I haven't seen good faith skepticism in months. Your premise is fine. We should be able to have a civil and open conversation when somebody expresses genuine skepticism about things like the unknown morbidity of the virus, the plausibility of a vaccine, the damages of lockdown itself, and what this means for life in 2022 and beyond. I absolutely agree, and I've had many of these conversations with friends, family, and colleagues.Ray Finkle wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 11:40 amIt sounds like you and I are in agreement concerning the pandemic. What I was saying is that if someone wants to state a case that some of the numbers don’t add up and maybe that some of the reporting hasn’t been 100% transparent, I have no problem with their viewpoint. I can’t tell them how to feel and what to think and who to trust. It’s a wild time. Most of us probably have some fluid thoughts and emotions from day to day surrounding all that is going. I know I do. When I watch the news and see the destruction this thing is doing in certain areas of the country, I feel one way. Then when talk to some dudes I know who sit on barstools every day during this pandemic like irresponsible dummy’s (imo) and have every one of them tell me that they have not heard of one single person in the local bar scene who has gotten it or even knows anybody who has, I might feel a little different those days. Not everybody is even the slightest bit worldly and a lot of the population is pigeonholed to their little community where it still doesn’t seem that crazy. For they do not know... What I don’t love is how so many have the “nobody can tell me to wear a mask” or “it’s no different than the flu” with an F that outlook. Likewise, I don’t like to bring that attitude toward someone who may be a little skeptical of some things. Personally, I’ll continue to wear my mask, keep my distance and pray to my God.wickerkat1212 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 29, 2020 10:50 am"However, I have no problem hearing out someone’s opinion on why they aren’t “sold” on the pandemic and don’t believe there is as much risk."
Um, 152,000 deaths in the US alone. 661,000 in the world. Not sold? WOW. bleep that. It's a pandemic. When was the last time you saw our country shut down like this and STILL the death toll rises.
The problem is that your premise describes a scenario that basically doesn't exist, especially not here. There's no reasonable skepticism, it's just unwavering cultism. These are people who've irrevocably tied their identity to the current administration, either because of white fragility, resentment of perceived condescension from "coastal elites" (aka doing it to own the libs), or some combination of the two. They don't have reasonable opinions because they've already assumed the same stance as the president; they're just trying to work backward to justify it. That's how you get these people stating their belief in hydroxychloroquine. They haven't entered into the conversation in good faith, but instead are singularly focused on justifying their political affiliation.
Tying it back to fantasy football: you can have a reasonable conversation about whether Mahomes or Jackson is the best dynasty QB. The equivalent of the COVID discourse here is some delusional Patriots/Bucs fan screaming that Tom Brady is the #1 dynasty QB because "COUNT THE RINGS." You can't have a reasonable discussion with those folks because they don't enter the conversation in good faith.
