Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

In my opinion, Bozinovic and the enforcement agencies should have taken much more decisive action at the very beginning. When people arriving from abroad were ordered into self-isolation, the general sentiment seemed to be that it was some sort of joke—just another bureaucratic nuisance. Most citizens—and I won't generalize too broadly since there are plenty of smart people out there—didn't even grasp the gravity of what "self-isolation" actually entails. Not to mention the sheer irresponsibility shown by certain individuals.

It was only after several days, once it became obvious that the mandate was being flagrantly ignored—with those who were supposed to be isolating instead wandering through pharmacies, playing bingo, or hosting neighborhood parties—that the authorities finally adopted a firmer tone. They started using GPS tracking, integrating pharmacy software data, and conducting door-to-door checks. Had they been more aggressive from the jump, we might not be facing this surge in local transmission right now.

Now, because of these new restrictions, everyone is going to suffer—especially the majority who have been following the rules diligently until now.

Furthermore, the decision to limit store hours to 8 AM–5 PM is poorly conceived. It either triggers unnecessary panic or just forces everyone to scramble. Instead of smoothing things out, you end up with a crowd of frustrated people hitting the stores at 8 AM for their basic groceries, creating nothing but massive lines and congestion.

urbanhawk17 said:Everything you said holds up. Maybe the only real difference is how people are acting. In Korea, they have this app where you can track where infected people are and how they move (I'm not sure if they're forced to use it or if they opt-in), like that famous case of the guy who was infected while attending a seminar on sexual violence. Meanwhile, Americans in Italy seem to be breaking quarantine just to act like fake tough guys.🤷

Setting aside the math on mortality rates, you don't need to be a genius to figure out which of these two scenarios is more likely to happen here.😁

EDIT:

Here's that link regarding Korea.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-private-lives

I heard back in 2015, Korea dealt with a MERS outbreak, and they actually used that experience to build out their infrastructure and protocols for stuff like this. It seems like they were actually prepared when COVID finally hit.

steelharbor9 said:Yeah, I guess the option where the whole healthcare system just completely collapses because we let the virus spread uncontrollably and instantly is way more appealing. 🤷

It’s definitely not sustainable in the long run, but maybe it helps cushion the blow for the most vulnerable people until the hospitals can actually handle the load—which is kind of the whole point, right? I don't really see any other way to avoid ending up like Italy.

And they had that exact same mindset (and for some reason, a huge chunk of them still do) back in early March, so we all saw exactly where that led them.

😉

Noah Perez2 said:In my opinion, Bozinovic and the enforcement agencies should have taken much more decisive action at the very beginning. When people arriving from abroad were ordered into self-isolation, the general sentiment seemed to be that it was some sort of joke—just another bureaucratic nuisance. Most citizens—and I won't generalize too broadly since there are plenty of smart people out there—didn't even grasp the gravity of what "self-isolation" actually entails. Not to mention the sheer irresponsibility shown by certain individuals.

It was only after several days, once it became obvious that the mandate was being flagrantly ignored—with those who were supposed to be isolating instead wandering through pharmacies, playing bingo, or hosting neighborhood parties—that the authorities finally adopted a firmer tone. They started using GPS tracking, integrating pharmacy software data, and conducting door-to-door checks. Had they been more aggressive from the jump, we might not be facing this surge in local transmission right now.

Now, because of these new restrictions, everyone is going to suffer—especially the majority who have been following the rules diligently until now.

Furthermore, the decision to limit store hours to 8 AM–5 PM is poorly conceived. It either triggers unnecessary panic or just forces everyone to scramble. Instead of smoothing things out, you end up with a crowd of frustrated people hitting the stores at 8 AM for their basic groceries, creating nothing but massive lines and congestion.

