# I pit the naive, optimistic idiots, the Pollyannas, weasel-wordy authorities and bad planners associated with the pandemic **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 21, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437 "2021-12-21T21:28:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/1 "2021-12-21T21:28:24Z")
This is in addition to the fucking anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers. So here we are with omicron/the 4th, 5th or 6th wave and it might as well be March 2020. In Quebec there are too long line-ups for too few test kits; just a week or two ago we were allowed indoor gatherings of up to 20 fucking people for xmas; at a recent press conference, when the premier announced new lockdowns one journalist asked the premier why he was reneging on his promise or social contract (or whatever the fuck term used); and so it fucking goes. I’m no doctor or scientist but this I know: 1. There’s a fucking pandemic, and it’s nowhere near finished 2. As long as the third world is unvaxxed, it’s nowhere near finished 3. 80% (ish) of Canadians are vaxxed and 60% (ish) of Americans are vaxxed; therefore it’s nowhere near finished 4. If there’s a lull between waves, it’s still nowhere near finished Meanwhile, lockdowns notwithstanding, in Quebec weddings and funerals are exceptions (I think 200 people are permitted); why the fuck is that? Co-workers and neighbours coming back from trade-shows and trips to the US report being the **only** mask-wearers there. We have Canadian politicians spouting crap about trusting Canadians’ good sense - WTF is that bullshit? During the lulls why aren’t we stockpiling test kits? A few days ago some Canadian doctor/spokesperson was going on about how of course “we’re all disappointed” by the recent lockdowns - well, he’s wrong because anyone with a fucking brain wasn’t disappointed - this should not be a surprise and it’s going to happen again and again and again. It’s like being in an apartment tower with a fire problem and then deciding that everything’s fine even though there’s a massive pile of smoldering oily rags in the basement, and being shocked that you have to go fire fighting every few weeks, for some mysterious reason. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/2 "2021-12-21T21:38:00Z")
I’m not a fan of tyranny in general, but if there were ever a time for one, pandemic would have been it. Mandatory vaccines injections, masks, distancing, weekly testing for all, from the beginning to the end. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/3 "2021-12-21T22:00:52Z")
No one has a problem with - Small Pox, Chicken pox, Rubella, Polio or other vaccines. But, my GOD, democrats are suggesting the COVID vaccine. It must be evil. Even though Trump finally quietly said to get it, I lay this (and other messes) at his, and the GOP’s feet. THEY kicked over the stone that hid their idiot supporters. Of course FOX ‘news’ and assholes like Alex Jones saw the fire and threw gas on it. They are as much to blame. Perhaps it is best that we know just how many morons are out there. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/4 "2021-12-21T22:09:43Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > A few days ago some Canadian doctor/spokesperson was going on about how of course “we’re all disappointed” by the recent lockdowns - well, he’s wrong because anyone with a fucking brain wasn’t disappointed - this should not be a surprise and it’s going to happen again and again and again. I think he meant that it’s disappointing, because we could have beaten the pandemic by now, if we had chosen to do so. But we didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/5 "2021-12-21T22:49:54Z")
Well the other thing is that many have said that we are “at war” or words to that effect - then fucking act like it. This is like the allies in WW II finally achieving air superiority and deciding to dial it back, stop armaments production and taking it easy for awhile, and being surprised that we have to do it all over again. I saw people who were disappointed about having to decide, a few days ago, if they should or shouldn’t cancel their trip; my wife and I, however, cancelled our trip from Montreal to Quebec City a couple of months ago because things looked like they were about to go south. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/6 "2021-12-21T22:52:37Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > No one has a problem with - Small Pox, Chicken pox, Rubella, Polio or other vaccines. {…} I wish it were so. I regularly argue with a guy that claims the Polio vaccine was a hoax and Polio was actually DDT poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/7 "2021-12-21T22:54:13Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > Meanwhile, lockdowns notwithstanding, in Quebec weddings and funerals are exceptions (I think 200 people are permitted); why the fuck is that? Because the virus isn’t completely heartless and will refrain from infecting anyone in deference to the happy occasion or deceased, as the case may be. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/8 "2021-12-21T23:26:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think he meant that it’s disappointing, because we could have beaten the pandemic by now, if we had chosen to do so. But we didn’t. Who’s “we”? America, or humanity as a whole? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/9 "2021-12-21T23:35:24Z")
