Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse

The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.

"A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion
42 Posts 11 Posters 427 Views
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • JonJ Jon

    @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

    I remember well the tenor of conversation here on TNCR at the time. The full-stop fear of getting sick was thick in the air, and the pricelessness of human life was an idea taken seriously.

    I’ll cop to the former, the transplant physicians were genuinely worried it would be a death sentence for us. Indeed for many it was and still is. I had a transplant friend die of Covid as recently as April 15th (some 2 days before I tested positive).

    I don’t remember anyone here adopting the latter view.

    HoraceH Offline
    HoraceH Offline
    Horace
    wrote on last edited by
    #18

    @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

    @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

    I remember well the tenor of conversation here on TNCR at the time. The full-stop fear of getting sick was thick in the air, and the pricelessness of human life was an idea taken seriously.

    I’ll cop to the former, the transplant physicians were genuinely worried it would be a death sentence for us. Indeed for many it was and still is. I had a transplant friend die of Covid as recently as April 15th (some 2 days before I tested positive).

    Your fear of getting sick was understandable, but it wasn't just you.

    I don’t remember anyone here adopting the latter view.

    It was prevalent here.

    Education is extremely important.

    1 Reply Last reply
    • LuFins DadL Offline
      LuFins DadL Offline
      LuFins Dad
      wrote on last edited by
      #19

      I admit to getting sucked in.

      The Brad

      1 Reply Last reply
      • Doctor PhibesD Online
        Doctor PhibesD Online
        Doctor Phibes
        wrote on last edited by Doctor Phibes
        #20

        There was a huge amount of uncertainty. Managing a pandemic with 20/20 hindsight is real easy.

        I remember in March/April 2020 leaving the mail in the sun-room to decontaminate for 24 hours. It seems ridiculous now. I got yelled at by a pedestrian when I cycled past them for being within 8 feet, then around the next corner I saw a bunch of older guys jogging and thinking they were crazy for getting so close.

        Even now, things vary - we have the husband of a liver transplant survivor working here - he still never meets anyone in person and wears a mask at all times when he leaves his office. Ironically, his wife ended up giving him covid.

        I was only joking

        LuFins DadL HoraceH 2 Replies Last reply
        • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

          There was a huge amount of uncertainty. Managing a pandemic with 20/20 hindsight is real easy.

          I remember in March/April 2020 leaving the mail in the sun-room to decontaminate for 24 hours. It seems ridiculous now. I got yelled at by a pedestrian when I cycled past them for being within 8 feet, then around the next corner I saw a bunch of older guys jogging and thinking they were crazy for getting so close.

          Even now, things vary - we have the husband of a liver transplant survivor working here - he still never meets anyone in person and wears a mask at all times when he leaves his office. Ironically, his wife ended up giving him covid.

          LuFins DadL Offline
          LuFins DadL Offline
          LuFins Dad
          wrote on last edited by
          #21

          @Doctor-Phibes I get the panic… I was pulled in, too. Wiping down groceries with Clorox wipes in a decontamination room…

          That doesn’t alleviate our public health experts for critical failures and our governments for allowing our rights to be infringed on because of those public health failures.

          The Brad

          Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
          • LuFins DadL LuFins Dad

            @Doctor-Phibes I get the panic… I was pulled in, too. Wiping down groceries with Clorox wipes in a decontamination room…

            That doesn’t alleviate our public health experts for critical failures and our governments for allowing our rights to be infringed on because of those public health failures.

            Doctor PhibesD Online
            Doctor PhibesD Online
            Doctor Phibes
            wrote on last edited by Doctor Phibes
            #22

            @LuFins-Dad said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

            @Doctor-Phibes I get the panic… I was pulled in, too. Wiping down groceries with Clorox wipes in a decontamination room…

            That doesn’t alleviate our public health experts for critical failures and our governments for allowing our rights to be infringed on because of those public health failures.

            Well, to be fair they were operating under a lot of uncertainty too. However. the initial post in this thread was about the UK , and I'd characterise the behaviour of that government as disgusting. Drinks parties at No. 10 while the rest of the country was forcibly being isolated. Contracts for safety equipment being awarded to friends and family of senior politicians without any tendering process despite them being incapable of delivering and having insufficient expertise. Senior government ministers driving hundreds of miles for 'child care' and 'to test out my eyesight'. I could go on.

