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Bucky

(53,795 posts)
Mon Jul 26, 2021, 12:34 PM Jul 2021

Imagine you're in a highrise building and the floors below you are on fire

Until help arrives, everyone needs to cooperate in fighting the fire. You scream at them: "Come help! We have to work together!" Otherwise, the fire will keep crawling up floor by floor, injury many and killing a few.

But there are some people in your floor who are... well, let's call them the Generally Obstinate People. And these people don't like being told what to do. "It's my right, my choice whether I go along with your bossy plan for what everybody has to do. Maybe I'll fight the fire in my own way. Maybe I'll just walk up to the top floor where the fire will never reach me."

Eventually enough people go along with this advice. Soon there's enough GOPs walking off and not fighting the fire, that the inferno is able to spread and grow and burn its way up another couple of floors. More people get hurt. A few more die. Your group working together to fight the danger pull back, but you have to keep on fighting. Maybe you learn a few new tricks on how to survive getting burned so that fewer people are dying now, but still, it's better not to let people get hurt, right? And many innocent people are getting hurt, no matter whether they pitched into the effort or not.

As you reach the top stories, finally, a couple of those GOPs reluctantly start helping out. A few. Most of them just grumble about personal responsibility and trusting in God and how it's better to die free than live on their knees.

How relevant is it to say, "Those idiot GOPs, refusing to cooperate in some common sense precautions. Let's just let the fire burn them and only save ourselves"?

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marble falls

(56,353 posts)
1. That's the trouble with fables. No subtly. No realistic details but a punchline rolling in like ....
Mon Jul 26, 2021, 12:42 PM
Jul 2021

... a hellbound train.

Bucky

(53,795 posts)
2. Allegories are used when the answers aren't obvious to everyone
Mon Jul 26, 2021, 12:52 PM
Jul 2021

This applies both to bad analogies ( I won't get vaccinated cuz I ain't a guinea pig!) and good ones (Seat belts are not 100% guarantee either, but you're an idiot not to wear them).

I'm tired of two things, in the following order: GOP's comparing wearing a mask to Jews wearing yellow triangles and frustrated proscience people making the Darwinism joke as if the anti-maskers are only gonna hurt themselves.

When your canoe is sinking, you try to save the whole boat. It's only when we've gotten safe to shore that you hit the deniers over the head with the buckets they refused to use.

Bucky

(53,795 posts)
4. We'll have to agree to disagree
Mon Jul 26, 2021, 01:07 PM
Jul 2021

Allegories are in aid to understanding. They're at the heart of most of the world's wisdom -- from science to ethics to religion. I just don't think there's any such thing as being "years beyond" needing allegories.

Certainly it doesn't trivialize a problem if I recontextualize it as how you should act in a different dire situation. Do you consider the seatbelt analogy trivializing? Certainly recognize the wisdom and use of making that argument to someone who's mask resistant, right?

KentuckyWoman

(6,666 posts)
5. No it's far worse than that
Mon Jul 26, 2021, 01:11 PM
Jul 2021

Gophers are actively spreading the fire on purpose because they claim the fire will snuff itself out once the entire building is consumed by the flames.

Bucky

(53,795 posts)
7. Indeed, yes
Mon Jul 26, 2021, 01:16 PM
Jul 2021

The sooner they're stopped the better. I'm holding out a tiny sliver of hope for the GOP governors who are finally coming around and pushing for vaccines.

https://www.wbrz.com/news/more-americans-are-being-vaccinated-cdc-reports-significant-24-hour-period-increase/

I mean, it's obviously too little and very late, but we have to keep on trying

 

marie999

(3,334 posts)
6. I would try to save everyone I could, but to be honest if I could only save one person
Mon Jul 26, 2021, 01:15 PM
Jul 2021

it would be someone who did their part to fight the fire because they were fighting to also save me. This of course is if there isn't a child to be saved.

Bucky

(53,795 posts)
8. Oh, no question. Unfortunately that's not how it works
Mon Jul 26, 2021, 01:24 PM
Jul 2021

The virus is choosing who it infects. No human is involved in that decision making. And coronavirus is not checking party registration.

It hits poor communities. It hits lower educated communities. It hits people in communities where there's more public transportation and fewer healthcare facilities. It's hitting the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions, both of whom tend to live in areas that are both food and pharmacy "deserts."

And of course it's hitting 20 somethings who are statistically most likely to be resistant. It's also starting to hit kids who are too young to get the vaccine yet

And yes, it's hitting churches and church camps. But it's also getting into summer school programs and birthday parties. And none of these risk factors are based on partisan affiliation.

There may be some broader geographic variables, but the virus goes into a town that's 60% Republican and 30% Democratic⁶ (minus some statistical clustering) the affected population will probably be around 60-30---and it may well skew harder against the Democrats because of socioeconomic variables that make poorer communities more vulnerable


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