Lefties and lockdowns

[brenthutch 383]

By Dan Crenshaw 

”Lockdowns are back. To many of us, it would appear as if the entire human race has learned absolutely nothing in the past 8 months. Despite the overwhelming evidence that the cost of lockdowns far outweighs the limited benefits, many policymakers lack the backbone or creativity to come up with any alternative. Internet memes have shrewdly asked: If a lockdown worked the first time, why are we doing it again? If a lockdown didn’t work the first time, why are we doing it again?

One of the most striking observations of the pandemic is that our society’s reactions have fallen almost completely along partisan lines. Conservatives tend to be anti-lockdown and anti-government mandates, while liberals take the opposite view. Conservatives seek to contextualize COVID-19 data on deaths and infections with additional considerations, such as age, risk factors, and proportionality (i.e. total numbers versus cases per 100,000). Liberals obsess over total deaths and case counts, but nothing else.

The initial explanation for such stark differences was a familiar one — whatever Trump favors, the left opposes. While this is often true, it doesn’t offer a full explanation. Over the past 8 months, I have seen for myself who is truly frightened and who is not, and who is asking the government for more action and who is not. I have seen how the demeanor of New Yorkers and New Englanders differs to that of my fellow Texans. In Washington, D.C., I regularly see people wear masks while walking alone in a park. In Texas, I almost never observe this, probably because there is no scientific basis for it. I presume the well-educated population of D.C. also knows there is no scientific basis for wearing a mask outdoors with no-one around you (only to take it off when you’re finally seated at your favorite restaurant), and yet they do it anyway. Why?

The why is the more interesting question. Why do liberals favor lockdowns, aided by sensationalist headlines? Why are many genuinely more fearful of the virus? Opportunistic anti-Trump partisanship simply cannot explain many of the real and non-political reactions I have witnessed. This is more than just a childish symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome. This is indicative of deeper cultural and psychological differences between the left and the right.

At the heart of the disparity regarding our attitudes to the COVID-19 response is the subject of risk assessment. The perception of risk differs widely between liberals and conservatives, as well as the decisions made when confronting risky situations. Research shows that Democrats and Republicans differ in the neural mechanisms activated during risk-taking exercises, specifically in the amygdala region. This demonstrates measurable physiological differences when confronted with risk.

But what about the actual choices we make? To assess risk tolerance, a better indication might be the careers that liberals and conservatives choose. Conservatives overwhelmingly fill the ranks of physically riskier jobs such as the military, law enforcement, and loggers.

This is all a lengthy way of explaining this simple observation: conservatives appear to be less risk averse to physical threats, and therefore far less likely to favor more extreme actions to mitigate that risk. This leads us to the next major cultural division, which is the extent to which government should involve itself in societal problem solving.

The essential disposition of the liberal mind is a belief that almost anything can be solved by government. Conservatives reject this as unmitigated hubris resulting in unrealistic goals and excessive costs. The liberal favors action, even at a high cost, and even better if that action is collective in nature. Rhetorically, everything becomes the moral equivalent of war — the war on poverty, the war on inequality, the war on COVID-19 — because only in war do we plan and execute with feverish collectivism.

This preference for collective action means that the need for proper cost-benefit analysis is cast aside. Rational questions about the effectiveness of lockdowns, or whether their benefit exceeds their cost, are ignored and even considered offensive. “If it saves one life!” is the battle cry of the left, because their language is the language of (assumed) morality and compassion, not proper risk analysis or rational decision-making.

And this surfaces yet another major difference between conservatives and liberals: our moral preferences. Performing hundreds of thousands of surveys across different countries, social psychologist Dr. Jonathan Haidt consistently found that liberals overemphasize “caring” and “fairness” above other moral considerations. Conservatives, on the other hand, favor all moral categories more equally, placing emphasis not just on compassion, but on fair processes, moral authority and tradition, liberty, and loyalty. Conservatives are more morally balanced, while liberals measure the worth of an action by its corresponding measurement of signaled compassion. So, it is no surprise that liberals routinely denigrate contextualized COVID-19 data — such as accounting for age and co-morbidities when assessing fatalities — as “downplaying the virus” or “covering for Trump’s failures.” After all, rational discussions become impossible with someone who views you as morally inferior.

Psychological dispositions matter. Cultural differences matter. They lead to vastly different policy outcomes. If we are to successfully persuade someone of our view, it behooves us to understand these differences and attempt to frame the debate accordingly. Only then can we answer the profound question of the internet memer we discussed earlier.

If lockdowns didn’t work the first time, why are many Americans calling for more? And why are so many “leaders” in government obliging?“

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[timski 80]

Brent, we are ALL frustrated with our current situations. NO ONE alive has dealt with such a global problem. The entire world is scrambling man. The problem is you want to point the blame and you only have two options (in your mind). It's SOOOOO much larger than the left/right and being caught somewhere in the middle. How do WE change a system so deeply corrupt???   