            I was only joking

            1 Reply Last reply
            • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

              There was a huge amount of uncertainty. Managing a pandemic with 20/20 hindsight is real easy.

              I remember in March/April 2020 leaving the mail in the sun-room to decontaminate for 24 hours. It seems ridiculous now. I got yelled at by a pedestrian when I cycled past them for being within 8 feet, then around the next corner I saw a bunch of older guys jogging and thinking they were crazy for getting so close.

              Even now, things vary - we have the husband of a liver transplant survivor working here - he still never meets anyone in person and wears a mask at all times when he leaves his office. Ironically, his wife ended up giving him covid.

              HoraceH Offline
              HoraceH Offline
              Horace
              wrote on last edited by Horace
              #23

              The lockdowns and vaccine mandates, and the sanctimonious finger pointing at those who were against them, are historical facts. We all took a test and we all turned in our results. People differ.

              Education is extremely important.

              Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
              • JonJ Jon

                @Copper said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                I think I thought the collateral costs were staggering at the time. And we aren’t finished paying yet.

                True but you thought the flu was worse. I don’t know how you thought that, but you did. And for someone who sincerely believed that, pretty much any public mitigation efforts would be overkill

                CopperC Offline
                CopperC Offline
                Copper
                wrote on last edited by
                #24

                @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                True but you thought the flu was worse.

                I thought that right up until it wasn't, which was, if I remember correctly, several months into the race.

                Most people conceded the race to covid too early.

                Aqua LetiferA JonJ 2 Replies Last reply
                • CopperC Copper

                  @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                  True but you thought the flu was worse.

                  I thought that right up until it wasn't, which was, if I remember correctly, several months into the race.

                  Most people conceded the race to covid too early.

                  Aqua LetiferA Offline
                  Aqua LetiferA Offline
                  Aqua Letifer
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #25

                  @Copper said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                  @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                  True but you thought the flu was worse.

                  I thought that right up until it wasn't, which was, if I remember correctly, several months into the race.

                  Then apparently you still don't understand the time difference between reported numbers and real-time fatalities.

                  Please love yourself.

                  CopperC 1 Reply Last reply
                  • HoraceH Horace

                    The lockdowns and vaccine mandates, and the sanctimonious finger pointing at those who were against them, are historical facts. We all took a test and we all turned in our results. People differ.

                    Doctor PhibesD Online
                    Doctor PhibesD Online
                    Doctor Phibes
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #26

                    @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                    The lockdowns and vaccine mandates, and the sanctimonious finger pointing at those who were against them, are historical facts. We all took a test and we all turned in our results. People differ.

                    Don't forget the the plandemic people, many of whom are presumably still inhabiting a world where it was all a vast conspiracy conjured up by Bill Gates and his nanobots. And then there's the people who think the vaccines were more dangerous than Covid, and were a government plan to do something or other. People do indeed differ.

                    I was only joking

                    HoraceH 1 Reply Last reply
                    • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

                      @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                      The lockdowns and vaccine mandates, and the sanctimonious finger pointing at those who were against them, are historical facts. We all took a test and we all turned in our results. People differ.

                      Don't forget the the plandemic people, many of whom are presumably still inhabiting a world where it was all a vast conspiracy conjured up by Bill Gates and his nanobots. And then there's the people who think the vaccines were more dangerous than Covid, and were a government plan to do something or other. People do indeed differ.

                      HoraceH Offline
                      HoraceH Offline
                      Horace
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #27

                      @Doctor-Phibes said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                      @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                      The lockdowns and vaccine mandates, and the sanctimonious finger pointing at those who were against them, are historical facts. We all took a test and we all turned in our results. People differ.

                      Don't forget the the plandemic people, many of whom are presumably still inhabiting a world where it was all a vast conspiracy conjured up by Bill Gates and his nanobots. And then there's the people who think the vaccines were more dangerous than Covid, and were a government plan to do something or other. People do indeed differ.

                      There’s a difference between people one interacts with daily, and giggle targets one unearths by digging through the internet. What I described was totally mainstream.

                      Education is extremely important.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • 89th8 Offline
                        89th8 Offline
                        89th
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #28

                        Oh hindsight. What does this mean, the next global pandemic folks will say we shouldn't lock down then realize later we should've. I think the biggest lessons from COVID are knowing which populations are truly the most vulnerable (elderly, obese, etc) and focusing efforts there, but then again... don't forget what we were going through in the Spring of 2020.

