The Atlantic calls for COVID amnesty

[GURPS]

In other words, the wisdom of the viciously attacked–to this day, mind you–Great Barrington Declaration has been vindicated.

Once data started rolling in and the true scope of its danger was known, COVID became a political cause for the Left, not a public health issue. Public policy and social behavior was no longer grounded in any connection to reality and became a political signifier, and every single awful consequence that has come from the use of COVID as a political cudgel to attack those of us who demanded a rational, measured response is entirely blameworthy. The people who did this must pay a price.

COVID fanatics deserve every single bit of the consequences that are coming for them, and far far more than they will suffer.

Once April or May 2020 rolled around the Left clearly realized that COVID would make an outstanding political tool with which to bash the Republicans, and even more important it would become a tool to fundamentally reshape society in a manner that would be much more to their liking. Democrats in the United States started using COVID as a cudgel, not as a problem to be rationally addressed.

Freedom–always the enemy of the Left–could be constrained at the whim of politicians using “emergency” powers. Dissenters could be censored because they were spreading “misinformation,” compliance could be compelled (mask mandates) with serious economic and social consequences attached to failure to comply, and grand plans for social and economic transformation were set in motion. Wearing a mask became a symbol of the desire to oppress, and was a license to do so with impunity.

The Atlantic calls for COVID amnesty

hotair.com

 

[GURPS]

No, reasonable people could see already in March 2020 that SARS-2 posed no measurable threat to children. There was never any honest debate to be had about this.

The people who got it right, for whatever reason, may want to gloat. Those who got it wrong, for whatever reason, may feel defensive and retrench into a position that doesn’t accord with the facts. …
We have to put these fights aside and declare a pandemic amnesty. … [W]e need to learn from our mistakes and then let them go. We need to forgive the attacks, too. Because I thought schools should reopen and argued that kids as a group were not at high risk, I was called a “teacher killer” and a “génocidaire.” It wasn’t pleasant, but feelings were high. And I certainly don’t need to dissect and rehash that time for the rest of my days.
Moving on is crucial now, because the pandemic created many problems that we still need to solve.

I’m sorry somebody called you genocidal, Emily Oster. That must’ve been tough for you. You know what’s also tough? Getting your head kicked in by riot police because you had the temerity to protest against indefinite population-wide house arrest.




Or being fired from your university job and banned in perpetuity from the premises because you uploaded a video to social media complaining about the onerous and expensive testing requirements imposed upon unvaccinated staff. Or being confined to your house and threatened with fines because of personal medical decisions that had no chance of impacting the broader course of the pandemic in the first place. But somebody called this woman genocidal in French and she’s ready to move on, so it’s all good.

Emily Oster proposes “a pandemic amnesty,” suggests that “we need to forgive one another for what we did and said when we were in the dark about COVID”

I don’t know much about the American pandemic pundits, but I gather that Brown University economist and “parenting guru” Emily Oster is far from the worst of them.

www.eugyppius.com

 

[Kyle]

We could always compromise and beat them with the "forgiveness stick!"

 

[vraiblonde]

People lost their employment, their businesses, their loved ones, and their very freedom. And we're supposed to just....forgive and forget?

**** you, fascist.

The dumbass who wrote the OP needs to pull his head out of his ass. "Oh, she's great....except for the tiny part where she's Mussolini....."

 

[Kyle]

People lost their employment, their businesses, their loved ones, and their very freedom. And we're supposed to just....forgive and forget?

**** you, fascist.

The dumbass who wrote the OP needs to pull his head out of his ass. "Oh, she's great....except for the tiny part where she's Mussolini....."

That needs to become the next rallying cry.

 

[GURPS]

Naomi Wolf's Moving Article on Americans Turning on Each Other During COVID: Forgive but Don't Forget




Author and feminist activist Naomi Wolf has been an outspoken critic of the governmental pandemic response, has been banned from Twitter, and lost the love of many friends and family. She is now widely derided by her former tribe on the left as a conspiracy theorist and purveyor of “misinformation.” Whatever you think of her strong views, she has a right to express them.

 

[vraiblonde]

But meanwhile, I forgive them. I have to. Because otherwise the rage and sorrow would exhaust me to death.

This is just a manipulation piece, all virtue signally so you'll feel like a bad person if you don't let bygones be bygones WITH VIOLENT FASCISTS WHO TRIED TO DESTROY YOUR LIFE AND THE LIVES OF YOUR CHILDREN.

Well, Naomi, forgiveness is overrated. In fact, forgiveness is for losers. Sure, you forgive the minor infraction; the accident; the act that the perp is legit sorry for and will likely never do again. But this was not minor, nor was it an accident, and we all know damn well they'd do it again if they thought they could get away with it.

