When I was a young kid in elementary school there were many dangerous contagious diseases common in the population.
We were always in danger of contracting Polio, Diphtheria, Measles, Mumps, Scarlett Fever, Tuberculosis, Pertussis and more that do not come immediately to mind. Most of us contracted at least some of these, sometimes with tragic complications.
There were no vaccines yet available for these diseases.
Our leaders took a wiser approach then. They did not deliberately incite fear and hysteria. They did not restrict the liberties of the healthy. They did not shut down the vitality of the nation. And the sky did not fall.
Caution is wise. Panic is not wise.
2
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Unless you were born before 1953 you are a liar because that is when the vaccine for polio was introduced....
Lizard_of_Ahaz
Level 9
Dec 12, 2020
1
I was born in 1944 and the salk polio vaccine was not available to us until 1955. I was young, but I remember those years well.
@dumasarok "Like a horror movie, throughout the first half of the 20th century, the polio virus arrived each summer, striking without warning. No one knew how polio was transmitted or what caused it. There were wild theories that the virus spread from imported bananas or stray cats. There was no known cure or vaccine.
For the next four decades, swimming pools and movie theaters closed during polio season for fear of this invisible enemy. Parents stopped sending their children to playgrounds or birthday parties for fear they would “catch polio.”
In the outbreak of 1916, health workers in New York City would physically remove children from their homes or playgrounds if they suspected they might be infected. Kids, who seemed to be targeted by the disease, were taken from their families and isolated in sanitariums.
In 1952, the number of polio cases in the U.S. peaked at 57,879, resulting in 3,145 deaths. Those who survived this highly infectious disease could end up with some form of paralysis, forcing them to use crutches, wheelchairs or to be put into an iron lung, a large tank respirator that would pull air in and out of the lungs, allowing them to breathe."
Cited from Discover magazine...
Seems you are still a liar Polio was nowhere near as deadly as COVID and yet more drastic measures were taken against it than you complain about...
I am 83 years old and had most of those childhood diseases. None of them had the mortality rate or degree of lingering after-effects that CIVID 19. COVID deserves every bit of the attention it is getting. If yu cannot see h difference, you have a problem.
wordywalt
Level 9
Dec 12, 2020
3
If government action had been Swifter, many more small businesses would have survived. Design and implementation of the first stimulus legislation wasn't adequate in many areas.
Our current government administration does not really care whether government works or not they just want to get paid and steal as much money as possible.
In my small town we have lost some small businesses period whether or not they would have survived without covid we will never know. The ones we lost were all fairly new and most new businesses don't make it past the first year regardless of whether or not there's a pandemic. Innovation saved several of the businesses in my town. The people who were most hurt by the pandemic were teachers school children and wait staff.
I think it's literally criminal the requirements made on teachers to develop online curriculum and try to teach children who many times don't have access to the internet. It's also criminal that we don't have low-cost internet for every child in America.when I visited Budapest I could walk down any Street there and access the internet on my phone. Our society does it allow that because of the quest for the almighty dollar.
I am old enough to remember some of those diseases. The most memorable was polio and I was not allowed to go to the movies or any other crowded place until the vaccination became available and my grandfather drove me 110 MI to get the vaccination when it first came out. I seriously doubt that you are old enough to remember smallpox but it definitely created hysteria and quarantines.
I'm really sorry that you or anyone else has been hurt by the safety measures needed to curtail this pandemic. Unfortunately lack of compliance on mask and social distancing has been the real cause of its continuation. America has the largest per capita infection rate of any first world country. I firmly believe that is due to that freedom and liberty cry so many people are spewing.
Lorajay
Level 9
Dec 12, 2020
1
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I agree with much but not all of what you wrote. That's okay, I respect your opinion.
It is a pleasure to correspond with someone who actually thinks rationally.
These types of venues seem to bring out a lot of emotionally charged rhetoric in people. Some fail to realize that character assassination and insults are not arguments.
@dumasarok And others like you refuse to accept facts opting for comfortable fictions instead...Yesterday the COVID scoreboard posted over three thousand more deaths and as of today another 1,500 more were posted. Keep in mind that death figures take three weeks to be processed so we are already past 1 death for every thousand of the US population. By the time a vaccine that will reduce the numbers of dead and disabled can be manufactured and distributed in amounts large enough to reduce these number thanks to Trump and his followers like you more US citizens will have died than Hitler murdered Jews in his concentration camps during WW2. That makes you and him some of the most prolific mass murders in the history of the world...
Well first, the only "leader" I see at the moment is Governor Cooper...sure as hell none in D.C. Second, nobody cares about your freedoms, certainly not over public health. Lastly...it hurts me to understand that atheists are not always smart. Thanks for confirming.
ReadyforaChange
Level 7
Dec 12, 2020
2
When the Black Death struck, whole towns and villages were closed down, infected houses had to be fumigated by burning sulphur, and in some cases whole streets of houses were burned, bodies had to be treated with lime and people working with the sick, wore large masks stuffed with herbs. Nothing new sorry, even in the sixteenth century some people were prepared to make an effort, and give something for their community.
Fernapple
Level 9
Dec 12, 2020
2
The closest comparison would be with the 1918-19 flu epidemic. In that there were compulsory stay at home orders. You and your so called "liberties" don't amount to a hill of beans. For most people it's been a minor inconvenience.
Theresa_N
Level 8
Dec 12, 2020
3
With all due respect, Let me consider a couple of your "inconveniences"
Consider the person who has worked hard exhausting all time, energy, and resources over many years building a small business only to see it bankrupted and destroyed with no hope of recovery.
Consider the people who are forbidden to be with their Mother or Father as they took their last breath. And then to add to the pain are forbidden to conduct a respectful funeral.
I could go on and on but I hope you understand the point.
Perhaps you don't realize it but your "inconvenience" comment makes you come across as a very cruel and heartless person.
@dumasarok How about YOU consider all the children caged on the border with no parents to hold them and comfort them. Or how about the families being forced out of their only home because the so-called leaders of this shithole country care more about their power and paycheck than the welfare of our citizens. YOU come across as a selfish asshole.
@ReadyforaChange You sure went off the rails regarding the subject of this thread.
I made no reference to the border situation nor did I express an opinion on that subject.
As to your "this shithole country" comment. You are welcome to move yourself to a better country if they will have you.
@dumasarok Here, let me expand on my comment so your addled brain can understand. My point in mentioning children in cages and thousands of people evicted during a raging pandemic is that THEY have nobody no place to go in the MIDDLE OF A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC. Meantime, you can't enjoy your status as a business owner because of shutdowns? You still have a home? A car for use to buy food, supplies, etc.? Your health...still have that? THAT was my point. People like you are selfish and self-absorbed and the very epitomy of privilege. F@#K your feelings and I am going NOWHERE. I want to be around for the inauguration of the first competent leadership on a federal level in FOUR LONG YEARS. Bye now.
@dumasarok Damn you have the right screen name don't you?... The payroll protection loans were supposed to protect those small businesses but the problem was Mitch the bitch and company allowed the money to go to large corporate interests....
None of those diseases are in any way comparable to Covid. And governments and people did everything they could to fight their spread. No one is suggesting panic, they are suggesting public health measures to fight the worst public health crisis in a century.
Druvius
Level 8
Dec 12, 2020
2
You must be quite young if you don't realize how serious the aforementioned diseases were. They caused much death, disfigurement, paralysis, and lifelong impairment. Please don't trivialize these terrible diseases.
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