Newsroom

Saturn In Aquarius, And The Four Horsemen Of The Infodemic (Part Three)

“We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic”
-World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus

We’re now at Number Three of our Hit Parade of Bad Thinking that has the potential to hurt us all, here in the era of COVID-19. This time: not so much “disinformation” (though it is often fuelled by such). Rather, we’re looking at when you over-estimate your importance (or disregard the importance of others).

THE DISINFO: The “you can’t tell me what to do!” crowd

DESCRIPTION: Look, even introverts get tired of staying at home and minimizing human contact eventually. I get that. But there are some people — emboldened by bad health advice or by nonsense conspiracy theories — who aren’t doing their part by staying out of public except when absolutely necessary. That, and the nitwits who still thinks its safe to get together with friends at parties, pack a church, or whatever.

WHY IS IT SO BAD: There are a couple of reasons why this is a bad attitude.

You might already have coronavirus and not even know it. There is a latent stage between infection and when the symptoms actually show. This means that you might pass it along to others even though you feel completely healthy. Likewise, other people who look completely healthy might end up giving it to you.

Or maybe you’re young and healthy and think this won’t affect you. For one thing, yes it can. Young and healthy people do occasionally die from coronavirus, as it turns out. Also, suppose there was a serial killer running loose in your neighbourhood. And suppose he only targeted elderly people, people with compromised immune systems, asthmatics, or people with high blood pressure. Would you honestly be okay with that just because you don’t fall into any of those groups?

Really?

A virus doesn’t care about your right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

NEXT TIME: The worst of the lot.