"Baby, I swear I didn't mean it. I love you, baby. I promise I'll never do it again."

 

[Kyle]

"Baby, I swear I didn't mean it. I love you, baby. I promise I'll never do it again."

Thats why Trump did so well.

Republicrats have been acting like the beaten hausfrau for the last 40 years and Trump came along and said "#### that ####" and threw down.

 

[GURPS]

Let’s start with ZeroHedge’s electrifying headline yesterday: “‘You Murderous Hypocrites’: Outrage Ensues After The Atlantic Suggests ‘Amnesty’ For Pandemic Authoritarians.”

The outrage erupted following publication of an Atlantic op-ed that ran on Monday with the headline, “Let’s Declare a Pandemic Amnesty,” and the sub-headline, “We need to forgive one another for what we did and said when we were in the dark about COVID.”

The well-written, lucid, and honest op-ed’s author was Professor Emily Oster, who championed masking and lockdowns early in the pandemic, often wielding “the science” as a weapon against anyone who questioned government orthodoxy. But to her credit, the mother of young children quickly came around to arguing for school re-opening, and later un-masking, and so, at various times, was criticized by both sides.

☕️ C&C NEWS ☙ Wednesday, November 2, 2022 ☙ AMNESTY 🦠

More celebrity SADS; CDC's war on women; the worst flu season in 13 years, for some reason; mask appeal rejected by SCOTUS; my thoughts on the Atlantic's infamous call for grace; and more.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[GURPS]

With whom does Emily Oster want an amnesty? Moms, so they will return to the democratic fold​

Emily Oster would like us to forget that. But we can’t—and I hope we won’t—because we were there bringing the government’s own data to shine a light on the lies it so ceaselessly manufactured. These weren’t lies of omission, they were lies of commission. They were lies that were wrought by smelting the credibility of science and medicine in the fires of politics to create weapons wielded by the powerful against us. They literally called us terrorists for our opposition.

Now, after having been called terrorists by our governments for arguing for the well-being of our own children, Dr. Oster wants us to forget that. In asking us to forget, she beseeches those who strayed from the flock to return, to believe that it is not their shepherd who takes them to slaughter that would do them harm, but the wolf lurking unseen in the shadows of the wood. So now we must talk about abortion.

 

[GURPS]

emily oster's no good, really bad, terrible idea​

just to be clear, emily is not advocating forgiving “those who deliberately spread misinformation” (though she does seem a bit confused about just who that might be) but her “we were all in the dark and people said lots of things and some wound up right and some wrong and we all just need to get over it and move on as recrimination is not useful” take rings hollow and false here.

what does this serve?

why should we forgive those who through stupidity, cupidity, and fear spent 3 years denying 100 years of evidence based science to attack our lives and livelihoods?

oh, no worries! i'm sure you had your reasons?

you were "just following orders"?

you were just doing what the authorities said?

 

[GURPS]

"Amnesty" is not the Solution to Disastrous Policy Decisions​

“I’m so sorry you got hurt. How could I have known it would hurt you when I hit you with that bat?”​

“I appreciate your apology, but it will be hard to stay friends knowing you’re capable of something like that.”​

“Like what? I didn’t know the bat would hurt you. How could I have known?”​

“Because physics, physiology, common sense – Oh, and I screamed, ‘Don’t hit me, that’s going to hurt!’ right before you did it and, ‘That hurt!’ right after.” ​

“Well, I’ve never read a study that concludes that hitting people with baseball bats will hurt them. In fact, I was told it was necessary to keep us all safe and that anyone who refuses is selfish.”​

“And you believed that? That’s crazy!”​

“Well, obviously, I don’t anymore. Duh.”​

“But why did you believe it then?”​

“Because I didn’t know.”​

“Are you going to hit me again?”​

“No way … unless, of course, it will keep everyone safe.”​

That about sums up the conversation for me.

 

[LightRoasted]

For your consideration ...

Sure, I'll forgive. Only after all involved are either hanging from the gallows, or with their heads in a bucket after being lopped off at the guillotine, or slumped into a pile after being placed in front of a firing squad. Then and only then, will I forgive.

 

[vraiblonde]

Oh @GURPS ...

 

[TPD]

I will never forgive or forget! Never!

 

[GURPS]

No, You Can't Have Pandemic 'Amnesty'​

The first two paragraphs of the article highlight one of the problems with Oster’s assertions:

In April 2020, with nothing else to do, my family took an enormous number of hikes. We all wore cloth masks that I had made myself. We had a family hand signal, which the person in the front would use if someone was approaching on the trail and we needed to put on our masks. Once, when another child got too close to my then-4-year-old son on a bridge, he yelled at her “SOCIAL DISTANCING!”
These precautions were totally misguided. In April 2020, no one got the coronavirus from passing someone else hiking. Outdoor transmission was vanishingly rare. Our cloth masks made out of old bandanas wouldn’t have done anything, anyway. But the thing is: We didn’t know.

