computer.  No need to go back to the office.  I collaborate just fine virtually.

[Stadler]

I think it's like anything else in business; you'll see patterns and cycles.  We'll get those managers who have struggled through market difficulties looking for an advantage, and if that means pulling people back in, so be it. 

I know for me - in a legal capacity - it will be easy for corporations with in-house counsel to maintain remote working.  Someone somewhere, though, is going to be desperate for a solution or an answer, and will demand an in-person meeting/conference/whatever, and if it's successful, we'll start to see more and more people relying on that approach.

At the end of the day, though, like ANYTHING in business, whether the "one employee" works well at home is only one aspect of the equation.  It's also down to the "one employee" that CAN'T work well at home, or the "manager" who does or does not have the maturity and/or leadership skills to manage a diverse (in locale) workforce. 

I feel for you, Chino; I hope you get the decision you like (sincerely).  I think it's very hard to predict.   

[XJDenton]

One thing I do worry a bit about is the antivirals lessening the effect of the Pfizer shot I got just over two weeks ago. I mean, it has not reached it's full potential yet.

The vast majority of antivirals are targeted, so I doubt they will interfere with the Covid immune response all that much.

[Orbert]

TAC, if you're saying that "fearmongering" is too strong a word for what the media was doing in the past year or so, I agree.  I don't think they were trying to spread fear and panic; to me it was more like they were trying their damnedest to get people to take it seriously, because a lot of people were dying and hospitals were overflowing.  And it still only had limited effect, because people are stupid.

Any chance we can stop with the default to "stupid"?    I'm anything but stupid, and that constant assault on the senses was tuned out by me; I am an educated, informed man, and COVID (in part; some of it was the same tactic in the political arena) "forced" me to stop watching cable news entirely - ANY station - and to curb my local news intake.   Again, not because I'm STUPID, but because I saw through the tactic.  I didn't need my local station hammering me with negativity in order to do what I felt was - or was not - right.   It didn't EDUCATE me, it DEPRESSED me more in an already unhealthy psychological environment.

I don't say this to Orbert, I say it generally: just because someone disagrees with us DOES NOT MAKE THEM STUPID.   

I'm not talking about people disagreeing, I'm talking about people who just don't get it.  When thousands of people are dying, that's not a matter of opinion; that is a fact.  You might or might not believe it, but it's not something you "agree with" or "disagree with".

And I'm sorry, but if thousands of people around the world are dying of a confirmed medical issue and people can still sit there and claim that it's all a hoax orchestrated by the Democrats to make our (former) president look bad, that's not an opinion.  Those people are fucking stupid and I will call them that.

[Ben_Jamin]

I've had shingles when I was around 7 or 8, on my chest by my heart area and the same place on my back. To this day, those spots are numb, I can scratch them and won't feel anything, just my fingers feel the skin but my body doesn't feel my fingers. It does feel them there, but the sensation you get when you do touch your fingers to skin is gone in those areas.

Those things sucked hard. Those blisters would pop, and when I was sleeping, I had to try and sleep on my side. I mainly had them on my chest, so it wasn't too bad to lay on my back. I slept with my chest exposed because any cool air helps a lot. But when those things busted or swelled, it would really really hurt. My mother has told me, she has never seen me cry as hard as when I had Shingles.

Both my aunties had them too, on their face. So, I knew their pain, and how it would feel on their heads.

In the end, I still survived, and now just have slight numbness on those areas, even some scars. But that is all.

[Stadler]

TAC, if you're saying that "fearmongering" is too strong a word for what the media was doing in the past year or so, I agree.  I don't think they were trying to spread fear and panic; to me it was more like they were trying their damnedest to get people to take it seriously, because a lot of people were dying and hospitals were overflowing.  And it still only had limited effect, because people are stupid.

Any chance we can stop with the default to "stupid"?    I'm anything but stupid, and that constant assault on the senses was tuned out by me; I am an educated, informed man, and COVID (in part; some of it was the same tactic in the political arena) "forced" me to stop watching cable news entirely - ANY station - and to curb my local news intake.   Again, not because I'm STUPID, but because I saw through the tactic.  I didn't need my local station hammering me with negativity in order to do what I felt was - or was not - right.   It didn't EDUCATE me, it DEPRESSED me more in an already unhealthy psychological environment.

I don't say this to Orbert, I say it generally: just because someone disagrees with us DOES NOT MAKE THEM STUPID.   

I'm not talking about people disagreeing, I'm talking about people who just don't get it.  When thousands of people are dying, that's not a matter of opinion; that is a fact.  You might or might not believe it, but it's not something you "agree with" or "disagree with".

