It's not a contradiction, maybe I just worded it poorly.
It's about people knowing what they need to know to be safe. The knowledge should be making them afraid was my point.
Instead we have people rejecting the knowledge. A lot of it is this BS "OMG they weren't 100% correct about this new incredibly complex thing so therefor the entirety of the science is invalid." I mean we have people arguing scientists are "wrong" because they are "changing things." That's what science does... iterate.
It's not ABOUT the fear, but people should certainly be afraid. I'm afraid of jumping off of a cliff because I know I'll die.
Using fear in that manner is manipulative and counterproductive, take it from someone that shakes his head and laughs at the major news sources every single day.
You don't live on a cliff's edge. Fear is something that needs to be overcome and knowledge is how that's done, i.e. you know jumping off that cliff will kill you so there's nothing left to fear, you simply avoid it or take extra precautions. I wouldn't wear a mask out of fear, I'd wear it because I'm confident it helps to some degree.
The information we've been receiving in much of the western world is usually incomplete/misleading/wrong and, like I said, when the facts are coming from a different source pushing against the doctors/officials' message then it risks dividing people. We've seen a lot of that over the years and our media is the biggest culprit, some of it fueled by divisive social media accounts backed by America's adversaries working tirelessly to keep us fighting with each other.
When Fauci told everyone that masks weren't beneficial, even in the middle of an outbreak, he wasn't helping anyone - health care workers that might have staved off shortages then had to treat sick patients that might have otherwise avoided infection. I don't understand the need to defend him and others in the same position because the science on masks hasn't changed at all this year. In fact, one of the supporting arguments has been that Asian countries adopted them long ago. Scientists have made it clear there won't be any controlled human tests conducted because it's unethical:
The second problem was that most medical researchers are used to judging interventions on the basis of
randomized controlled trials. These are the foundation of evidence based medicine. However, it is impossible and unethical to test mask-wearing, hand-washing or social distancing during a pandemic.
Recommendations around mask usage are confusing. The science isn’t. Evidence shows that masks are extremely effective to slow the coronavirus and may be the best tool available right now to fight it.
theconversation.com
I don't think that article goes far enough, as I alluded to earlier, so don't mistake this as my support for it. The sticking point when presenting the full picture, including the downsides of masks, is that it makes it trickier for politicians to mandate them. Some of them want to go the easy/simple route by telling you what to do, no questions asked... except the answers to those questions can lead to a healthier, more respectful populace.
I hope we're all on the same side here and want to see life return to something resembling normal as quickly as possible. It's doubtful the CCP want that, they want to expand their influence over the world, and the
mainstream media makes a killing sensationalizing stories like this pandemic which has effectively turned them into useful idiots with really big megaphones. Soak in all the relevant information wherever it may come from and filter out the editorializing because it's seldom serving the public interest.