[olofscience 420]

1 hour ago, brenthutch said:

liberals overemphasize “caring” and “fairness” above other moral considerations. Conservatives, on the other hand, favor all moral categories more equally, placing emphasis not just on compassion, but on fair processes, moral authority and tradition, liberty, and loyalty. Conservatives are more morally balanced, while liberals measure the worth of an action by its corresponding measurement of signaled compassion.

Wow, don't dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back there.

By the way, New Zealand is pretty leftist, and there aren't any lockdowns there right now.

[brenthutch 383]

7 minutes ago, olofscience said:

Wow, don't dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back there.

By the way, New Zealand is pretty leftist, and there aren't any lockdowns there right now.

New Zealand is not facing a large spike right now.

[olofscience 420]

1 minute ago, brenthutch said:

New Zealand is not facing a large spike right now.

Bonus points for guessing why.

[nwt 131]

1 hour ago, brenthutch said:

Despite the overwhelming evidence that the cost of lockdowns far outweighs the limited benefits

[citation needed]

 

1 hour ago, brenthutch said:

The why is the more interesting question. Why do liberals favor lockdowns, aided by sensationalist headlines? Why are many genuinely more fearful of the virus? Opportunistic anti-Trump partisanship simply cannot explain many of the real and non-political reactions I have witnessed. This is more than just a childish symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome. This is indicative of deeper cultural and psychological differences between the left and the right.

Or maybe liberals are just better educated than conservatives?

[BIGUN 1,053]

1 hour ago, brenthutch said:

If lockdowns didn’t work the first time, why are many Americans calling for more? And why are so many “leaders” in government obliging?“

Because NOBODY got it right the first time. It should have been a complete 3 month shutdown.

Now, let's have curfews in Europe at 6PM WTF is that going to do? Is it only spread at night? sheesh. Maybe this is God's, Buddha's, Mohammad, et.al. way of cleansing us of silly ideas. 

[brenthutch 383]

2 minutes ago, nwt said:

[citation needed]

 

Or maybe liberals are just better educated than conservatives?

And that is why they wear their masks in their car when they are by themselves.The need to virtue signal must be overwhelming 

[nwt 131]

4 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

And that is why they wear their masks in their car when they are by themselves.The need to virtue signal must be overwhelming 

So instead of responding to my request for you to reference some of what you claim is "overwhelming evidence", you post this nonsense instead. 

What is your purpose here? You aren't going to change anyone's mind. You aren't going to make anyone angry. You just look stupid.

[brenthutch 383]

19 minutes ago, BIGUN said:

Because NOBODY got it right the first time. It should have been a complete 3 month shutdown.

 

Shut down Pharmaceutical companies?  Grocery stores? Gas stations? Farms? Food processors?  Banks? Trucking? Hospitals? Power plants? Police? Ambulance services? Fire department? Water purification?  Hardware stores?  Plumbers?  Mechanics?  What about the supply chain required to support the aforementioned?  Pretty soon your complete shutdown isn’t so complete allowing the virus to persist while destroying the lives and fortunes of millions.  Three months latter, when the shutdown is ended, the virus is on the rampage again.

Edited January 16, 2021 by brenthutch

[kallend 1,623]

9 minutes ago, nwt said:

 

What is your purpose here? You aren't going to change anyone's mind. You aren't going to make anyone angry. You just look stupid.

He's just trolling.  And not even doing a very good job.

RonD, OTOH, is a very good troll.

[brenthutch 383]

15 minutes ago, nwt said:

So instead of responding to my request for you to reference some of what you claim is "overwhelming evidence", you post this nonsense instead. 

What is your purpose here? You aren't going to change anyone's mind. You aren't going to make anyone angry. You just look stupid.

If you were paying attention you would have noticed the quotation marks and the attribution to Dan Crenshaw.  If have any questions, I suggest:

https://crenshaw.house.gov/

[nwt 131]

2 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

If you were paying attention you would have noticed the quotation marks and the attribution to Dan Crenshaw.  If have any questions, I suggest:

https://crenshaw.house.gov/

And you repeated it here. Now defend it.

[gowlerk 1,910]

20 minutes ago, nwt said:

So instead of responding to my request for you to reference some of what you claim is "overwhelming evidence", you post this nonsense instead. 

What is your purpose here? You aren't going to change anyone's mind. You aren't going to make anyone angry. You just look stupid.

I would imagine his overwhelming evidence would be the strength of his feelings. Nothing more and nothing less.

[brenthutch 383]

7 minutes ago, nwt said:

And you repeated it here. Now defend it.

It is pretty self evident I don’t see a need to defend it.

[Phil1111 910]

39 minutes ago, nwt said:

[citation needed]  Or maybe liberals are just better educated than conservatives?

From the ideas, evidence and argument that conservatives here make it certainly seems that way. See Brent's statement below.

