Post date: Mar 21, 2020 8:59:1 PM
i wish i had more things to say about the current COVID-19 epidemic. until then, i'll just share what irritates me about it:
"You cannot argue a virus out of existence. You cannot logic it away or humiliate it into retreat or appeal to its conscience. It doesn’t have one of those. A virus doesn’t have goals or needs or desires. It doesn’t have a brain. You might just as usefully explain the military-industrial complex to your Peace Lily"
...
"A fair chunk of the people hoarding masks and stealing sanitizer are also aware that it’s a stupid, selfish thing to do—but if you can’t trust other people to share, [then] selfish behavior makes emotional sense even when selfish behavior is also irrational and actively dangerous. If you design a world economy that rewards blind self-interest and makes altruism unaffordable, it’s unsurprising that some people start acting like they’re in the prisoner’s dilemma."
...
"A girl wearing a Sherpa jacket and a confused expression snagged the last sweet potato. “I don’t know why I’m buying this,” she announced to the room in general. “I don’t even like them. I just feel like we might need it.” Her boyfriend was pushing a cart full of every remaining box of salad greens. From the dirty looks coming their way, I wanted to warn them both to drop the kale and run, in case things were about to turn into The Lottery."
~ from Laurie Penny @ wired
[sighs]