The medias world v's the real world

Arklight

John_Doe said:

No doubt you'll get someone screech at you that Brexit is not "all cleared up", but I know what you mean.

It's fun watching the old die-hard anti-Brexit contingent find any excuse they can to moan about the government, the PM, advisors and so on because of this virus when they haven't accepted what they were warned of many times before Brexit; that there are things far more damaging to economies than leaving the EU.
Oil prices were one suggested factor.
Now here we are and media or not, the whole world has decided that Coronavirus is far more devastating to global economies than Brexit alone would ever have been to either the UK or the EU even in the wildest scenarios of doom.

But here's the thing: this virus has killed globally so far less people than flu kills in the UK every winter.
Far less in fact.
I don't doubt that I will  be screeched-at for saying that, but it is true although I do accept that numbers will increase - but nobody really knows by how many.

Which brings me nicely back to media and the interpretation globally of these events; has media "egging" or "exaggerating" the risk caused the global panic, or is it the result of pure fear?
Over one month in and the number of fatalities globally (while obviously not good; no death is ever good) does not really equate to the level of utter panic seen across the world.
Even in Italy which is seeing by far the worst incidence up until now with a population not much smaller than ours, less people have died from this virus than die every year from suicide here in the UK.
Suicide though is an old and a taboo subject obviously, whereas a virus is new, threatening news.

Unless global infections and fatalities decline soon, it may take some time before there can be a definitive answer - if indeed there ever is one - as to whether or not media have played a part in exaggerating just what this virus will do. 
How rampant will the virus eventually prove to be?
Will infection rates rise again as soon as countries remove restrictions?
We don't know yet, but we can be sure that our media will have their say.

It has a 4%  mortality rate and no one has any immunity to it whatsoever. 

People like you are the ones who are going to march around sneezing over other people and potentially killing them. Which is why they are putting people under curfew in other countries, and why they will do the same here.

Takedap

Herzlos said:

triathlon said:

We will as a country always have to deal with adversity, and there will be times far worse than this in the future. But my personal view is that we should of from the very start just carried on 100% normally, and if you catch it you catch it,  which would be no worse than getting a bug like with have had to put up with for decades/centuries, and if you pass that on, again OK,  that's more people immune.
We have allowed the media to whip this up into mass panic and hysteria when the only worry through out this was the weakest being vulnerable. Not nice, but is it worth taking down the whole UK economy and the problems that will now lead to, and I am not just talking financial hardship, I am talking mental health as well as a bigger health crisis than this present virus along with social unrest

That'd be a terrible idea and why it spread so fast - you can spread it for days before being aware you've even got it.

Plus, people are being re-infected with it so the immunity thing doesn't seem so certain.

I started this with a pretty relaxed attitude but we're barely 2 weeks into it so I think the known infection rate is really going to explode shortly due to people taking unnecessary risks.

Anyone who knows the history of the Spanish Flu epidemic will tell you about the 2nd wave which was much more deadly than the first & which claimed the lives of a disproportionate number of the young & healthy.  That's probably what the people who know what they are talking about are afraid of.    

John_Doe

phillw said:

John_Doe said:

No doubt you'll get someone screech at you that Brexit is not "all cleared up", but I know what you mean.

No point in screeching something that is plainly true.
Darwinism will sort out the "we won two world wars" crowd out.

It already has or have you not realised (as well as not accepted)?
The people that won two world wars did indeed win them and we have left the EU.
The rest is just formality.

John_Doe

Arklight said:

John_Doe said:

No doubt you'll get someone screech at you that Brexit is not "all cleared up", but I know what you mean.

It's fun watching the old die-hard anti-Brexit contingent find any excuse they can to moan about the government, the PM, advisors and so on because of this virus when they haven't accepted what they were warned of many times before Brexit; that there are things far more damaging to economies than leaving the EU.
Oil prices were one suggested factor.
Now here we are and media or not, the whole world has decided that Coronavirus is far more devastating to global economies than Brexit alone would ever have been to either the UK or the EU even in the wildest scenarios of doom.

But here's the thing: this virus has killed globally so far less people than flu kills in the UK every winter.
Far less in fact.
I don't doubt that I will  be screeched-at for saying that, but it is true although I do accept that numbers will increase - but nobody really knows by how many.

Which brings me nicely back to media and the interpretation globally of these events; has media "egging" or "exaggerating" the risk caused the global panic, or is it the result of pure fear?
Over one month in and the number of fatalities globally (while obviously not good; no death is ever good) does not really equate to the level of utter panic seen across the world.
Even in Italy which is seeing by far the worst incidence up until now with a population not much smaller than ours, less people have died from this virus than die every year from suicide here in the UK.
Suicide though is an old and a taboo subject obviously, whereas a virus is new, threatening news.

Unless global infections and fatalities decline soon, it may take some time before there can be a definitive answer - if indeed there ever is one - as to whether or not media have played a part in exaggerating just what this virus will do. 
How rampant will the virus eventually prove to be?
Will infection rates rise again as soon as countries remove restrictions?
We don't know yet, but we can be sure that our media will have their say.

It has a 4%  mortality rate and no one has any immunity to it whatsoever. 

If you can't get the basics right by now there's no point whatsoever trying to educate you.

Malthusian

Arklight said:

People like you are the ones who are going to march around sneezing over other people and potentially killing them. Which is why they are putting people under curfew in other countries, and why they will do the same here.

And I can tell you're itching to apply to be a curfew enforcer with a special uniform and special badge, like blackout wardens in WW2. "Put that light out!"