Virus Hypocrisy (or Deception)

Opinions about the Covid-19 virus and how best to deal with it are all over the board.  But, among those who claim to have a strong opinion or certainty or “science” or good-will towards their neighbors, I’ve seen a fair bit of hypocrisy, or maybe disingenuousness or maybe even outright deception and lying.

Virus? What Virus? – There probably aren’t really very many of these conspiracy-infected kooks who say that the virus is a hoax, but they get lots of publicity.  Remember that a certain percentage of the population believes we did not land a man on the moon, and that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone, and that Elvis is not dead.  Its hard to know what to do with this slice of society, but they are out there.  Their “facts” and theories shift pretty regularly, but unlike the X-Files, these folks don’t think the truth is out there anywhere.  I suppose if they live their lives consistent with their rhetoric, we can’t label them as hypocrites, but they might be misleading those who are ignorant.  Or maybe just providing fodder for social media.

Science Has The Answer – Actually, most of the scientists are quick to say that they do NOT have the answers.  They can only give theories, results of “modeling” or clinical studies, or stories about other viruses or what happened in some other pandemic.  I don’t fault them for being wrong, which they have been on many occasions during the Covid-19 pandemic.  I DO fault them for lecturing policy-makers and the public about the situation as though they really knew what to do next (other than washing your hands a lot).  They don’t.  They’re making it up as they go.

Worse – much worse – than the scientists are those non-scientists who point to something some “expert” said which resonates with them and then say “see, I told you so.” Of course, when another “expert” says something contrary to the bias or prejudice of the speaker, then that expert is to be discredited or ignored since those views or findings are inconvenient.  Politicians are pretty bad at hiding behind the experts when convenient, and ignoring them when inconvenient.  But the sanctimonious finger-waggers complaining that someone wasn’t wearing a mask are just as bad.

The Mask is Critical and Any Old Mask Will Do – We’re tired of the mask stories and rants, but I think there’s more to develop on this.  So far we get two messages – the mask is absolutely critical and, by the way, any old mask will do. Of course, one of those two messages is false or at least misleading, except perhaps for someone sneezing or coughing directly into your face.  I suspect they are both somewhat false.  The mask is not critical if you simply stay outside or away from others and limit your time indoors in public spaces.  And, if you are indoors in public spaces, the masks we see around town, worn in the way that a lot of people wear them, won’t really protect you or others at all.

There are a few things the experts say about masks that are pretty well accepted – if you are sick, or you are taking care of someone who is sick, then you should wear a mask.  A “real” mask, not the laughable party masks we see around town.  The experts are pretty clear about the need to use an N95 respirator mask, properly fitted, properly worn, and properly handled / discarded.

But early on, the experts also concluded that they did NOT want the public to wear N95 masks because the medical workers needed them more.  That’s probably true, but I suspect what the experts won’t tell us is that the public should wear them too if we want to go into a crowded room with others and stay there a while.  Or maybe wear them all the time when there are other people anywhere near us.

Finally, I think the other shoe might soon drop on the so-called “aerosol spread”. That is, the apparently large group of folks who are infected and asymptomatic might really be a major part of how the virus is spreading.  They are breathing out the virus and its drifting around in the air.  They’re not coughing or sneezing in your face – they are asymptomatic. Your homemade cloth mask or bandana probably won’t do you one bit of good for this fact pattern.  You’ll need to have the N95 mask AND use it properly.  But the experts would naturally not want the public buying N95 masks if that means medical workers run short.  And encouraging the public to buy and wear an N95 mask has another problem – they’ve all been hoarded by the government hoarders.  Governor Newsom may have 46 million N95 masks on hand, but you can’t get one.

Everyone Should Stay Isolated (except me for the things that I want to do) – The most notorious example is the model builder at Imperial College in the UK who predicted 2 million US deaths. And then was found to have encouraged his paramour to leave her husband and come by his apartment for a night or two of sheltering at his place instead of at home.  Even though he had just been in quarantine after testing positive for the virus.

But more common is the practice of someone saying publicly that everyone should stay home, and then running right out to do whatever it is that the speaker really wants to do.  I’ve had family members posting on social media about the importance of masking up and staying at home and then turning right around and having us babysit their kids, and not bothering to wear masks.  Or come visit them, or vice versa (maskless).

Or my hobby is OK, but yours is not.  Or my vocation is OK, but yours is not.  Or my political cause is OK for a public rally but yours is not.  If polls show that 60-70% of the public thinks we should wear masks outside, how come a lot more than 30% of the public doesn’t wear a mask?  Virtue signaling.  Hypocrisy.