And I'm sorry, but if thousands of people around the world are dying of a confirmed medical issue and people can still sit there and claim that it's all a hoax orchestrated by the Democrats to make our (former) president look bad, that's not an opinion.  Those people are fucking stupid and I will call them that.

Fair enough, if there are 10 or 100 or 1000 people that believe it's a "hoax" so be it, they're dumb. I've got no beef with that, and I probably agree more or less.  Your first post doesn't make that distinction, though, and I know a LOT more people - by orders of magnitude - that don't believe it's a "hoax" but think that the coverage is oppressive, and some of the measures are oppressive.  Even Fauci - who I like, admire, and listen to - has said that the message hasn't been COMPLETELY about hard medical fact.   If someone is placed at a different point on the risk management spectrum, that's not "stupidity".   That's the only point I'm trying to make (and it applies across multiple threads/discussions here and elsewhere).

EDIT:  The recent exchanges from Ptaki and the White House feed right into this (even if they are better addressed in the P/R forum).  For all the flak that Trump received for his "racism" over "Kung Flu" and "Chinese Virus" - rightfully, mind you; he never should have said any of that - he was also given flak for his lack of truth.  But now, the Biden Administration is backing off of saying that the ORIGINS - and the reasons for that origination - may still be an open question.   So while "hoax" has a specific meaning (a falsehood deliberately fabricated to masquerade as the truth) the question remains as to WHO fabricated that masquerade and what is the actual masquerade?   Do I - Stadler - think COVID was "made up" and this was the flu?  Absolutely not.   My kid had it, my cousin is an ER nurse and has literally worked 80 to 100 hours a week most weeks since last April.  It's real.   But I also think that we haven't gotten full transparency from the Chinese government and whether it's in the interest of preventing future disasters or in the interest of geopolitical leverages or simply in the day-to-day threat assessment that people at Biden's level do with regards to their country and their citizens.  If someone asked me "is this a hoax?" I'd have to think twice as to what that means and how that gets answered.   And I'm no idiot.

[lonestar]

Just heard, for the first time in a year, there are zero covid patients in San Francisco General Hospital. 

[Stadler]

Just heard, for the first time in a year, there are zero covid patients in San Francisco General Hospital. 

That's an amazing stat (in a good way).  Fingers crossed! 

[SwedishGoose]

Just heard, for the first time in a year, there are zero covid patients in San Francisco General Hospital. 

Wow.... that is amazing. Numbers are going down in Sweden but still too high.

[Ben_Jamin]

TAC, if you're saying that "fearmongering" is too strong a word for what the media was doing in the past year or so, I agree.  I don't think they were trying to spread fear and panic; to me it was more like they were trying their damnedest to get people to take it seriously, because a lot of people were dying and hospitals were overflowing.  And it still only had limited effect, because people are stupid.

Any chance we can stop with the default to "stupid"?    I'm anything but stupid, and that constant assault on the senses was tuned out by me; I am an educated, informed man, and COVID (in part; some of it was the same tactic in the political arena) "forced" me to stop watching cable news entirely - ANY station - and to curb my local news intake.   Again, not because I'm STUPID, but because I saw through the tactic.  I didn't need my local station hammering me with negativity in order to do what I felt was - or was not - right.   It didn't EDUCATE me, it DEPRESSED me more in an already unhealthy psychological environment.

I don't say this to Orbert, I say it generally: just because someone disagrees with us DOES NOT MAKE THEM STUPID.   

I'm not talking about people disagreeing, I'm talking about people who just don't get it.  When thousands of people are dying, that's not a matter of opinion; that is a fact.  You might or might not believe it, but it's not something you "agree with" or "disagree with".

And I'm sorry, but if thousands of people around the world are dying of a confirmed medical issue and people can still sit there and claim that it's all a hoax orchestrated by the Democrats to make our (former) president look bad, that's not an opinion.  Those people are fucking stupid and I will call them that.

There's lots of reasons for why people are uninformed or stupid. To me, rather than whining, laughing, or blaming the stupid people. Why not inform these people, and figure out a way to help them understand. But, there's not much you can do when peoples Belief, Faith, and Trust, are essential to their thought process and their decision making. Sometimes, you have to literally take the person there to see it for themselves, and experience it for themselves, for them to understand or change their perception.


