Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

urbanhawk17 said:When is the debate about the Masses happening today?

That's what we're waiting for, I guess.

Did you actually manage to survive the chaos of all the shops being closed today? 😁

wiredrider9 said:Did you actually manage to survive the chaos of all the shops being closed today? 😁

I don't really care if stores are closed or not, but honestly, either shut everything down or don't bother at all... this selective enforcement is the worst part.

Even though he tends to go wherever the wind blows (though he did handle himself pretty well during this crisis), he’s provided a really solid overview of the whole situation. I found the second half of his piece particularly interesting, especially how he places this virus within the broader context of other health threats—things that are more about lifestyle choices than just being an illness.

I guess I should point out that a few of us were saying much the same thing right at the start. It's not that anyone is denying that Corona exists as a disease; rather, we seem to be questioning its historical significance for public health and the socio-economic landscape. Maybe we're just questioning if the apocalyptic scale of it all is justified, given the unprecedented fear that swept the globe. It feels like just another new threat that might eventually be forgotten or ignored by the general public. If we accept the millions of annual deaths caused by other infectious diseases, smoking, obesity, car accidents, or even extreme sports (basically anything that could be slowed down by similar quarantines or government mandates), then I suppose we'll eventually accept Corona too. And maybe we'll accept it because, after only a month, it seems clear that the cost of certain socio-economic experiments is just too high. I suspect the disease isn't quite dangerous enough to justify all the hype, and if measures are truly needed, then it's up to the government to find a way to let daily life continue in parallel. That's why we pay them, I guess—to find solutions that benefit everyone.

Way to go!

Jessica Gonzalez said:Even though he tends to go wherever the wind blows (though he did handle himself pretty well during this crisis), he’s provided a really solid overview of the whole situation. I found the second half of his piece particularly interesting, especially how he places this virus within the broader context of other health threats—things that are more about lifestyle choices than just being an illness.

I guess I should point out that a few of us were saying much the same thing right at the start. It's not that anyone is denying that Corona exists as a disease; rather, we seem to be questioning its historical significance for public health and the socio-economic landscape. Maybe we're just questioning if the apocalyptic scale of it all is justified, given the unprecedented fear that swept the globe. It feels like just another new threat that might eventually be forgotten or ignored by the general public. If we accept the millions of annual deaths caused by other infectious diseases, smoking, obesity, car accidents, or even extreme sports (basically anything that could be slowed down by similar quarantines or government mandates), then I suppose we'll eventually accept Corona too. And maybe we'll accept it because, after only a month, it seems clear that the cost of certain socio-economic experiments is just too high. I suspect the disease isn't quite dangerous enough to justify all the hype, and if measures are truly needed, then it's up to the government to find a way to let daily life continue in parallel. That's why we pay them, I guess—to find solutions that benefit everyone.

What exactly are you basing this denial of apocalyptic potential on? Is it just a feeling, or actual scientific research? Among scientists, there is almost a consensus that this apocalyptic potential exists. Of course, there are those who think differently, but they are a tiny minority.
You claim this disease isn't that dangerous, but the truth is, nobody actually knows how dangerous it is yet. We'll likely have a much clearer picture by next winter.

The most defeating thing for America is realizing that almost nothing depends on our own reactions. We could have carried on without any restrictions, but the economy would have gone to hell regardless. For instance, where I work—and it's a mess—we haven't seen any goods from China since the start of the year. And we aren't the only ones. Don't even get me started on the impact on tourism.

My body, my choice ☕

you say, like there's actually a choice ☕

#me2

Matthew Young35 said:What exactly are you basing this denial of apocalyptic potential on? Is it just a feeling, or actual scientific research? Among scientists, there is almost a consensus that this apocalyptic potential exists. Of course, there are those who think differently, but they are a tiny minority.
You claim this disease isn't that dangerous, but the truth is, nobody actually knows how dangerous it is yet. We'll likely have a much clearer picture by next winter.

The most defeating thing for America is realizing that almost nothing depends on our own reactions. We could have carried on without any restrictions, but the economy would have gone to hell regardless. For instance, where I work—and it's a mess—we haven't seen any goods from China since the start of the year. And we aren't the only ones. Don't even get me started on the impact on tourism.

The situations in Sweden and Belarus serve as perfect evidence that there is absolutely nothing apocalyptic happening here.

And which specific group of scientists are you referring to when you claim there is a consensus regarding this apocalyptic potential?

Jacob Kern2 is going to break it all down, so listen up!

Matthew Young35 said:What exactly are you basing this denial of apocalyptic potential on? Is it just a feeling, or actual scientific research? Among scientists, there is almost a consensus that this apocalyptic potential exists. Of course, there are those who think differently, but they are a tiny minority.
You claim this disease isn't that dangerous, but the truth is, nobody actually knows how dangerous it is yet. We'll likely have a much clearer picture by next winter.

The most defeating thing for America is realizing that almost nothing depends on our own reactions. We could have carried on without any restrictions, but the economy would have gone to hell regardless. For instance, where I work—and it's a mess—we haven't seen any goods from China since the start of the year. And we aren't the only ones. Don't even get me started on the impact on tourism.

You're seriously messing with us right now 😁

The virus has been floating around for five months, maybe longer, and you're asking me what we're basing our denial of an apocalyptic scenario on? Seriously?

I don't know, man. To me, an apocalyptic scenario looks like this or this.