Some Groups are Affected More Than Others – We hear that [fill in the blank] group is more or less affected by the pandemic than the general public.  Sometimes this is just  blatantly political posturing because the speaker wants to generate sympathy or favorable treatment – or more government funding – for his or her favorite group.  The Young, the Old, the Poor, the Rich, the Black, the Brown, etc. Of course some people will be more affected than others – the most affected group is those who are already sick or impaired with something else.  Duh. But I haven’t heard anyone say why the Mask isn’t the universal answer – if it really works, then we’ve solved the problem for all the groups. See above!

“They” Should Have Fixed This / Had a Plan for This / Been Smarter / Been Less Evil – You can pick your villain(s) in this awful story – Chinese virus labs, Chinese wet markets, Chinese government, Trump, Fauci, your governor, your county health officer, the mask-less, the sheep.  Right wing extremists, left wing extremists, fascists, socialists, libertarians, etc. can all be demonized. If Trump has a plan and imposes it, then Trump’s a dictator and disregarding the constitution and the federal system. If Trump lets the governors develop their own plans and impose them, then Trump has failed to be a leader.  Governor Cuomo was a hero for resisting the premature calls to lockdown and then giving great speeches & press conferences. Or Governor Cuomo was an evil fool for sending infected patients from the hospitals directly back to their nursing homes.

Unlike SARS-Cov-2, politics infects just about everything.  Blaming your political adversary for virus problems is to be expected and is widely practiced on all sides.

But, also makes rational discussions a lot harder and does not move us forward to sensible and practical accommodations for this disease.

Blu-icide

The recent spasm of activism from the Far Left is not surprising, but I am somewhat surprised by the acceptance of lawlessness by our political and business leaders. Seattle’s CHAZ or CHOP  and the highly publicized rioting and looting after George Floyd’s death are the most prominent examples, but the trend seems broad and deep.

Will American voters endorse this Far Left view in November? Perhaps Trump’s fumbling and his incoherent and divisive messaging have doomed his re-election campaign, no matter how crazy and irrational his opponents have become.  Who knows whether voters will actually look at Biden’s policies and his platform, or whether the dominant sentiment will simply be “anyone-but-Trump?” 

But I do think the Left has overplayed it’s hand. Maybe they are committing “Blu-icide” – if the Far Left slogans, memes and spasms lead to actual votes in the ballot box and shifts in policy.

The only question is whether the current situation will lead to the long-discussed “Blue Wave” that sweeps Trump, and many moderates and conservatives, out of office before the reality of the Blu-icide causes the Electorate to open their eyes.

 

Why so Mask Focused?

I’ve wondered about why there is such intense media and thus, public attention being given to wearing a mask.  I have yet to see any reliable study showing that a cloth mask or bandana does much good except in the case of someone sneezing or coughing directly in your face, or you sneezing or coughing directly in someone else’s face.

And I understand that wearing a mask is something tangible that individuals can “do” and so believe that either they are good citizens because they are protecting others, or believe that they are now protected sufficiently to go into crowded indoor spaces.  I don’t underestimate the power of this emotional reaction, but that does not excuse the unwarranted emphasis on masks being given by the policy-makers and medical experts.

Thoughtful reports or media stories almost always say that there is no direct evidence that masking is effective for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.  Indeed, the one lesson that I remembered from historical accounts of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic is the somewhat mocking commentary that, although people then thought that wearing a mask was protecting them, in fact, cloth masks did not protect them.  And, I think that assessment is still the consensus view.  “Experts reviewing evidence from 1918 concluded that flu masks failed to control infection.”

But all of the statements by medical experts today encouraging mask use say that “sure, the mask doesn’t protect you, but its one part of a list of steps you can take that will minimize the risk.”  Chief among them being – don’t spend time close to other people, particularly indoors – “…[masks] should not be viewed as a replacement for physical distancing of at least 6 feet from others, frequent hand-washing and avoiding crowds.”

Finally, its wishful thinking to count on people using the right kind of mask, in the right way.  Every day I see many, many people with their mask not covering their nose, or worn in the “chinstrap” mode.  The general public is not going to have proper masks and they won’t wear them in the proper way.

I am still wearing a mask when I go into stores, etc.  Its now required in California.  And, since someone MIGHT sneeze or cough directly in my face, it might do me some good.  But, if you stay away from other people indoors, who needs a mask?