She defends her and her family’s actions, such as wearing cloth masks, by claiming they “didn’t know” if it would work.

But that’s wrong. We did know.

We knew it wouldn’t work.

All of the available pre-pandemic evidence consistently suggested masks, especially cloth masks, would not be effective:

If Masks Work, Why Didn't We Plan to Use Them?​

 

[my-thyme]

For your consideration ...

Sure, I'll forgive. Only after all involved are either hanging from the gallows, or with their heads in a bucket after being lopped off at the guillotine, or slumped into a pile after being placed in front of a firing squad. Then and only then, will I forgive.

I like it.

 

[stgislander]

I will never forgive or forget! Never!

So you're not going to hold hands with Dr. Brewster and sing Kum Ba Yah?

 

[Toxick]

The Nuremberg trials seem to set the precedent, that just because you're "following orders" doesn't mean that you are exempt from the consequences of your ****ed up, repugnant behavior.

Let's relive some of the fonder memories from the past 2 years:

Some tweets and quotes:

The CDC should roll out a new program: Get the shot or get shot. The unvaccinated need to be rounded up and lined up in front of open trenches. Their choice is simple.

Mocking antivaxxers deaths is ghoulish yes -- but necessary.

Repulsive. If you aren't vaccinated and other people need an ICU bed, we should unplug you, throw you in the family station wagon, and wish you luck. I'd even throw in the ivermectin for free.

I would argue that COVID does kill some of the right people. The antivaxxers/maskers are dying in legions.*

When are we going to stop putting up with the idiots in this country and just say, you know, ‘It’s mandatory to get vaccinated’? F–k them, f–k their freedom. I want my freedom to live.

I'm confused on why anti-vaxxers are protesting vaccine mandates at their companies. Why don't they take the advice they so generously hand out to people in low-paying jobs. If you don't like your job, quit and find a new one. I hear lots of companies have unfilled positions.

Seriously, it's going to suck hard when the middle-aged and near retirement-aged anti-vaxxers realize that the country is not putting up with their petulant temper tantrums and will cut them loose. I hope they have their 40 credits and a 401K or pension.

Are we supposed to have sympathy for this dumb broad? If you know you won't be able to keep the mask on your bubble-gum breath varmint, stay off my the plane. There are other ways to get where you're going without inconveniencing others.

Imagine wanting to die more than wanting to wear a tiny piece of fabric around your waist or mouth.
Some people are truly too dumb to survive. You would have been eating by a saber tooth tiger as a child.

And some headlines:

Texas children's hospital denies teen kidney transplant over vaccination status.

Military begins discharging troops who refuse COVID-19 vaccine.

Selah Business fined almost $10,000 for staying open during COVID-19 outbreak.

Santa Clara County issued over 75 business fines for COVID-19 regulation violations.


And now they want amnesty?



Hard pass.


On the record for posterity and context: I was not and continue not to be an antivaxxer. I am, in fact, vaccinated and boosted, and I wore a mask without complaint. I did, however, promote the rights of those who did NOT want to do these things. I endorsed and continue to endorse, above all things, individual liberty and personal freedom without infringement. So, if you wish to impose your will over the liberty of others, you will never have my forgiveness. You will never have amnesty. **** you. **** your regrets. **** your amnesty.




*I literally just this minute found out - like, after I quoted this person - that this person just died today. I am not happy to hear this, and I will refrain from shitting on the dead. I do hope she receives amnesty where she's going, and I hope she has a fairer insight into the minds of those she deemed "the right people" to die

 

[Sneakers]

Had an interesting experience at the doc yesterday. The ortho center finally dropped the mask requirement, but a few were still wearing them. That's fine, whatever. Got in to see the doc, she's wearing a mask. Ok, whatever.

My knees are bad, and as part of the discussion, told her that all my house projects are on hold because I can't get down on the floor or up on a ladder. She gives me a funny look... A few minutes later, she said that "we" believe anyone over 50 shouldn't be on a ladder, that the ladder tasks should be delegated to someone younger.

Exsqueeze me? 50?!?! Pretty sure the "we" was "her", and then the mask made perfect sense. Super-overcautious. Need to protect ourselves from the world.

So how many over 50 still actively work around the house and use ladders? I'm almost 70 and thee only reason I'm not using a ladder is because it hurts, not because I'm frail or weak.