Forcing children to wear a mask is child abuse. The Left failed children.

Almost as amusing as the messages you have been sending me over the last 20 years.

 

That is definitely no longer the definition of "fully vaccinated" in Germany. You are excluded from much of public life if you haven't had the booster. It's very dystopian.

 

On both sides of most arguments, yes.

May I ask, are you in the medical field? You seem to know a bit about study design.

 

I agree 100 %.

I am pro vaccines (but the data needs to be monitored, and, as I said, there is a huge difference in the risk/benefit analysis between old people and children) but vehemently against vaccination mandates.

 

1) Me being a libertarian and being shocked at how civil liberties have been eroded as part of this pandemic, with many people passively accepting anything that happens, no matter how non-sensical it is, and at the same time, anyone who is critical of certain measures being branded a Nazi/conspiracy theorist, etc.. Just because there are some actual Nazis and conspiracy theorists saying 2+2=4 sometimes (even a broken clock is right twice a day) shouldn't get you canceled when you also say 2+2= 4. I see politicians grabbing the extra powers the pandemic response has given them and never letting it go again, unless people demand their basic constitutional rights back. I see this everywhere in the world, and it is not just a left/right issue, to be fair - I was deliberately provocative at the beginning of this thread. But basically, parts of the world have gone insane. Australia has become as authoritarian as China and morphed into a hygiene/health dictatorship to some extent.

2) Common sense. If people accept rules they would not have thought possible a few years ago, what is the end game? Do you want to accept having to show a vax passport forever (like you have to in Germany even when you want to go to freaking McDonald's)? You can always argue that restrictions of civil liberties are "no big deal", but freedom dies inch by inch.

3) Personal experience with my own children, as I described earlier in the thread. Do you want to see your children masked forever? What conditions do you want to see fulfilled for this to stop? I can tell you that my children - and many other children of friends - certainly do NOT think it's "no big deal" to have to wear a mask for hours a day. My son is almost 3. He has had this pandemic around him for the majority of his life, with major, major disruptions to being able to go to Kindergarten (closed for long periods of time, then constant quarantine, parents are not allowed to go inside, teachers wear masks, etc. etc. etc.). I think he deserves a normal childhood, like we had.

 

I understand what you are trying to say, but it's not just about immediate intent of becoming richer.

This is a wider question, but why do people go into politics?

For many/most, the temptation of politics is about power over others. They might not even be fully aware of this being a huge part of their motivation, but this is simply true.

This is why constitutional rights exist - not to protect you from other private individuals, but to protect you from the government. It is in the nature of governments to want to expand their power. That way, those who hold positions in government satisfy their natural urge, why many of them pursued a career in politics in the first place. It might not even consciously be their intent, but the essence of basic constitutional rights is to protect you from government overreach, and for good reason.

Umm, that's happening right now, in front of us. China, Australia, etc. etc. etc. China was an authoritarian country before, of course. Have you heard about their social credit score system? Sadly, many countries in the world followed China's example in dealing with this pandemic. Lockdowns weren't part of the pandemic playbook before. Their negative side effects must be researched, many of them are indeed obvious. Studies show they had little effect on mortality.

https://nypost.com/2022/02/02/covid-lockdowns-had-very-little-effect-on-mortality-rate-study/

 

Yes, and I spoke to a friend who spoke to a doctor working in a large Israeli hospital. Most severe cases are unvaccinated.
As you could see, I posted two conflicting articles. Haaretz is the reputable source, the one with the claim about the 80 % vaccinated is not.

 

Sorry to hear that lol.

I personally know politicians in Germany and in the UK who could not give a rat's ass about what reduces transmission. They just want power.

Umm what? Could you refer me to what exactly you are talking about? What mass surveillance systems and entrapment style policing and heavy handed militaristic approach to suppress ethnic groups are you talking about?

 

Your basic misunderstanding - but this really is for a separate thread - is that my problem with Islam is that it is THE religion/ideology that most restricts civil liberties.

I am very consistent.

My problem is not with secular Muslims - as long as they do not follow a version of the ideology that demands restriction of civil liberties, including rights of women, gays, etc., why would I have a problem with them? I have hired dozens of them, work closely with them.

Contrary to what you say, I have never advocated for "mass surveillance systems and entrapment style policing and heavy handed militaristic approach to suppress ethnic groups".

Interestingly, I think you did understand the distinction very well at some point (and had the same problems with the ideology I have), but then sort of retreated to a different position (maybe because you felt that attacking the ideology means attacking the people (like your family) - which it definitely does not).