Look, man, just go at them with the heavy artillery—don't take it out on the rest of us. It’s pretty damn obvious to me that our government bureaucracy is way too incompetent to actually pull something like this off. They just rolled out these new permits that are being handled at the local county level, and honestly? Half the people running the show don't even know who's issuing them, and the other half have no clue what the actual restrictions are. Everyone who asks for one is gonna get one, because let’s be real—if someone is actually bothering to ask, they clearly need it. Whether they’re commuting to work in a different city or just heading out to a farm upstate to feed the chickens, nobody's stopping them. 😁

Kyle Lopez2 said:So, Rudan says. The latest report on how movement affects recovery is actually pretty interesting. It turns out that staying active can make a significant difference when you're dealing with certain health issues. A study recently published in the journal Nature suggests that physical activity isn't just good for general fitness, but it plays a specific role in how our bodies manage recovery processes. It’s one of those things we all know intuitively, but seeing the actual data backed up by researchers adds a whole new layer of credibility to the idea. Honestly, I've always felt like moving around helped my mood and energy levels, so it's nice to see science catching up with common sense.

Based on the initial 140,000 tests, the mortality rate among those infected within the community is sitting at around 0.6%, which basically works out to one in two hundred.

Based on those two key pieces of data regarding COVID-19—specifically that it might only lead to one death per 200 infections within a community, and that among those hospitalized, the mortality rate sits between one in 50 and one in 100—epidemiologists have finally started to breathe a sigh of relief. It doesn't seem like anyone is feeling the need to... We're talking about an incredibly dangerous disease here.

So, the thing is, this Corona virus isn't primarily killing people just because it's a case of COVID-19. It’s been medically quite a struggle. For most of those who fell ill, Mainly because it’s spreading among people at such a frantic, crazy pace.The way this Corona virus spreads is honestly pretty intense; it ramps up the number of sick people incredibly fast, and about 5% of those cases end up being really severe.

If we could actually get everyone the right kind of care exactly when they needed it, we’d probably be able to save almost all of those who fell seriously ill.

That’s why almost all of the severe cases are going to end up being fatal. That's essentially how this virus is claiming so many lives over in Italy right now. We could be looking at tens of thousands of people facing severe symptoms, leaving us completely unable to provide the intensive care or ventilators they'll desperately need.

...The average age of the first 827 people who passed away in Italy was 81 years old. It feels like it’s more than just that. Two-thirds of them were dealing with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or had a history of smoking.So, those were basically the same people who would probably... People have actually passed away from the flu when they didn't get vaccinated.

If you try to tackle something this "insane" by just doing a month of quarantine, you won't fix it permanently. If we were all infectious for just one week, we could probably wipe out the virus without any issues.

The whole reason they push quarantine is because they're terrified that if we don't follow the rules, our healthcare workers won't just be managing a few dozen or a few hundred severe cases—which the system can actually handle—but rather several thousand at once, which would completely break it."

From what I can gather, if there are 200 infected, maybe 10 are severe cases who will die without proper care. That said, there’s no info on the average age of those infected, which is a pretty vital metric for figuring out how much of the population is actually at risk.

All I know is that Rudan is threatening us with thousands of deaths. Personally, I'm not buying it. I'm not willing to pay that price just so Commissioner Božinović and the media outlets sucking up to him can have their way. A standard quarantine is fine, and isolating the sick makes sense, but shutting down travel between cities? That's just not right.

To be honest, I have no clue what their actual plan is. Are they planning to drag this state of emergency out for six or seven months until summer, or is the goal to allow for a steady, linear spread through the population to build up immunity?

Precisely. Because surely, people like you will be the ones consulted regarding which restrictions are implemented and what you choose to tolerate.
A few thousand casualties are nothing; they're just numbers on a spreadsheet.

It is fascinating how, in every single retention period, that standard percentage of sociopaths and psychopaths present in any society—even the most modern one—always manages to surface.

