why u r? wrote:
Did Joedirt have parents or grandparents who never believed smoking could cause cancer? I bet his parents said that the smoking concerns were silly because there is no proof. Genetics I am guessing.
My mother did smoke cigarettes (started as a teenager, quit in her forties when her father died). She died in her late sixties from an unrelated form of cancer (if you have never experienced watching someone you love die of cancer, it is not the best experience in the world). My father is still alive and never smoked. Both grandfathers were smokers (as were most men who served their nation in the second world war, as they were included in the rations they gave to soldiers as they increased alertness and improved morale), ironically both lived to be in their 80s in spite of it all. In their defense, the advertising for cigarettes was considerably different back then than it is today.
I don't deny that COVID is real and I have a good understanding of the statistics surrounding it. Unlike cigarette smoking in the 40s, 50s and 60s, its risks and its vectors for infection are fairly well understood. Individuals should be able to exercise what ever precautions they see fit in order to reduce the likelihood of contracting this disease. Just as it is a bad idea to smoke (I have never smoked a cigarette or used drugs in my life, and I rarely drink), it is also a bad idea to go to confined public spaces without a mask. The problem with blaming the government for people exercising poor precautions is it takes away personal accountability for one's actions.
There is no need to shut down a state's economy because of the bad actors out there. Some young idiot wants to go hang out in crowded bars without a mask and hookup with random skanks on Tinder, then they are free to do so. Some one wants to drink themselves into a stupor and fall asleep on a playground, then go right ahead. If you want to go topple a statue and fire off flare guns at a cop car, there is nothing stopping them from going out and doing it. Ultimately, they are the ones that have to pay for their actions.
My state's government re-started its economy before it hit the CDC's guidelines for reopening. In spite of that, our confirmed hospitalizations dropped from 888 individuals to 135 individuals (and most of that drop occurred in the past 2 months since reopening). Our economy has rebounded nicely and continues to improve (not as good as Nebraska's economy). Once the federal unemployment benefits run out, it will likely improve even more, as people will be less inclined to hide out at home. Businesses and individuals have had plenty of time to implement new business models for the situation we find ourselves in. Shutting things down again is not economically viable (did you know that per capita fatality rates were 75% lower in states that never locked down?). Wear a mask, wash your hands, use hand sanitizer and take responsibility for yourself and those you care about.