Hope of a vaccine gives the “Screw COVID” crowd another excuse to keep on screwing, while policy nerds like me have more reason to take long view and sit tight.
Sam Harris recently explained on a podcast with Andrew Sullivan that he couldn't envisage a "theory of mind" for a person who would vote for Trump. Turns out that's 70 million Americans. Placing himself firmly in the progressive elite camp, Jonathan does a commendable job of mentalizing with the everyman. Good article. Thomas Frank has made a career out of it.
One of the problems with this virus is that it's just not deadly enough to elicit compliance with public health edicts. It's bad faith. That's why politicians can't even play along themselves. Patty took all those trips back to Thunder Bay in the spring, and Doug got together with family for Mother's Day. And they kept getting paid to tell us not to.
It is exactly that pharisaical combination that leads plenty of sensible Canadians to resent and dismiss them.
Mr. Kay is too kind to say what some of us are thinking: the idiotic anti-mask brigade that persists in endangering themselves and everyone around them are a selfish bunch of nitwits that really should be allowed to refuse the vaccine. I 100% think anyone who is so stupid as to believe some of the pseudoscience these twits are floating about with is fully ok to not get this vaccine. We should cull the herd one moron at a time. Do I sound like a terrible person or a moron? Yep. Do I care? Nope. I have had to go to work every day since this pandemic started and the behaviour I have witnessed of grown ass adults is absolutely appalling. I have been jeered at for wearing a mask (never mind the bylaw in place), listened to retail workers get screamed at by anti-maskers who think that having to wear a mask is an infringement on their precious "freedom" (I would encourage these dregs of humanity to visit places like Myanmar and other wonderfully "free" countries and try that shit), listened and watched as people who failed grade 10 biology twice suddenly knew more than people who have made careers out of studying virus movement and spread. it is disgusting and I am continuously reminded of someone I know who survived a civil war and came to this country when she said "Canadians have never faced real hardship. They think this is bad but they have never had to stand in line under the threat of guns and bombs. What selfish people"
This is a good piece - thoughtful, and engagingly written.
Sam Harris recently explained on a podcast with Andrew Sullivan that he couldn't envisage a "theory of mind" for a person who would vote for Trump. Turns out that's 70 million Americans. Placing himself firmly in the progressive elite camp, Jonathan does a commendable job of mentalizing with the everyman. Good article. Thomas Frank has made a career out of it.
One of the problems with this virus is that it's just not deadly enough to elicit compliance with public health edicts. It's bad faith. That's why politicians can't even play along themselves. Patty took all those trips back to Thunder Bay in the spring, and Doug got together with family for Mother's Day. And they kept getting paid to tell us not to.
It is exactly that pharisaical combination that leads plenty of sensible Canadians to resent and dismiss them.
Mr. Kay is too kind to say what some of us are thinking: the idiotic anti-mask brigade that persists in endangering themselves and everyone around them are a selfish bunch of nitwits that really should be allowed to refuse the vaccine. I 100% think anyone who is so stupid as to believe some of the pseudoscience these twits are floating about with is fully ok to not get this vaccine. We should cull the herd one moron at a time. Do I sound like a terrible person or a moron? Yep. Do I care? Nope. I have had to go to work every day since this pandemic started and the behaviour I have witnessed of grown ass adults is absolutely appalling. I have been jeered at for wearing a mask (never mind the bylaw in place), listened to retail workers get screamed at by anti-maskers who think that having to wear a mask is an infringement on their precious "freedom" (I would encourage these dregs of humanity to visit places like Myanmar and other wonderfully "free" countries and try that shit), listened and watched as people who failed grade 10 biology twice suddenly knew more than people who have made careers out of studying virus movement and spread. it is disgusting and I am continuously reminded of someone I know who survived a civil war and came to this country when she said "Canadians have never faced real hardship. They think this is bad but they have never had to stand in line under the threat of guns and bombs. What selfish people"