33 minutes ago, BIGUN said:

Because NOBODY got it right the first time. It should have been a complete 3 month shutdown.

Bullseye, A country with one of the strictest COVID lockdowns is seeing a V-shaped recovery. That would be New Zealand the country with a female leader. No nonsense covid lockdowns and now complete freedom of business, personal life

32 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

And that is why they wear their masks in their car when they are by themselves.The need to virtue signal must be overwhelming 

You'll have to add clairvoyant to your resume if you can tell from a car or appearance of a driver their political leanings.

[olofscience 420]

7 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

It is pretty self evident I don’t see a need to defend it.

It's self evident to you because it sings praises of conservatives and attacks liberals, but it doesn't have any citations or actual hard evidence.

You must be desperately seeking validation, and that's okay.

But until there's actual data and evidence to back it up, it's just shit you tell yourself.

[brenthutch 383]

7 minutes ago, Phil1111 said:

You'll have to add clairvoyant to your resume if you can tell from a car or appearance of a driver their political leanings.

He is a neighbor, teaches at the university, has a Biden for President and BLM sign in his yard (still) and drives a “Smart” car. Pretty safe assumption that he is not a member of the John Birch Society.

[wmw999 2,121]

6 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

He is a neighbor, teaches at the university, has a Biden for President and BLM sign in his yard (still) and drives a “Smart” car. Pretty safe assumption that he is not a member of the John Birch Society.

Sample size of one. That's not very scientific, is it. And maybe he's got it on because he's always forgetting it, maybe because he's that concerned, maybe lots of stuff. You're ascribing a motive to him because he's a lefty. I'll just bet you bask in your superiority every time you see it, too.

Wendy P.

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

5 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

He is a neighbor, teaches at the university, has a Biden for President and BLM sign in his yard (still) and drives a “Smart” car. Pretty safe assumption that he is not a member of the John Birch Society.

Hi Brent,

Re:  'And that is why they wear their masks in their car when they are by themselves.'

Fairly typical horse-puckey from you.  One guy & you then extrapolate that to encompass everyone.

Are you biased?  Answer:  Yes

Jerry Baumchen

[JoeWeber 2,298]

6 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

He is a neighbor, teaches at the university, has a Biden for President and BLM sign in his yard (still) and drives a “Smart” car. Pretty safe assumption that he is not a member of the John Birch Society.

Biden is not yet President, Black Lives still matter, smart cars aren't dumb (like Hummers, for example) and you live near a university. Only item one gives me pause.

[sfzombie13 307]

1 hour ago, brenthutch said:

Shut down Pharmaceutical companies?  Grocery stores? Gas stations? Farms? Food processors?  Banks? Trucking? Hospitals? Power plants? Police? Ambulance services? Fire department? Water purification?  Hardware stores?  Plumbers?  Mechanics?  What about the supply chain required to support the aforementioned?  Pretty soon your complete shutdown isn’t so complete allowing the virus to persist while destroying the lives and fortunes of millions.  Three months latter, when the shutdown is ended, the virus is on the rampage again.

in essence, most of the us could have been shut down, had the government paid us instead of paying the companies who forced us to stay at work.  masks and 6 ft distance has been proven to stop the spread of covid19, so the places that could not shut down could have stopped it from spreading if everyone who was there wore masks.  since most of the population is stupid as hell and had more concern for themselves and their imagined injustices rather than concern for stopping the disease or for others, we are facing yet another lockdown that will do nothing.  thanx for helping the idiots brent.

[brenthutch 383]

23 minutes ago, wmw999 said:

Sample size of one. That's not very scientific, is it. And maybe he's got it on because he's always forgetting it, maybe because he's that concerned, maybe lots of stuff. You're ascribing a motive to him because he's a lefty. I'll just bet you bask in your superiority every time you see it, too.

Wendy P.

That is just one example.  I always make it a point to notice the bumper stickers on the back of cars with mask wearing solo drivers (because it is so ridiculous) and if there is one, it is invariably a Bernie, Biden, BLM, HRC or otherwise Left leaning festoonment.

Crenshaw must have hit pretty close to home given the number of excited responses it has generated.

[Phil1111 910]

31 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

He is a neighbor, teaches at the university, has a Biden for President and BLM sign in his yard (still) and drives a “Smart” car. Pretty safe assumption that he is not a member of the John Birch Society.

 

23 minutes ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Brent,.. One guy & you then extrapolate that to encompass everyone.

Are you biased?  Answer:  Yes

Jerry Baumchen

Well all steel is the same if you're building a bridge, isn't it? One canopy is the same as the next isn't it?

22 minutes ago, JoeWeber said:

Biden is not yet President, ...

Just a slip of the mental keyboard. He knows trump abdicated his duties over two months ago.

[olofscience 420]

7 minutes ago, brenthutch said:

Crenshaw must have hit pretty close to home given the number of excited responses it has generated.

Only an idiot would measure the rightness of his opinion with the number of responses it generates.