Monday, May 04, 2020

Why Is A Coronavirus Denier Pretending He Is A Progressive?



About three weeks ago I wrote a post looking at those who were still refusing to accept the deadly nature of Covid-19.

I warned that kind of ignorance could kill us.

And I wondered why a Coronavirus denier was blogging at Progressive Bloggers.



And was in such a fevered state of denial he actually believed that COVID-19 was less dangerous than the common flu. 

In WWII, people knew that fascism had arisen in Germany, Italy and Japan. And they fought it, and defeated it. Today, the majority are asleep, while fascism arises again. They have no idea what danger they are in. But they are afraid of a bug that is less dangerous than the common flu. This is problematic, to say the least.

In my post I included some medical stories to try to educate him. But sadly I failed.

He's still spewing out the same garbage.  

Every year a tragic event happens. 300,000 to 600,000 people die globally of the flu. Most are very old, very ill, or immune compromise, but that is still tragic, of course. In 2020 fewer people have died of a novel coronavirus (a new form within the cold and flu family of viruses) than from previous years’ typical flu deaths.

Clearly the numbers don’t add up. This is not about public health. It is a power grab, with an extremely exaggerated relatively minor health issue used as the propaganda narrative to justify and cover it up.

Still believing that only he knows The Truth.

And since none of the other writers at Progressive Bloggers are willing to take him on, I guess I'll have to repeat this again:

His numbers don't add up. 



The coronavirus is FAR more dangerous than the flu.

Using an apples-to-apples comparison, we can say that the coronavirus and the disease it causes, covid-19, have already killed eight times as many people as the flu. By the time we get data for the entire season, the difference appears likely to be at least tenfold, or a full order of magnitude. 

The coronavirus, Faust writes, “is not anything like the flu: It is much, much worse.”

I could add lots of other grim scientific facts, like the so-called happy hypoxia that allows you to feel like you're healthy when in reality you're on the verge of sudden death. 

Or how about the way it can cause clots to form in healthy young people, and even if they survive can leave holes in their lungs. 

Or how it spreads so quickly in just a couple of days it can take down a nuclear reactor or a meat plant.

But why bother when all I want to do is warn that pompous alt-left asshole that his kind of denial is only encouraging these other Con wingnuts?

In the United States...


And in Canada...

The RepubliCon wingnuts who seem determined to endanger the lives of health workers, old and vulnerable people in care homes, or anyone for that matter. While keeping the rest of us in a lockdown until Christmas or beyond.

You know, I shouldn't have to say this, and others at Progressive Bloggers should be backing me up. But sadly a lot of so-called progressives are good at calling people neo-liberals, or fa-fa-fa-FASCISTS.

But seem to lack any kind of empathy. And without empathy, you are not a progressive by any stretch of the imagination.

And you might as well be marching with the Derps, or the really stupid people...



So to all those coronavirus deniers I would just say this:

Please wallow in your ignorance.

Until the day it kills you.

You don’t care about us, we don’t care about you...

16 comments:

Steve said...

I do not know this person, but there are millions of math challenged people who think they know statistics. Statistics are infinetly Mabel, thats why they are called lies and dammed lies. The few people in the room who know math can see the error instantly, but very few people understand math.

Jackie Blue said...

He's probably the kind of authoritarian fauxgressive who exemplifies the horseshoe theory. Ignorance and entitlement, sadly, are not solely confined to one segment of the political spectrum; there are ostensibly liberal anti-vaxers, including Robert de Niro and (shockingly) Robert Kennedy's namesake, the younger RFK having actually been a member of one of Trump's public-health task forces at one time. Then there's Michael Moore pushing Malthusianism as the answer to climate change. Something has seriously snapped in these people, and you're right, this jackass is no progressive. He's just a crank who probably thinks injecting bleach will liberate the proletariat or something.

The blogging network you belong to doesn't appear to be very well curated either. It seems that a qualifier for being part of this group is not just ostensible opposition to the Cons but a reflexive animus towards Justin Trudeau, which probably leaves the other members blinded to anything else "problematic" coming from one of their own.

The Liberals are said to be preparing a bill aimed at countering Covid misinformation. If/when it comes about, I would report this guy to whatever agency is addressing that, or to his hosting provider if Progressive Bloggers is content to sit on their hands. Other than that all I can say is good on you, Simon, for continuing to fight the good fight. You're doing thankless yeoman's work but there are plenty of people, myself included, who are grateful for what you do.

Anonymous said...

The way Cons deny the Coronavirus reminds of the way they deny global warming. Even when the evidence is staring them in the face. They seem to get a special thrill denying this, denying that. I don't know where it comes from but it's certainly another reason they are not fit to govern. I believe that the Con era has ended, thanks to the pandemic their deficiencies have been revealed, and they won't be able to fool people any longer...