Matthew Young35 said:What exactly are you basing this denial of apocalyptic potential on? Is it just a feeling, or actual scientific research? Among scientists, there is almost a consensus that this apocalyptic potential exists. Of course, there are those who think differently, but they are a tiny minority.
You claim this disease isn't that dangerous, but the truth is, nobody actually knows how dangerous it is yet. We'll likely have a much clearer picture by next winter.

The most defeating thing for America is realizing that almost nothing depends on our own reactions. We could have carried on without any restrictions, but the economy would have gone to hell regardless. For instance, where I work—and it's a mess—we haven't seen any goods from China since the start of the year. And we aren't the only ones. Don't even get me started on the impact on tourism.

So basically, you're trusting some random IT guy's computer models more than your own damn intuition
jes, have you ever actually had pneumonia before?

David Icke just had his YouTube channel wiped, his Facebook page gone, and now he’s doing a live interview
They scrubbed him from London Real—they even crashed their own site, so what’s the actual issue here? 🙄

I mean, look, the guy talks a lot of absolute nonsense, but man—censoring everything just because of one old dude? That’s wild.

Jacob Kern2 said:The situations in Sweden and Belarus serve as perfect evidence that there is absolutely nothing apocalyptic happening here.

And which specific group of scientists are you referring to when you claim there is a consensus regarding this apocalyptic potential?

Are you planning to just ignore Italy, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA? In those places, the consequences of the virus were quite wild despite extremely drastic measures. Why are you so certain that an apocalyptic scenario wouldn't occur without isolation?
Look at the USA and the UK—they decided to ignore the epidemic, and once things took a sudden turn, they quickly changed their minds.

darkseal9 said:So basically, you're trusting some random IT guy's computer models more than your own damn intuition
jes, have you ever actually had pneumonia before?

Of course I trusted the experts over my own gut feeling.
Dealing with viruses isn't exactly my life's work; I just have a general idea of what they actually are.
I know plenty of instances where intuition leads a person completely astray. To start with, look at optical illusions.

Paul Sanders5 said:You're seriously messing with us right now 😁

The virus has been floating around for five months, maybe longer, and you're asking me what we're basing our denial of an apocalyptic scenario on? Seriously?

I don't know, man. To me, an apocalyptic scenario looks like this or this.

The virus is spreading despite massive restrictions; who knows how bad it would be without them?
Beyond that, we still have no idea if this is seasonal or not, nor do we know what kind of mutations are coming our way.
The potential for a total mess is quite significant.
I'm not saying an apocalypse is inevitable, just that the potential for one is definitely there.

Matthew Young35 said:Are you planning to just ignore Italy, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA? In those places, the consequences of the virus were quite wild despite extremely drastic measures. Why are you so certain that an apocalyptic scenario wouldn't occur without isolation?
Look at the USA and the UK—they decided to ignore the epidemic, and once things took a sudden turn, they quickly changed their minds.

Of course I trusted the experts over my own gut feeling.
Dealing with viruses isn't exactly my life's work; I just have a general idea of what they actually are.
I know plenty of instances where intuition leads a person completely astray. To start with, look at optical illusions.

The massive lockdowns came way too late, man. Way too late. Americans just proved what everyone already knew: they are hands down the biggest idiots on the planet.

They were the last ones to react. They spent a whole month watching it tear through Europe, and they still missed the window to take action and blunt that initial blow.

Matthew Young35 said:Are you planning to just ignore Italy, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA? In those places, the consequences of the virus were quite wild despite extremely drastic measures. Why are you so certain that an apocalyptic scenario wouldn't occur without isolation?
Look at the USA and the UK—they decided to ignore the epidemic, and once things took a sudden turn, they quickly changed their minds.

Of course I trusted the experts over my own gut feeling.
Dealing with viruses isn't exactly my life's work; I just have a general idea of what they actually are.
I know plenty of instances where intuition leads a person completely astray. To start with, look at optical illusions.

In Italy, things are so bad that fewer people have died than during the same period last year—and you know hundreds of thousands die from the regular flu alone.

p.s. does anyone actually know how many flu cases we've had this year? Or is the flu just not considered a "real" disease anymore?

Honestly, Coca-Cola is way more dangerous than this virus.

Matthew Young35 said:The virus is spreading despite massive restrictions; who knows how bad it would be without them?
Beyond that, we still have no idea if this is seasonal or not, nor do we know what kind of mutations are coming our way.
The potential for a total mess is quite significant.
I'm not saying an apocalypse is inevitable, just that the potential for one is definitely there.

What are you even basing that on? Just because fewer people are dying from it than the flu right now? Can we talk about something else? Like, how many people die in car accidents globally every single year?

wiredrider9 said:What are you even basing that on? Just because fewer people are dying from it than the flu right now? Can we talk about something else? Like, how many people die in car accidents globally every single year?

I’m not making the claim; the epidemiologists are.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:The massive lockdowns came way too late, man. Way too late. Americans just proved what everyone already knew: they are hands down the biggest idiots on the planet.

They were the last ones to react. They spent a whole month watching it tear through Europe, and they still missed the window to take action and blunt that initial blow.

The only real move was to isolate China immediately and stop anyone from traveling there to the rest of the world. That should've been the European Union's first priority—shut down the borders, lock down individual nations, and keep everything contained. Only essential trade moving between countries, and that's it. Honestly, that would've been the smartest way to handle this mess.