LONG WINDED THREAD. COVID presents a unique challenge to our perceptions of risk. It's absolutely correct to point out that healthy people in their 50s and younger mostly do not face serious consequences from a COVID infection.

Due to that fact, most cases people see in their personal lives will not be serious. Because the disease kills ~.5% of those that get it, by definition virtually everyone who gets it will survive.

HOWEVER, if you let the disease spread through a large enough portion of the population during a short enough time frame, serious problems emerge. We're seeing medical resources depleted in areas that serve more more rural populations. https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/2020/11/11/medical-tents-manpower-pledged-lubbock-hospitals-see-surge-covid-19-cases/6259550002/

Consequently, in a weird way the disease is almost simultaneously "no big deal" and "huge fucking deal." It just depends on your perspective. What bothers me is that we have voluminous data and examples of the burden this disease causes.

You can have very legitimate arguments weighing personal freedoms against what might be necessary to bring spread under control. But let's not be glib about the risks faced by certain segments of the population. Not everyone in ill health is that way due to their own choice.

Let's have a little sympathy for the elderly who just have the audacity to maybe want to live a little longer, those with unfavorable genetic predispositions, and, hell, even those that maybe carry a little extra weight.

I'm a libertarian and staunch advocate of personal freedom and responsibility. Generally speaking, a person should be able to engage in any activity they wish so long as they aren't harming others. Now is a good time to stop and consider how your activity may impact others.

A once in a generation respiratory virus is loose in the population. Exercise some personal responsibility, be grateful for your own health, and don't diminish the value of other people's lives in your discussion of risk. END