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Biden State propaganda organization NPR is still out here trying desperately to drum up fear and a sense of crisis about COVID. They just published a “Coronavirus FAQ” infographic and article trying to fearmonger about people getting Coronavirus while outdoors. They created a nifty little poster for you to print “to hang on your fridge or give away to friends,” if virtue signaling and perpetual manufactured fear is your thing.
The subheading for this poster explains that “omicron variants are more contagious–even outdoors.” I notice they don’t mention that while omicron is more contagious, it’s also significantly less severe. But they don’t include that because they want you to focus on the scary part about it being “more contagious.”
They’re still pushing mask-wearing, even outdoors, despite significant evidence that masks have had no measurable positive impact on the Coronavirus pandemic, especially considering the majority of people wear masks improperly and routinely handle dirty masks.
And if you wake up and your “throat feels kinda scratchy” or you have the sniffles, you’re supposed to immediately assume you have COVID and run to the nearest vendor of potentially inaccurate COVID tests because, apparently, no other illnesses exist anymore and there are no other reasons your throat might be scratchy or you might have the sniffles.
Oh, and you’re supposed to encourage and even expect everyone else to be as neurotic and terrified as you are by requiring your guests to take a rapid COVID test before attending your outdoor event. I notice this poster doesn’t include any distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, likely because they can’t in good conscience pretend like the vaccine prevents the contraction and transmission of the disease, which misinformation they spent months and even years spreading as justification for their authoritarian vaccine mandates.
The poster and accompanying article are fraught with language intended to induce a sense of fear. You’re supposed to “beware” of tents that are even partially enclosed and fear even “fleeting encounters.” It almost read like a how-to poster for the neurotically anti-social–‘How to avoid human connection and interpersonal relationships for the chronically terrified.’
They make sure to inform you (with no citation of evidence to independently verify their interpretation or representation of data) that “the country continues to see high levels of cases and rising hospitalizations.” And they are careful to highlight the fact that “‘way less risky’ is not ‘zero risk.’ There’s still a chance of catching COVID even at an outdoor event.” The implication being that you should still be scared of even a very small risk because it isn’t zero risk.
“Zero risk” is an absolutely unrealistic standard for which to push. People don’t live their lives to a “zero risk” standard, otherwise not a single person would drive a car for the risk of being killed in an accident, go swimming for the risk of drowning, go to school for the risk of catching a cold, or undergo really any medical procedure for the risk of death or severe injury. Do you know how many millions of people in this country still smoke despite clear and overwhelming evidence that it is incredibly detrimental to their health? They accept a risk much higher than zero. How about the obesity epidemic? There’s certainly not a “zero risk” standard for food production and consumption in this country, otherwise fast food joints wouldn’t have been considered “essential” during a pandemic more dangerous to the obese.
The fact that they are going to such great lengths to continue to generate fear and a sense of crisis about COVID shows how much they love the power it gave them and how desperate they are to keep that power. A fearful nation is much more willing to surrender rights and privileges to authority in exchange for even a false sense of security. They just have to make the nation sufficiently fearful, even disingenuously.