Fuck this, I was supposed to be finishing a story today but I guess this is what’s happening on my computer instead.
So this is happening. The Critic (I won’t link to the story but you can find it if you have to) has announced that there is a “myth” about the UK’s reaction to the Covid-19 crisis. The myth is that at first, they tried to keep things open and running as usual, knowing a large number of people would get infected, but that this would give them herd immunity.
The article actually can’t quite bring itself to deny this, because it’s – you know – it’s what fucking happened. And yes, it admits, this approach could be seen as a form of “aiming for herd immunity”, even though nobody said that at the time (except – you know – they fucking did). But they insist that the UK government did this on the urging of scientists.
And like I say, that’s entirely possible. Herd immunity is a thing. It’s how vaccines work. Nobody knew the best way to handle (or even frame) this pandemic and there were lots of schools of thought about it. I don’t doubt there were scientists – especially at the start, when little was known and there was a strong incentive to find economy-saving answers – willing to bank on herd immunity. We know this. Fucking Sweden tried it (thanks Tegnell!) and now we live next door to a plague pit. But whatever. Time will tell on what the best approach is and was.
But don’t tell us the business-as-usual model was scientifically supported and the lockdown was politically motivated with support from scientists with an economic bias. It’s the other way around, and it always was, because we were fucking there and we saw it fucking happen.
Don’t shit in my lap and tell me it’s a napkin.
Hatboy's Hatstand 
Speaking of recent history, we are three hours away from curfew here in Minneapolis. I live a few blocks from the 3rd precinct that was rightly burned down on Thursday night in protest of the murder of George Floyd. unfortunately, the arson has spread across the city and caused significant damage.
Tonight we are organizing block by block to defend ourselves from whoever shows up to try and burn our city down further. The police instigated the rioting in the first place with overly aggressive tactics and lack of empathy towards the protesters. They have now largely abandoned us to fend for ourselves while they attempt to concentrate on certain areas of concern, i.e. their remaing precincts. Intel suggests many groups from outside our city are here to fuck shit up. Nazis, white supremacists, boogaloo bois, you name it… What is ironic is that 94% of our city cops also don”t live in the city.
Please know the narrative should be about the police and their tactics.
Each morning clean up crews from the neighborhood show up in overwhelming numbers to help pick up bricks and broken glass, board up business and sweep the street of debris. There are often more helpers than work. Mutual aid networks help feed underserved members of our community as well as protesters and those who clean up after they exercise their First Amendment rights.
The anger and passion in our community is inspiring to watch in action and is spreading across the country (and now the world), exposing the institutions that help marginalize and kill POC, LGBTQ in astounding numbers.
We will still be here tomorrow, and the next day standing up for our neighbors and our city.
Can’t really Like this for what you’re saying but I really appreciate the inside view. It’s a fucking nightmare. Stay safe, I’ll comment on this further but just wanted to make a quick response to thank you.
(ended up answering immediately anyway)
Shit man, I had no idea. I hope you’re staying safe, we’re watching the stories rolling in and it’s just impossible to make out what’s really happening. Ultimately, there’s people getting hurt and there’s no good side to it. All we can hope is that something positive emerges from the ashes of all this. I have nothing but useless platitudes.
Yep, I find myself pretty unsympathetic about the system’s infrastructure at this point. The overwhelming majority of good apples in this barrel have catastrophically and repeatedly failed to do the right thing. To the point where I have severe doubts that they even exist.
Shit, that’s not good.
It’s scary to even read about it, I can’t imagine how you must feel on the inside. Bless your hearts for making community efforts, it’s so good to read about the repair and preparation efforts going on cooperatively, even if they are happening for the worst and most horrible of reasons.
Absolutely. I heard that the riots were kicked off and are being infiltrated and pumped up by undercover cops too, but it’s really hard to know what to believe. I think once a mob gets going, it’s impossible to stop. And even if this is about brutal fascist police and essentially state sanctioned slow genocide, there’s a whole iceberg under that, of racial and class injustice. It’s like one of those zombie fires under the frozen peat in the arctic, it just smoulders away until the ice melts and the brush lights up again.
This is excellent to hear and I really value this info, although again – it’s happening for the most horrible reasons and ideally it shouldn’t be happening at all because the riots shouldn’t be happening. But the system is what it is.
Absolutely. Fuckin’ A and well said. Stay safe, man.
Damon and Hatboy, I don’t really have much to add on the topic of the protests in the US but to agree with both of you. As to the undercover cop, if you look at how CALM the guy is with the fucking umbrella on a sunny day, and full mask hiding his face, of course it was a fake protester, that much is certain. There was no anger, just deliberate destruction. As for him being a cop, their categorical denial with alibi so fast makes me suspicious. I think it was, but we may never know.
As for good apples, I think there are very, very few. And they’re probably terrified. But yeah, think about how complicit all cops have to be with so much of this awful shit. They really can’t be “good” and do that.
I’m glad, in a weird way, that it appears we’ve reached a tipping point that was long overdue, but sad it had to come to this. And embarrassed that people in another country (Germany) protest for us because we’re so egregious. But good on them. I’ll talk about revisionist history in another comment.
I wish I could be more hopeful about this history revision failing, but here in the US we see it succeed so well. At least over here, Trump has been SO erratic, it’s hard to pick a position he’s taken that he can pretend was the plan all along. And he has those guidelines, they’re public record and we all remember them. I’m not sure how successfully he can claim to have been going in a complete different direction, when those guidelines exist, were talked about extensively in press briefings, and we all know it. In fact, the early press briefings were widely watched and surely people remember what was said there. That all may backfire on him, since he was so wrong throughout, as he tries to revise history.
But it is terrifying and maddening to watch them try. And we know they will still try, here in the US. Because they always do. I don’t think I want to dive into the specifics of your comments on The Critic’s article, but I agree with your thoughts. We know that very, very few scientists thought the “keep it open and seek herd immunity” was the right approach. Why?
It’s too contagious. It’s too deadly. Our medical systems would fail and cause too much death, like Italy. We don’t know enough about the virus’s effects on humans. And on and on.
OF COURSE nearly all scientists didn’t suggest the “keep it open” option.
But when did the truth matter? Again, American here, to give context to my pessimism.
This needs to be shared far and wide, great compilation OF the compilations. FIRE THEM ALL.
quick update.
Things are quiet here the last two nights. There has been a curfew he last few few nights and the “rioting and looting” has been greatly reduced. The protesting is still going strong in the face of oppression though.
Lots of speculation about “bad guys” running around overnight trying to commit arson. Some corroboration, but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. No major fires to report.
Trying to sleep when I can. I have lost ten pounds in a week from the stress (best diet ever!).
more later.
Wow, well I’m glad you’re relatively all right and that the bad actors rioting and looting are diminished. I do hope the protests continue on and on. I’m just disgusted to check on the Dow Jones today and see a “This is Fine” mentality still holding it up, as in the popular meme. I expected that finally, FINALLY it would be crashing some today.
But there are 2 different Americas, as we’ve known for a while now.
The Rational National is on fire right now, have to share another. Actually this is more Cornell West, amazingly breaking it down, but it’s his video:
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