Re: maine government killed more people than covid

Augusta ME

Description

What a ridiculous set of statements. We've had this conversation before, but I guess we have to have it again (and I know you can tolerate discussion, and will probably flag it because you can't muster a factual response, but, whatever). First off, you have no idea what "chance" actually means. And because of that, your risk assessments are also way off. Here's an example that completely copies the mistake you're making. In Maine in 2019, 163 people died of gunshots, 88% of those (143) were suicides. By way of comparison, in 2019, 155 people died in car crashes. The number who died of car crashes is higher than the number who died of suicide by shooting yourself, just like in your example about covid (not a lot higher, unfortunately - Maine has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, even pre-covid). So in 2019 there are more deaths from car accidents than from shooting yourself, so how many people think your chances of dying in a car accident are higher than your chances of dying if you shoot yourself? How many people think it's more dangerous to drive than it is to shoot yourself? Clearly it's much more dangerous to shoot yourself - even common sense tells you that - even tho the numbers of people who die by shooting themselves is lower than the number who die in car crashes. The whole and only reason the number of people who die by shooting themselves is lower than by car accidents, even tho shooting yourself is much more dangerous and you have a much higher *chance* of dying from it, is because not many people try to shoot themselves, while a whole lot of people drive, and get in accidents. So what you're leaving out of your risk assessment and your understanding and estimation of "chance" is exposure. There are many many many more cases of driving than there are cases of covid. Or if you want to use a different exposure measure, here are also many many more cases of motor vehicle accidents than there are of covid. So of course the absolute numbers of deaths in accidents are higher, simply because there are so many more cases of accidents. However, if you compare covid exposures to driving exposures, or even only to motor vehicle accident exposures, the *rate* (death per exposure - and this is what equals "chance", not what you think "chance" is) of death from a covid-19 exposure is far far higher than the rate of death from a car ride, and also far far higher than from a car accident. Covid is very infectious (especially now, with delta). You're probably in general less likely to be exposed to covid than you are to be exposed (= traveling in a vehicle) to a motor vehicle accident, but if you *are* exposed, which right now is still fairly likely, you're much, much more likely to be infected than you are to be in an accident; and if you are infected/in an accident, you're far more likely to die from that infection than you are to die from that accident. Second, although what you say about the increase in overdose deaths is very unfortunately true, about the increase, and also that increase being at least in part attributable to tje inctease in isolation, loss of supports, and other stressors related to being in a pandemic and trying to get the pandemic under control, again, in your comparisons, you on the other hand also completely neglect to consider the number of lives saved by the isolation measures, and how many people would have died with covid-19 were it not for those measures. Likewise you completely ignore the fact that covid deaths in Maine were so low, in large part because of those measures. The measures (*NOT* the mandate) were necessary, and essential, to prevent a huge amount of exposure and death - far more than the increase in overdoses. If anything, we weren't successful enough (and still aren't). The *mandate*, on the other hand, was only necessary because of people like you who can't think straight (and who were being lied to by DT and his followers), about the actual risks and chances, and who therefore wouldn't - and even outright refused - do on their own, what was necessary to protect themselves and everyone else and avert a national crisis far worse than the measures themselves created. If everyone started wearing seatbelts when it became clear that seat belts save lives, there wouldn't be a need for a seatbelt law. If everyone started using helmets because it became clear that helmets save lives, there wouldn't be a need for a helmet law. If everybody quit texting and fooling with their phones while driving because it's clear that hugely increases the risk of accidents and driving fatalities, there wouldn't need be a need for laws about phone use while driving. Mandates only happen when too many people are too stupid to do what they need to do, and should do, on their own to protect everyone around them. Such as, in this case, not congregating, masking, and vaccinating. If that goes on for long enough, or is widespread enough, then mandates start to happen. People won't do it themselves, so other people start saying we need to make them do it, or else there will be a disaster. Some authority steps in, same as the sheriff will likely show up on your property if you act the fool and burn without a permit on a windy day in the high risk fire season, "oh, it won't happen to me, I have a higher chance of dying in a car accident than starting a fire" (and after all, a lot more people die in car accidents than accidentally start fires). Likewise just because some people die while wearing a seatbelt when they might not have if they hadn't been wearing one, and similar occurences, doesn't mean that the law or "the government killed them". I'm surprised you've made it to however far you are in life, if your reasoning is that weak. Here's a much more accurate assessment of the impact of covid in deaths than yours is: https://www.pressherald.com/2021/04/25/maines-death-rate-rose-by-4-5-last-year-driven-largely-by-covid-19/ The primary reason you think everything about covid is way overblown is only because 1) you've been misled (that's why you're posting this in the politics section instead of somewhere else to begin with, lol), and 2) because you can't accurately assess the information you have and the situation you're in, and not because you're being lied to by the people who are telling you it's a serious problem.