I do not go to media to be educated and told what to do. I go to the media to find out what is happening in the world. The reporter could say anything they want, but what should only matter is what is happening. This is where media can turn into propaganda. And why I go out of my way to look at other sites, or other sources, because of the possibility of the article or story itself being propaganda, and used for a specific purpose or narrative. There are keywords, specific tones, phrases, and especially heartstring pulling, they use to attract people to their specific narrative and story. People buy into their marketing of their product.

With the invention of the internet, the spider web was woven that helped connect the world. The world was never as connected before the internet. Social Media, was the biggest thread for this connection of the world. Which has allowed us to virtually talk and see the person that is across the ocean, in a place we don't know anything about. We are learning more about each other, and are seeing that we are one in the same, just a different color and with different ways to do things, but in the end we are alike.

This connection has put lots of beliefs, truths, and faiths, to the test. As many of these different, truths, beliefs, and faiths, are now mixed in a melting pot of diversity.

And people are now making their own videos, and showing the world their perspective of their life. It's literally a walking diary into these people and their lives. There are people whom are streaming live from these events, and people are watching them rather than the News Media. And a lot of people are realizing that these "trusted media" sources are not so trusting at all, and that these people on the ground are reporting something entirely different than what the "Trusted Media" is saying to the masses.

Younger folk are getting their news and information from these sources, while the older are still getting their news from the "Trusted Media" sources. This is where we are with the current trust, belief, and faith issues we are having that gave birth to the term 'Fake News'.

And if no community is watching these sources, do they even know that there is a pandemic happening?

[kirksnosehair]

OK, I'm reading the last page or so with regard to the media.

Didn't a lot of people die?
Didn't the hospitals overflow? The morgues?
Didn't the bring in refrigerated trucks to NYC for the bodies?
Were these things made up by the media?

I tend to ignore whatever CNN or FOX reports, but I watched a lot of my local news, and everything they reported seemed legit. They quoted the President, the Governor, the CDC, Fauci, etc...the major players.



I will say that one thing the cable news networks did that bugged me were the running case and death totals, like this was some sort of telethon.

Uh, just FYI, but CNN is pretty close to down the middle in terms of bias.  Fox news is an entirely different animal.    No comparison


Don't take my word for it, there's a chart here, you'll see the difference between CNN and Fox, they're not even close in terms of bias.


https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-biased-is-your-news-source-you-probably-wont-agree-with-this-chart-2018-02-28

[kirksnosehair]

TAC, if you're saying that "fearmongering" is too strong a word for what the media was doing in the past year or so, I agree.  I don't think they were trying to spread fear and panic; to me it was more like they were trying their damnedest to get people to take it seriously, because a lot of people were dying and hospitals were overflowing.  And it still only had limited effect, because people are stupid.

Any chance we can stop with the default to "stupid"?    I'm anything but stupid, and that constant assault on the senses was tuned out by me; I am an educated, informed man, and COVID (in part; some of it was the same tactic in the political arena) "forced" me to stop watching cable news entirely - ANY station - and to curb my local news intake.   Again, not because I'm STUPID, but because I saw through the tactic.  I didn't need my local station hammering me with negativity in order to do what I felt was - or was not - right.   It didn't EDUCATE me, it DEPRESSED me more in an already unhealthy psychological environment.

I don't say this to Orbert, I say it generally: just because someone disagrees with us DOES NOT MAKE THEM STUPID.   

I'm not talking about people disagreeing, I'm talking about people who just don't get it.  When thousands of people are dying, that's not a matter of opinion; that is a fact.  You might or might not believe it, but it's not something you "agree with" or "disagree with".

And I'm sorry, but if thousands of people around the world are dying of a confirmed medical issue and people can still sit there and claim that it's all a hoax orchestrated by the Democrats to make our (former) president look bad, that's not an opinion.  Those people are fucking stupid and I will call them that.

There's lots of reasons for why people are uninformed or stupid. To me, rather than whining, laughing, or blaming the stupid people. Why not inform these people, and figure out a way to help them understand.

Because they're not interested in the truth. 


Let's be clear about what's going on in the country right now.  You have one political party that lives in a world of "alternative facts" and completely made-up lies about an election their guy lost.  That's not the Democrats acting this way.  It's the Republicans. 


They won't even allow a bi-partisan commission to get to the bottom of what happened on January 6th because they know it will expose their culpability in what happened. 

[KevShmev]

That article is 3 years old. CNN has gone off the rails the last few years.  Not saying they are as bad or biased as Fox, but they are well on their way to catching up.

[kirksnosehair]

No they haven't 

[kirksnosehair]

https://www.adfontesmedia.com/ <-- from 2021


CNN "Skews Left"


That's not even close to what Fox news does