There is no need to comment on the rest of the post; it appears our benevolent user Ster has already handed out a few decent slaps.☕

Paul Sanders5 said:😉

Look, man, just go at them with the heavy artillery—don't take it out on the rest of us. It’s pretty damn obvious to me that our government bureaucracy is way too incompetent to actually pull something like this off. They just rolled out these new permits that are being handled at the local county level, and honestly? Half the people running the show don't even know who's issuing them, and the other half have no clue what the actual restrictions are. Everyone who asks for one is gonna get one, because let’s be real—if someone is actually bothering to ask, they clearly need it. Whether they’re commuting to work in a different city or just heading out to a farm upstate to feed the chickens, nobody's stopping them. 😁

Absolutely. That is precisely why I maintain there were fundamental errors caused by a lack of decisiveness during the initial stages.

Unfortunately, once again, democracy proves itself to be unsuitable for everyone. It is evident that every society contains a certain percentage of irresponsible idiots who must be restrained by force to prevent them from damaging the collective good.

Everyone seems perfectly fine with a few thousand people dying, as long as those people aren't us, our families, or our friends. 🙄

Božinović is a communicator, almost on par with Krstičević. Though, I guess Krstičević still holds the edge.

As for this whole thing about product advertising, it feels pretty pointless to even comment on.

ruggedjackal46 said:Everyone seems perfectly fine with a few thousand people dying, as long as those people aren't us, our families, or our friends. 🙄

Nobody thinks this is okay—only idiots talk about "natural selection" in a situation like this.

The measures need to be clearly, precisely targeted toward a goal, and enforcement should be as strict as possible.

But this specific measure lacks any clear objective or sense—it was just slapped together without rules, deadlines, or anything else...

Of course people are going to react badly to stuff like this.

Anthony Jackson2 said:Nobody thinks this is okay—only idiots talk about "natural selection" in a situation like this.

The measures need to be clearly, precisely targeted toward a goal, and enforcement should be as strict as possible.

But this specific measure lacks any clear objective or sense—it was just slapped together without rules, deadlines, or anything else...

Of course people are going to react badly to stuff like this.

It’s not like I’m trying to defend this administration. But I have to point out two things. First off, the situation is pretty unpredictable and unlike anything we've seen before, which demands a fast response—so yeah, naturally, measures are going to be slapped together haphazardly without established rules or timelines. Come on, is it even realistic to expect the government to have a perfect, pre-planned playbook ready for a simultaneous pandemic and an earthquake hitting Washington, D.C.? Second, a lot of people are going to push back against anything that messes with their comfort zone. Honestly, I think people need to show more patience with one another in general and accept that the next few months aren't going to look anything like our normal daily lives.

If you were coming from Belgium, you wouldn't have had to quarantine (though I don't know if they changed the rules, I'd be surprised if they did), but driving from the suburbs into Washington, D.C. is a total nightmare.

Maybe someone should just put a Star of David on our hands or something, so we can stop messing around.

I mean, people actually follow these rules. There’s nobody out and about—I was talking to my sister (she lives in a smaller town) and she was heading home from work in the afternoon, and she didn't see a single soul on the street. It was 5 PM, peak commute time, everyone is just doing the whole job-to-home shuffle, who else is working? And then they drop a ban like this on us. For what? You can't visit family, you can't go on road trips, and if you're traveling to another city, it’s strictly for work. Then you automatically run the risk of running into cops; you’ve got them stationed at every city entrance just checking people.

Honestly, I’m not digging how our lives are being turned into this mess. Now I finally get why Americans were so fed up after 9/11. Once the government gets moving on this stuff, the repressive machine just doesn't know how to stop. 😁

Well, I guess Dino is officially Team Putin and pro-dictatorship now. 🙄

Given his skill set, nothing about this comes as a surprise. 👍

Honestly, maybe we should just let urbanhawk17, Anthony Jackson2, and Paul Sanders5 handle the measures to stop this virus. I have this gut feeling they might actually be better epidemiologists than the professionals who have spent their entire lives studying this.

Look, I'm no expert, so I'm definitely not going to second-guess the medical pros. I’ll just point out one thing: those people who were looking to get out of places like Washington, D.C. already made their move last week (I was right there with them). So, I really wonder if these new rules will even achieve what they're aiming for.

