Our business, political and economic leaders know what it takes to meet safely during the #COVID19 pandemic. These are the same people telling us we can safely work in offices, gather at conferences, and conduct business in crowds without protection or testing. It's almost as if they know something they're not telling us and value each others' lives more than ours.
@augieray I’d say it’s more about the fact that not all nation-leaders meeting share the same politics about COVID so they agree on a common standard. I might be wrong, just a thought.
@danvanmoll I have no idea what that means. If they can settle on a common standard for themselves without political differences, doesn't that just mean they know what it takes to protect each other (and us.)
@augieray I don’t think so. I believe most participants are like “not necessary, but well, I’ll get tested for the sake of it”. Otherwise they would have stricter standards in national parliaments, too - wouldn’t they?
@danvanmoll How can they have stricter standards in parliaments without it raising questions why they won't enact stricter standards for everyone? The WEF gives them protection from that question, but if they had to acknowledge COVID is an evolving and immediate threat to "important" lives, it would only shine a light on the risk they're encouraging for everyone else in the interest of economic or political convenience.
@augieray So they'd rather take the risk than endangering their narrative?
@danvanmoll If you can come up with another sensible explanation for why, when leaders gather during the pandemic, they take precautions but won't suggest the same for everyone else, I'm open to it. Biden already announced the pandemic is over, and the US CDC acknowledged it isn't raising mask advisories because citizens aren't willing to respond. I think all the evidence is available to support leaders would prefer risk life and health than acknowledge they've mishandled pandemic response.
This both-sidesing is, in my opinion, highly counterproductive.
One political side, and *only one*, has chosen to wage war against public health as a means of destroying its supporters' connection to reality, cementing their fanatical loyalty, and increasing political power at the expense of democracy itself.
The problem is not "our business, political, and economic leaders" in general.
I think the nuance here is appropriate.
One side politicized it and is actively encouraging anti-vax and mass infection. No doubt. None of that is good.
While DeSantis is enacting these things, as you say, his kids are homeschooled and the public tours of his house(the Governor's mansion) were cancelled for years and now only allowed when him and his family aren't there. As with many politicians he's a hypocrite.
All of that is true.
The other side capitulated. Biden said it's over. Jha says he lives life like 2019. Becerra said it's over. "You have the tools" when we really don't and they're about to get really expensive to boot. The CDC under Biden's a total mess.
That's true, too.
Neither "side" has the moral high ground here. I don't think there's any need to defend *any* of them here. They all failed public health.
@BE @barney @danvanmoll Republicans have been worse without a doubt, but let's not let Biden off the hook that easily for declaring the pandemic over. Or for his CDC leader failing to mention masks. Or that the CDC continues to push that useless COmmunity Levels map rather than the more vital and useful Transmission Map. There is plenty of blame to go around, and while I agree Trump, DeSantis and others in the GOP have been particularly awful, that doesn't make every Dem a hero by comparison.
I'm not with you here. "Neither side has the moral high ground" is patently wrong, and extremely harmful when millions of lives are at stake.
Republicans are not merely "worse." DeSantis' public health bans have cost thousands of Floridians' lives. Yesterday, while he was proposing even more pro-death legislation, Biden's DOJ was arguing before the 11th Circuit, trying to reinstate the mask mandate on commercial airliners.
We should keep in mind, too, that the mask mandate ruling that you're talking was from April of 2021. That was 21 months ago. The CDC did not even ask for a stay of the ruling. That was a political calculation. If they'd cared about the mask mandate they would have tried to keep it in place. This is all theater at this point.