                        Mobile morgues. Make-shift hospitals. Mass graves.

                        image.png

                        1c6fba5f-0a23-4e81-88fe-42c0d4ba2b5f-image.png

                        image.png

                        HoraceH 1 Reply Last reply
                        • 89th8 89th

                          Oh hindsight. What does this mean, the next global pandemic folks will say we shouldn't lock down then realize later we should've. I think the biggest lessons from COVID are knowing which populations are truly the most vulnerable (elderly, obese, etc) and focusing efforts there, but then again... don't forget what we were going through in the Spring of 2020.

                          Mobile morgues. Make-shift hospitals. Mass graves.

                          image.png

                          1c6fba5f-0a23-4e81-88fe-42c0d4ba2b5f-image.png

                          image.png

                          HoraceH Offline
                          HoraceH Offline
                          Horace
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #29

                          @89th said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                          Oh hindsight. What does this mean, the next global pandemic folks will say we shouldn't lock down then realize later we should've.

                          I can’t speak for anybody else, but what it means for me is that I’ll continue to treat everything on a case by case basis, rather than applying an incoherent rule learned from a vaguely rhyming history. I will continue to roll my eyes at the sanctimonious masses leaping at the opportunity to divide people into good vs evil groups. And I will continue to lean heavily towards a principle of personal liberty.

                          Education is extremely important.

                          Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                          • George KG Offline
                            George KG Offline
                            George K
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #30

                            Perhaps I'm reading that article wrong. I don't think it diminished or underestimated the severity of the pandemic. The point is the lockdowns made little difference in making it better, and made a lot of difference in making the whole time worse.

                            "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                            The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                            Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                            • Aqua LetiferA Aqua Letifer

                              @Copper said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                              @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                              True but you thought the flu was worse.

                              I thought that right up until it wasn't, which was, if I remember correctly, several months into the race.

                              Then apparently you still don't understand the time difference between reported numbers and real-time fatalities.

                              CopperC Offline
                              CopperC Offline
                              Copper
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #31

                              @Aqua-Letifer said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                              @Copper said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                              @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                              True but you thought the flu was worse.

                              I thought that right up until it wasn't, which was, if I remember correctly, several months into the race.

                              Then apparently you still don't understand the time difference between reported numbers and real-time fatalities.

                              I understand everything, without exception.

                              That is why I reported what I reported these many years ago.

                              You reported your emotions, which turned out to be correct but not until I reported the changing numbers.

                              Aqua LetiferA 1 Reply Last reply
                              • George KG George K

                                Perhaps I'm reading that article wrong. I don't think it diminished or underestimated the severity of the pandemic. The point is the lockdowns made little difference in making it better, and made a lot of difference in making the whole time worse.

                                Doctor PhibesD Online
                                Doctor PhibesD Online
                                Doctor Phibes
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #32

                                @George-K said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                Perhaps I'm reading that article wrong. I don't think it diminished or underestimated the severity of the pandemic. The point is the lockdowns made little difference in making it better, and made a lot of difference in making the whole time worse.

                                That was my take, too.

                                I'm not one of the people who think that the lockdowns were an attempt at tyranny. I think that for the most part they were governments doing what they thought was best for the general population, and in some cases panicking just as the general population panicked.

                                The fact that they may not have worked will hopefully help if we face something similar in the future, but to be honest I'm not sure. This was not an easy couple of years for anybody.

                                I was only joking

                                Aqua LetiferA 1 Reply Last reply
                                • HoraceH Horace

                                  @89th said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                  Oh hindsight. What does this mean, the next global pandemic folks will say we shouldn't lock down then realize later we should've.

                                  I can’t speak for anybody else, but what it means for me is that I’ll continue to treat everything on a case by case basis, rather than applying an incoherent rule learned from a vaguely rhyming history. I will continue to roll my eyes at the sanctimonious masses leaping at the opportunity to divide people into good vs evil groups. And I will continue to lean heavily towards a principle of personal liberty.

                                  Doctor PhibesD Online
                                  Doctor PhibesD Online
                                  Doctor Phibes
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #33

                                  @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                  I will continue to roll my eyes at the sanctimonious masses leaping at the opportunity to divide people into good vs evil groups.

