Covid 19 Part XXVI- 50,993 ROI (1,852 deaths) 28,040 NI (621 deaths) (19/10) Read OP

440Hertz wrote: »

I look at the social psychology of it as a bit like people are grieving loss of normality.

The stages of grief, in the simplified Kübler-Ross model are:

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Depression
4. Acceptance

I think the issue is more that the majority of the population is at 3. and 4.

The conspiracy theorists are firmly stuck at 1. and 2.

It’s much easier to believe that it’s all fake, overblown or some grand and very human plot than it is to accept a mindless virus is undermining a huge range of important aspects of all that we take for granted in normal life and a lot of things that make us happy.

It’s even harder to accept that it’s currently something that’s beyond the control of modern sciences. Our sense of technological invincibility has been severely dented and I think perhaps the popularity of conspiracy theories is down to a very wounded human ego. We don’t like to feel weak, but we are, at least until we can find solutions to it.

I think perhaps the reason the US has gone the deepest down that rabbit hole is that it’s also the most cocky and sure of itself nation on the planet. It’s been a huge shock to the American psyche to feel that an invisible virus, that doesn’t care what your nationality is or how big your nuclear weapons are, is simply is doing them the same damage as it is everyone else. The sense of exceptionalism is gone and that really hurts, if your entire belief system was that you were invincible. You can’t buy or shoot your way out of it.

So it’s much easier to just pretend it’s not happening and hide in a conspiracy theory or imagine it’s a bio weapon etc etc etc.

Gruffalux wrote: »

This thread is not representative of the attitudes I encounter in real life re Covid. Almost everyone I meet in the world is concerned for older people and those with underlying conditions and they do not want to endanger others. Young men whose wives have asthma. Women in their 30s looking after their Ma. Site managers who do not want to see covid get in among the crews. These are the more normal attitudes. Don't mind the let it rip blather on here. Most people in real life value others.