My point is, some day, this pandemic is going to end. 5, 10, 20 years from now, this thing will run its course. Until then, the best we can do is save as many lives as we can, with vaccines, masks, medical treatments and restrictions. “Beating” it, though, was never on the table. Just surviving it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/10 "2021-12-21T23:47:44Z")
Well, probably both. But we certainly could have beaten it in the US. Note that “beating” the pandemic isn’t the same thing as eradicating the virus. That was probably never a realistic possibility, beyond pie-in-the-sky hopes. But there are plenty of diseases that we can be fairly said to have “beaten”, even though they still have a few cases here and there. If we had been vigilant about all of the measures available to us (masking, selective lockdowns, testing and contact tracing, and eventually vaccines), we could have been at the point by now where we don’t need those measures any more. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/11 "2021-12-21T23:58:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Note that “beating” the pandemic isn’t the same thing as eradicating the virus. That was probably never a realistic possibility, beyond pie-in-the-sky hopes. But there are plenty of diseases that we can be fairly said to have “beaten”, even though they still have a few cases here and there. If we had been vigilant about all of the measures available to us (masking, selective lockdowns, testing and contact tracing, and eventually vaccines), we could have been at the point by now where we don’t need those measures any more. I don’t think you could have. My country did almost everything right from the start, and we’re still suffering through yet another wave originating from yet another country. We’ve managed to keep deaths down, relatively speaking, but we haven’t “beaten” it by _any_ definition of the word. And if we couldn’t beat Covid, then neither could you. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/12 "2021-12-22T00:01:05Z")
Yeah, that was definitely an eye-opener. Israel was as heavily vaccinated as they come and had as good a healthcare system as anyone yet still got slammed hard. Many scientists said Israel was producing the best data set for analysis and observation of any nation in the world, for gauging trends and whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/13 "2021-12-22T00:13:47Z")
True, but your country is also small, and with a lot of interactions with larger countries that did a terrible job. If we larger countries had done our part… ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/14 "2021-12-22T00:26:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If we larger countries had done our part… Including giving vaccines to the Third World, because a reservoir for the virus where it can develop new strains is a bummer, again and again. But we are very far from that, although it is our very interest. Politics has failed us, once more. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/15 "2021-12-22T02:55:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > My country did almost everything right from the start, and we’re still suffering through yet another wave originating from yet another country. > [@Velocity](#): > > Israel was as heavily vaccinated as they come and had as good a healthcare system as anyone yet still got slammed hard. Israel got to 52% fully-vaxxed before everyone else and stalled. They eventually creeped up to 63%, but that’s not much better than the US and definitely not good enough to stop a surge without major restrictions. Now they’re offering a fourth dose but they still have a lot of unvaccinated people. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/16 "2021-12-22T03:28:45Z")
