August, 2021 archive

Paul Rupert is currently undergoing regular dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant; his brother has committed to donating a kidney, but he worries that hospital space won’t be available, as hospitals fill with anti-vaxxer COVID patients. Indeed, he is quite fed up. An excerpt (emphasis in the original).

When the vaccines had rolled out, science and concern for self and others seemed to be winning the day.

Any euphoria proved short-lived. In a matter of weeks, delta rampaged, along with “vaccine hesitancy” and spiking hospitalizations and deaths. Soon ICU beds filled up and the talk began of postponing “elective surgeries” — as if a transplant were a tummy tuck.

If the rest of us are required to go willingly or unwillingly through protective steps for routine hospital visits, admission for COVID treatment should meet the same standard. Simply put, it is time to declare: No vaccination, no hospitalization. Except for those too young to get shots, the adults among us should show the courage of our convictions, make our choices and live — or die — with them.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Dr. Austin Ratner argues that it’s a major factor in our society’s bumbled response to COVID-19. A nugget (emphasis in the original):

When the unvaccinated Phil Valentine was first diagnosed with COVID-19, he posted a statement on Facebook claiming he’d be fine in a few days and touted the benefits of “some very effective alternatives to the vaccine.” In these statements, he was clearly saying what he wanted to believe more than he was facing up to known facts about the dangers of the illness for people in his age group.

That is denial.

While we’re on the subject, here’s an excerpt from an article by the Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini about persons taking ivermectin horse de-worming pills to cure COVID:

I sent him (a reader who claimed that the media were covering up this miracle cure–ed.) a link to an FDA information sheet on the dangers of the drug now being promoted on the internet by conspiracy theorists and fringe anti-vaxxers.

He responded, “You expect me to believe the FDA? How naïve are you?”

We are a society of stupid.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Clifford Lazarus takes a look at common myths and misinformation being spread about COVID-19, including the following:

• Myth 1: Masks Do Not Protect People from COVID-19
• Myth 2: Vaccines Cause COVID-19
• Myth 3: Vaccines Contain Micro-Tracking Technology

After demolishing them, he comes to a disheartening conclusion:

My theory that tries to explain this sad and deeply alarming state of affairs is that human beings still have Paleolithic and Pleistocene era physiology and intelligence, are mostly led by Dark Ages and medieval institutions, and yet now possess almost god-like technology.

It is this latter fact that seems to support our species’ scientific classification as Homo sapiens — “wise man.” But, in general, that classification seems to be a misnomer. Why would people choose to ignore scientific realities and act in personally reckless, socially irresponsible, and globally destructive ways? Perhaps because the prevalence of superstition, fear, denial, greed, shortsightedness, and ignorance are integral aspects of our species? This is why I propose a different, seemingly much more fitting classification for our kind, Homo stultus — “stupid man.”

Follow the link for more about the myths, his debunking thereof, and the reasoning behind his suggested change in nomenclature.