The Problem of Disinformation

[anticlimatic]

Glad to see that China is a solid ally in preventing the spread of non government-approved information.

China Is Censoring Research on COVID-19 Origins, Deleted Page on Wuhan University Website Suggests

I thought the premise of this thread was odd at first. People are always going to say what they want, believe what they want, do extremely dumb things. How can anyone stop that? And what's the point of even trying? Then I remembered what the point was.

How Authoritarians Are Exploiting the COVID-19 Crisis to Grab Power | Human Rights Watch

While the US will not be following China's example to the same degree (at least not as much as we would be if power hungry INTJ Hillary were at the helm), it's rather disturbing how many people here would gladly line up to do so. My progressive SO asked why China was more successful at locking down society. I told her it was because they were an authoritarian regime who forced people indoors at gunpoint, and were also probably lying about their numbers. She responded that maybe we should be more like China.

I love her. But.....

 

[Jaguar]

I don't need to see guns at people's heads or people being dragged from their homes. But the truth is, that is in fact how China stemmed the spread - especially separating family members. In the USA, it's a tragedy that 18 family members have to die. It's also plain stupid. We've gained nothing. This is a national security emergency and it needs to be treated as such. You don't go to a bar or dinner at a restaurant, pump iron at a gym, buff your fingernails, get a tattoo, massage, or go bowling in the middle of a pandemic and then cry 'What's happening?"

No wonder Green Day wrote the song American Idiot.