                                  I tell you one thing I seem to remember. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I recall a number of people who weren't working any more implying that others who were needed to get back to the office for the sake of the economy.

                                  And I have to say it really pissed me off.

                                  I was only joking

                                  HoraceH 1 Reply Last reply
                                  • CopperC Copper

                                    @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                    True but you thought the flu was worse.

                                    I thought that right up until it wasn't, which was, if I remember correctly, several months into the race.

                                    Most people conceded the race to covid too early.

                                    JonJ Offline
                                    JonJ Offline
                                    Jon
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #34

                                    @Copper said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                    @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                    True but you thought the flu was worse.

                                    I thought that right up until it wasn't, which was, if I remember correctly, several months into the race.

                                    You were saying it well past the time the skeptics were saying it and well into the time where it was just the trolls.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

                                      @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                      I will continue to roll my eyes at the sanctimonious masses leaping at the opportunity to divide people into good vs evil groups.

                                      I tell you one thing I seem to remember. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I recall a number of people who weren't working any more implying that others who were needed to get back to the office for the sake of the economy.

                                      And I have to say it really pissed me off.

                                      HoraceH Offline
                                      HoraceH Offline
                                      Horace
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #35

                                      @Doctor-Phibes said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                      @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                      I will continue to roll my eyes at the sanctimonious masses leaping at the opportunity to divide people into good vs evil groups.

                                      I tell you one thing I seem to remember. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I recall a number of people who weren't working any more implying that others who were needed to get back to the office for the sake of the economy.

                                      And I have to say it really pissed me off.

                                      There is no end to the reasons you have for dismissing people's opinions.

                                      Education is extremely important.

                                      Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                                      • LuFins DadL LuFins Dad

                                        @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                        Not statewide. Our district was only closed spring of 2020. The city stayed closed for 2020-2021 I believe.

                                        Yes, I seem to recall that N.Y.C. didn’t reopen until September, 2021 and even delayed then, but that’s on the city not on the state.

                                        However, did your schools fully reopen for in-person learning in the fall of 2020? Or was it a hybrid model? Here we had the choice of 2 days in-school/3 days remote or you could choose a full-time remote. It was Luke’s senior year. He was essentially done and most of the important classes were disrupted by the disjointed schedule so we opted for remote, but I would still argue that a part time schedule is still a type of lockdown.

                                        JonJ Offline
                                        JonJ Offline
                                        Jon
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #36

                                        @LuFins-Dad said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                        @Jon said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                        Not statewide. Our district was only closed spring of 2020. The city stayed closed for 2020-2021 I believe.

                                        Yes, I seem to recall that N.Y.C. didn’t reopen until September, 2021 and even delayed then, but that’s on the city not on the state.

                                        However, did your schools fully reopen for in-person learning in the fall of 2020? Or was it a hybrid model? Here we had the choice of 2 days in-school/3 days remote or you could choose a full-time remote. It was Luke’s senior year. He was essentially done and most of the important classes were disrupted by the disjointed schedule so we opted for remote, but I would still argue that a part time schedule is still a type of lockdown.

                                        Fair point. We had a hybrid model until spring of 2021.

                                        I think the costs of virtual schooling were pretty immense overall. Emily Oster was making that case early, and rather persuasively.

                                        The thing that pissed me off most about the teachers unions in some cities is they argued to be first in line for vaccines and then STILL wouldn't come in. The only case for giving them early access was to reopen the schools.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        • HoraceH Horace

                                          @Doctor-Phibes said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                          @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                          I will continue to roll my eyes at the sanctimonious masses leaping at the opportunity to divide people into good vs evil groups.

                                          I tell you one thing I seem to remember. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I recall a number of people who weren't working any more implying that others who were needed to get back to the office for the sake of the economy.

                                          And I have to say it really pissed me off.

                                          There is no end to the reasons you have for dismissing people's opinions.

                                          Doctor PhibesD Online
                                          Doctor PhibesD Online
                                          Doctor Phibes
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #37

                                          @Horace said in "A policy failure of gigantic proportions”.:

                                          There is no end to the reasons you have for dismissing people's opinions.

                                          Well, people not working and telling me I need to get back to the office seemed like a pretty good reason to ignore the assholes, TBH. Particularly since I never stopped working for the entire pandemic.

                                          I was only joking

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups