Thread by @fascinatorfun

Why I became sceptical of the lockdown sceptics | by Dr Michael Fitzpatrick | Jan, 2021 | Medium

An interesting reflection.
mike-93476.medium.com/why-i-became-s…

Instead of engaging with the reality of Covid-19 and the societies which it is ravaging “they have simply used a familiar critique of the politicisation of health and the growth of a culture of fear as a script for explaining the reception of a new virus in new times. “

Neither medical science nor social analysis is sacred
But taking the measure of bureaucratic impositions like lockdowns requires something more too: it requires a moral compass. Government ministers abdicate responsibility for their policies by claiming they ‘follow’ the science

Politicians who decide that allowing the virus to circulate at supposedly manageable levels with the test being that the NHS is not overwhelmed are, in fact, making a moral judgment.

It also speaks to a lack of ambition
“We’ve cocked up on healthcare investment”

Response: Shrug

The election of Trump & the Brexit Ref “revealed elites on both sides of the Atlantic that have lost any sense of conviction or direction, and any real connection with an alienated public. Little wonder that the official conduct of the pandemic in the West has been so shambolic”

The authors (of the Grt Barrington Declaration) “have never indicated what level of imminent mortality they consider acceptable with this policy; nor explained how many people they think need protection; nor details of implementation.”

“ As the second wave of infections spread around the world in late 2020, Great Barrington fell silent. The sceptical mantle of Socrates and David Hume requires discipline.”

(I know @Jim_Cornelius would agree, hence him suggesting they besmirch the term “skeptic”)

“As Hume said, the sceptic must be careful ‘to begin with clear and self-evident principles, to advance by timorous and sure steps, to review frequently our conclusions, and examine accurately all their consequences’.

Whilst skeptic purport to lockdowns leading to deaths from other causes as a reason not to circumscribe people’s liberty, they don’t really engage with the known evidence that tends to refute their claims as a true skeptic would.

@_johnbye does in this excellent detailed 🧵

He goes to the trouble of looking at the evidence and reflections from a variety of reliable sources.

Well worth a read.

https://twitter.com/_johnbye/status/1355842954204688388

The threats to civil liberties of course matter to us all.

The lack of Parliamentary scrutiny of regulation woeful.

I didn’t realise that Sikora, JHB and Hitchens had been excluded from YouTube? Have they⁉️

“My memories of 2020 will be of the wracking cough and debilitating breathlessness of elderly patients — and of the persisting fatigue and debility of younger survivors.”

“ I will also remember the altruism of individuals and communities, of families and carers looking after elderly parents and grandparents and younger members with physical and psychological disabilities.

They all deserve better — both from political leaders and their critics.”

Very interesting from @Drmfitz

Sceptics ≠ disinformation.

Some people spread disinformation which leads to behaviour that kills.

Especially when coming from high profile accounts with access to media platforms, radio, TV and newspapers.

Especially when they have qualifications that are likely to result in those less qualified taking what they say to heartland embark on conduct that endangers us all.

I do think that this has to be curbed and simply arguing with them is not always enough