Remarkable how many people have told me, in so many words, that they'd rather die. They obviously mean it literally, if you think about it.
I suspect though that some aren't understanding the herd immunity concept. They seem to be thinking, "Well, so what if his supporters die." It doesn't work like that. The vaccines results are so far extraordinary--better than ever imagined--but they don't offer 100% protection.
To get to the point where we just never think about Covid-19 again--where it's some ancient historic horror, like the Black Death--we need massive vaccine uptake. Otherwise, even though your risk will be much lower, you'll still be at some risk. From the other half of America.
And I just do not see this as a good situation. Unless you really *like* the way a significant number of Americans won't wear a mask because they think it makes America great. It's going to be the same situation.
And all the ravening about "not negotiating with terrorists?" The analogy isn't apt. It's a virus. It doesn't care what you try to negotiate.

Or are you suggesting you won't negotiate with the however-many-Americans who believe everything Trump says?
That they are, in your mind, "terrorists?" Well, what do you want, then? A civil war? Democracy requires compromising with people you can't stand. If you don't like the pandemic, you won't like a civil war. Especially during a pandemic.

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More from @ClaireBerlinski

6 Dec
As much as it galls people, it would be helpful, I think, for Biden to call it "The Trump vaccine," giving him full, lavish, and enthusiastic credit for operation Warp Speed. Otherwise, there's a good chance Trump will tell people not to take it.
If the thought of doing that makes you ill, remember that's a metaphor. What we want is to diminish illness, literally, and for that we need to get a good 80 percent of the population vaccinated.
(I don't know exactly what percentage; I'm guessing from other vaccines: It may be different for Covid, but we'll only know when we've conducted the experiment, which we're about to conduct whether we like it or not.)
Read 5 tweets
4 Dec
Look, I don't get this. I retweeted this, and then only ten of you did the same. Why? This guy says *all he wants* is a lot of retweets. You can make him happy by hitting a button. Why wouldn't you do it? What does it cost you?
It's usually *hard* to meet other people's needs. Especially now. They need money. They need food. They need medical care. They need hope. They need love. They need time. I can't help with any of it. I can barely afford groceries. This guy wants ... a retweet!
Think how good it feels when you have enough money that you can spontaneously give some to someone who needs it even more than you. Most of us are not enjoying that pleasure right now because most of us are broke. This guy literally just wants you to push a button.
Read 8 tweets
2 Dec
#WashingMachineUpdate, for those of you who've been unable to sleep wondering how I'd make it through the pandemic with a washing machine that's complètement foutue. God bless Darty. The repairman is here exactly as scheduled; he is replacing the pump and the tuyau interne.
No extra charge. The culprit was a "baleine de soutien-gorge," and "un bouchon" in the tuyau (deep in its innards) filled with six years' worth of cat fur, nicotine gum, and spare change. I couldn't have fixed it myself, no matter how many manuals I had. I didn't have the parts.
I am very grateful to everyone who offered advice, and so particularly grateful to @OnGBandC and @hlshaken for reasons they know well. Voilà the result of your generosity:
Read 6 tweets
1 Dec
I just don't think this is true. At all. @CasMudde would if he could shoot every last right-wing populist into the interior of the sun, but his scholarly work on the phenomenon has been useful and rigorous.
And what of scholars of Hitler? Is all the outstanding scholarship on the Nazi regime that's been done postwar tarnished by the researchers' revulsion? Of course not.
We study what we're interested in. Hatred and love alike can inspire our interest; in fact, generally do. So long as you're rigorous, you can hate and study the same thing. Why would you, you ask?
Read 5 tweets
1 Dec
How is it possible that we can simultaneously be the country that invented the mRNA vaccine and this one?
I'm serious about this question. The vaccine is an astonishing scientific and technical achievement. Not exactly the first astonishing scientific and technical achievement in American history. It's a product of capitalism and (I'd bet anything) recent immigration.
That's the formula for these achievements. But is there something in the culture that makes America so good at making new things that *also* makes us so idiotic and cruel that we'd let 1 out of 800 North Dakotans die for our selfishness and conspiracy theories?
Read 4 tweets
1 Dec
Is the phrase "Your white privilege is showing" now a synonym for "You are incorrect?" Or could my interlocutor possibly be unaware that non-white Americans are at much higher risk of *dying* from Covid19? thelancet.com/journals/eclin…
Having a dysfunctional family is terrible for a child. Behind "a year of more behind on learning" is a very bad outcome. But both are better than having one or both parents (or grandparents who provide steady care) dead. That means *no* family.
There's one policy option that is not on the menu right now. It's "Why don't we just not have a pandemic." We have one. It will be over very soon: We have a vaccine; when we get it in everyone's arms, this ends. But until then,
Read 5 tweets

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