[PLUG-TALK] Covid-19 ... [2]

[Tomas Kuchta]

On Mon, Mar 8, 2021, 12:26 Paul Heinlein <heinlein at madboa.com> wrote:

> On Mon, 8 Mar 2021, james at bertelson.me wrote:
>
> > On 2021-03-08 11:11, Paul Heinlein wrote:
> >> In other words, a large percentage of Lincoln County's population has
> >> little interaction with the medical community; poverty and transiency
> >> have that effect.
> >>
> >> The county may lean conservative, and I would not be surprised that
> >> plays a role, but I guess I worry about knee-jerk condescension
> >> becoming part of the discussion.
> >
> > The tacit implication here is that knee-jerk condescension based on
> their
> > political ideology is okay while the same based on their economic strata
> is
> > not.
>
> Political ideology per se is neither good nor bad. At its best, it's
> an authentic expression of our personal priorities and how to enact
> them.
>
> These days, however, when political ideology interacts with medical
> technology, the motivator is less often authentic self-expression and
> more often a thoughtless tribalism that willingly follows convenient
> disinformation.
>
> I'll admit to being far more patient with people whose real-world
> social history have undermined institutional trust than with those who
> cannot be bothered by science because it's tribally inconvenient.
>
> Call that "knee-jerk condescension" if you will. The name calling
> doesn't bother me.
> .


Nor it should be avoided in conversation IMHO - the ideology in the
conversation above trumpets - self care, responsibility and reliance -
which implies - self education and real hard working effort to use what
ever is available efficiently - including state resources, education and
health care. I do not see any difference between taking fruits of the land
and learning in community college, etc.

Where this fails is where it mingles up with exploitation of type: keep the
poor uneducated, sick, divided, without options ==> no way out ==>
exploitable at low cost/effort.

In typical fashion - when things get wrong - call in the big state/nation
guns to suppress the fire.

Clearly, this is not black/D/L or white/R/R problem. The solution requires
frank discussion and discord without partisanship and fear mongering. If
those poor people are to ever get better, it will take generation sustained
effort on their side + a lot of helping hands --> and some folks are going
to either - loose power over them - or at least will have to care/work for
them. I am not sure that will be without political/electorate/economic
struggle of sort.

-T

>