Anonymous said...

I've never heard the word Derp but I like it, and it sure fits Scheer's dorky Cons. Not only is he tone deaf but he tried to cut his own hair, and boy is it a mess. He can't do ANYTHING right.

Anonymous said...

If the U.S. Continues to deteriorate, it won't be long before they'll be pouring across the border, looking for money and food. Our military should be instructed to stop them, and shoot to kill if necessary.

Anonymous said...

The following Financial Times article compares the current death rate in various countries to historical averages for the same time period. Data is delayed by 3 to 4 weeks but as of early April England, France, Italy,Spain experienced death rates 30 to 90% higher than historical numbers. For certain urban areas such as New York city the numbers were 380% higher. Clearly not the typical flu but compare yearly data to data summed over a few weeks and neglect to consider what the death rate would have been without preventative action to flatten the curve and another conspiracy theory is born.

https://www.ft.com/coronavirus-latest

RT

lagatta à montréal said...

The horseshoe theory is deeply flawed; far better is the electoral compass that measures not only left/right but also authoritarian/anti-authoritarian. The left and the right do not meet; what meets is extreme authoritarianism in the case of fascists and Stalnists.

Anonymous said...

The unfortunate aspects of social media are these cranks spreading misinformation, no, lies, to the point where the expert, science based data is lost in the fog of fake news. If you need a data set to suit your needs, no worries, you'll find it on the internet. I'm all for free speech but when people use it to spread phony data, they need to face serious charges for fraudulently misrepresenting facts that subsequently cause people to make dangerous choices when it comes to Covid 19. Further, when you have mentally challenged people like Donald Trump giving creedence to these clowns, the results can be downright catastrophic as this new data modelling suggests.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/us/coronavirus-live-updates.html

In their haste to restart their economies, many states are reopening much to soon which could lead to thousands more dead and them having to shut down again. Instead of restarting their economies, they will have all but killed them. Up here, Doug Ford is starting to fold like a cheap suit.
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-premier-says-there-s-only-so-long-he-can-hold-back-taxpayers-from-cottages-1.4923388
Being rural and in an area whose population explodes in the summer, I know how fragile our hospitals are and I hope that when the rural mayors consult with Ford they will get him to back off until at least mid-June before releasing the floodgates of city dwellers heading to cottage country.
Doug says he's feeling tremendous pressure to reopen and I'll bet it's due to people being led astray by the likes of jtoddring whose only real purpose is to create division and cause people to make incredibly stupid and dangerous decisions. That asshole should be flagged as a purveyor of fake news and have his blog shut down permanently.
JD

Steve said...

those facts are facts, you cant spin them

Simon said...

That Coronavirus denier is so arrogant he think he owns the truth. But I speak for some of those risking their lives on the front lines and my truth is worth more than his. And while in normal times I might ignore crapulent nonsense, anyone who crosses me now is going to regret it....

Simon said...

Hi Jackie....I have absolutely no time for progressives who lack empathy and use mindless ideology as a weapon. Nor do I have any time for anti-vaxxers, I think they should be locked up for being criminally irresponsible. And as for most of the other bloggers at Progressive Bloggers I didn't expect them to join me in denouncing that denier, and they didn't. But Seb is risking his life every day, so I'm not giving up....

Simon said...

His anon....yes it's the same thing.,I don't understand deniers, but they do seem to get a weird thrill denying science. But Incan only hope that you are right and that they won't be able to get away with it any longer....

Simon said...

Hi anon...I had never heard of that word either, I had to look it up. But you're right it does to with dork, and Scheer has never been more out of it....

Simon said...

Hi anon...nobody can predict what will happen in the U.S. But I share your concern. All those armed crazies running around with assault rifles are a threat to Americans and Canadians. And our security forces are going to have to patrol our border very carefully indeed...

Simon said...

Hi RT....Although the situation in our hospitals hasn't been as dire as I had feared, except in Quebec, the battle to save lives is ongoing and heroic. Covid-19 will be with us for a long time, and since it is incredibly contagious many many more Canadians are going to get sick and die. And if we don't manage to flatten that curve it will flare up again and do devastating damage. The flu can kill you by giving you pneumonia, but it usually only affects one part of the lung. Covid spreads all over the lung, as well as affecting hearts, brains, kidneys and intestines. It truly is a doomsday bug....

Simon said...

Hi JD....I can understand why governments are anxious to relax lockdowns, and goodness knows people are anxious to be freed from their jail cells. But we have to be so careful or all our effort so far will be wasted. For those locked at home that would be enormously depressing, for health workers it would be devastating. Coronavirus deniers like Todd don't think of that and they should be ashamed of themselves...