Vaccine resistance has been around for as long as vaccines have been around. But I’ve never read of it being so virulent and so politicized as it seems to be now. Yet, we eradicated smallpox worldwide. We very nearly eradicated polio worldwide. Pictures like this got the message across. People were terrified of polio. [![](https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/social_facebook/public/2019-04/1024px-Iron_lungs.JPG?h=98952d18&itok=9KGBLthZ) ](https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/social_facebook/public/2019-04/1024px-Iron_lungs.JPG?h=98952d18&itok=9KGBLthZ) This picture too: [![](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/10/15/polio_weve_been_here_before03_wide-f92415f224accf0421b869e7e6b1cfb2a6323175-s1100-c50.jpg) ](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/10/15/polio_weve_been_here_before03_wide-f92415f224accf0421b869e7e6b1cfb2a6323175-s1100-c50.jpg) Those were the days when people lined up like this to get their shots. There are living members of this very message board who remember this: [![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Health/smallpox-vaccine-bronx-gty-jt-210202_1612288884268_hpEmbed_5x4_992.jpg) ](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Health/smallpox-vaccine-bronx-gty-jt-210202_1612288884268_hpEmbed_5x4_992.jpg) Today’s program for Covid vaccinations just isn’t cutting it. > **[How COVID-19 vaccine rollout compares to smallpox, polio and others in the past](https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-vaccine-rollout-compares-smallpox-polio-past/story?id=75489514)** > > Examining the pitfalls and successes of past vaccine drives for smallpox, polio, swine flu and H1N1. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/17 "2021-12-22T03:29:33Z")
Yes, that’s definitely one of the many things we should have done better. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/18 "2021-12-22T04:27:17Z")
…there isn’t one, single reason why the world has ended up where we are at the moment at this stage of the pandemic. But if I could pick the number one reason why that would be that people have simply forgotten what a public health response to a devastating global pandemic is supposed to look like. > [@Jen Psaki](#): > > “This is not a speech about locking the country down,” White House press secretary [Jen Psaki](https://thehill.com/people/jen-psaki) told reporters during a briefing Monday. “This is a speech outlining and being direct and clear with the American people about the benefit of being vaccinated, the steps we’re going to take to increase access and to increase testing and the risks posed to unvaccinated individuals.” In America, and in many other places in the world, all the eggs have gone into one basket. Vaccines. They talk about testing as well: but they had to be literally bullied into delivering tests on request to people’s homes but that doesn’t even start until next month. If you have private insurance, you will get reimbursed but again that doesn’t start till next month, and payments don’t get backdated. In Biden’s speech today he “did not discourage Christmas gatherings, impose vaccine mandates for domestic air travel or seek a new round of lockdowns.” I mean…what the hell? Ya’ll just half-assing it, and you don’t even know it. Vaccines are just one layer of defence. Imagine a battlefield. And that layer is the only thing protecting you from getting over-run. Here in New Zealand, we’ve got multiple layers of defence. We’ve got the border. Then Managed Isolation and Quarantine. We’ve got genomic sequencing. A robust contact tracing system. We’ve got the brand new Traffic Light System, introduced this month as a replacement for the Levels system as we transition out of elimination into agressive suppression. We’ve got wage subsidies and financial support for business affected by the lockdown. We have a public health system, accessible to everyone for free. QR codes at every location. Vaccine mandates and passports. And if all of that fails: we can still fall back onto the lockdown to stop spread in its tracks. I am sick and tired of hearing how we are just a “small island nation” with “low population density” and that it was “easy for you” because it was not. Keeping people alive during a global pandemic that has killed millions is not easy. You’ve got to put the work in. You’ve got to work together. You got to go **fast**. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. And you aren’t doing any of those things, and you are wondering why things are as bad as they are. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/19 "2021-12-22T04:47:14Z")
This whole time, I’ve been telling people that the most important thing in this pandemic is that they need to be flexible. As our understanding of the disease has evolved, our recommendations about how to deal with it have evolved. And yet, almost two years into this, I still see shitposting from people about, “OMG, I’m soooo confused, last month they said X, now they’re saying Y?!? Whatever am I supposed to do?!?!?” You’re supposed to roll with the punches, asshole. Pay attention to the latest news, and adjust your behavior accordingly. We’ve been at this for almost two years now, how have you not figured this out yet? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437/20 "2021-12-22T05:16:43Z")
I fully approve of, endorse, subscribe to and heartily second this rant, **velomont**. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-naive-optimistic-idiots-the-pollyannas-weasel-wordy-authorities-and-bad-planners-associated-with-the-pandemic/956437.md?page=2)