And then there's that guy who couldn't care less whether a thousand people end up suffocating in a hospital hallway...

mellowotter36 said:Honestly, maybe we should just let urbanhawk17, Anthony Jackson2, and Paul Sanders5 handle the measures to stop this virus. I have this gut feeling they might actually be better epidemiologists than the professionals who have spent their entire lives studying this.

Look, I'm no expert, so I'm definitely not going to second-guess the medical pros. I’ll just point out one thing: those people who were looking to get out of places like Washington, D.C. already made their move last week (I was right there with them). So, I really wonder if these new rules will even achieve what they're aiming for.

And then there's that guy who couldn't care less whether a thousand people end up suffocating in a hospital hallway...

The experts were also questioning yesterday why Božinović felt the need to restrict retail hours.

Some "experts" out there are actually arguing that we should stay in quarantine for two whole years, because apparently—get this—as soon as this thing clears up, it’s just going to start spreading all over again. Yeah, thanks for the tip, guys, but I’m definitely not living my life like that.

We’re basically looking at a "mission accomplished, but the patient died" kind of situation.

The experts claimed the rotor project in Washington, D.C. would cost $350 million and that it was perfectly reasonable.

Don't go questioning anything.

Look, it’s not an issue if you agree with this decision, or even if you disagree with me. But trying to shut someone down just because they think a choice is bad or holds a different view—that's nothing more than blind obedience.

For instance, ZZ said he doesn't see any issue with their decisions, which is fine. But in two weeks, if a decision comes out that he doesn't like, he’ll be questioning it, just like he questions everything regardless of whether he originally agreed.

But being a sycophant and playing the follower is something else entirely.

mellowotter36 said:Honestly, maybe we should just let urbanhawk17, Anthony Jackson2, and Paul Sanders5 handle the measures to stop this virus. I have this gut feeling they might actually be better epidemiologists than the professionals who have spent their entire lives studying this.

Look, I'm no expert, so I'm definitely not going to second-guess the medical pros. I’ll just point out one thing: those people who were looking to get out of places like Washington, D.C. already made their move last week (I was right there with them). So, I really wonder if these new rules will even achieve what they're aiming for.

And then there's that guy who couldn't care less whether a thousand people end up suffocating in a hospital hallway...

Look, forgive me if you disagree, but some people just think differently. They look at the big picture from every possible angle, they question everything, and they don't take anyone's word at face value.
Then there are others—actually, there are quite a few of them—who crave total state control and draconian restrictions on movement. Personally, I can't stand that. Hiding away at home and waiting for the storm to pass...
To me, freedom matters more than living like an insect trapped in a shell. For some, survival is the only priority, and they couldn't care less about liberty. As long as I make it through, that's all they care about.
All this hysteria exists because everyone is just terrified for their own skin, rather than staying home out of a genuine concern for protecting the elderly.

If I’m looking for any silver lining at all, there are two possibilities. First, we might see a spike in the birth rate because, whether people like it or not, humans are driven by primal instincts. They'll find ways to channel that forced proximity—even if they didn't ask for it—into something biological, though perhaps not on such a massive scale. Second, this is an election year. No administration in Washington, D.C. is going to be foolish enough to let massive social unrest or deep divisions tear things apart right when they need stability.

neonfalcon16 said:If I’m looking for any silver lining at all, there are two possibilities. First, we might see a spike in the birth rate because, whether people like it or not, humans are driven by primal instincts. They'll find ways to channel that forced proximity—even if they didn't ask for it—into something biological, though perhaps not on such a massive scale. Second, this is an election year. No administration in Washington, D.C. is going to be foolish enough to let massive social unrest or deep divisions tear things apart right when they need stability.

From my own experience, I can tell you that divorce rates are a much more certain bet than any sudden surge in the birth rate. My wife and I both work from home, and let me tell you, "closeness" is a very debatable concept in these circumstances.

The fact that it's an election year only plays right into the hands of this administration. They're busy buying off public opinion right now, acting like they're some kind of masterclass in crisis management just to stay in power...