Commentary by WorldTribune
An Oct. 31 op-ed in the Atlantic by Emily Oster is titled: “Let’s Declare a Pandemic Amnesty: We need to forgive one another for what we did and said when we were in the dark about COVID”.
Oster opens the piece by relating a story in which her family was hiking outdoors in cloth masks. Another child gets close to her then-4-year-old son and the boy screams at the other child "social distancing!"
“These precautions were totally misguided,” Oster says, then proclaims: “But the thing is: We didn’t know.”
Except, yes, we did know.
WorldTribune.com was among several independent media outlets to have its reporting early during the pandemic suppressed by Google search, Facebook and other Big Tech censors. Such reports included:
• April 8, 2020: Epidemiologist: Ending lockdown is quickest way to ‘exterminate’ coronavirus
• Aug. 11, 2020: Back to school? For teachers unions, politics seem to matter most
• Aug. 25, 2020: ‘Massive disinformation campaign’: Yale epidemiologist slams Fauci, FDA
• Sept. 24, 2020: Twitter suspends author of WorldTribune article on hydroxychloroquine
• Oct. 5, 2020: 2019 flu study by WHO found ‘no evidence’ masks ‘effective in reducing transmission’
• Oct. 7, 2020: Public health scientists: End lockdowns, resume normal life while protecting the vulnerable
• April 21, 2021: Unreported: Stanford study finds masks don’t stop Covid transmission, can be harmful to health
• May 2, 2021: Politicized health? Teachers’ union heavily influenced CDC policy on reopening schools
In her Atlantic article, Oster insists: “Given the amount of uncertainty, almost every position was taken on every topic.”
Wrong.
As AJ Kay points out in an Oct. 31 substack post: "We were never facing a grabbag of completely disorienting situations and unknowable outcomes. Our positions were clear and fully aligned with this list of things we knew by or before March 2020":
• COVID has a clear risk-stratification skewing dramatically toward the elderly
• COVID is not nearly as deadly as once feared
• Panic, stigmatization, mandates, and politicization are anathema to public health
• We have immune systems, and natural immunity exists
• Missing school hurts kids, especially disadvantaged ones
• Isolation of anyone is cruel and harmful
• Loneliness kills
• The media profits off fear-mongering
• Health is not just about disease avoidance
• Masks don’t work + faces are important
• Forcing people to die alone is inhumane
• Lockdowns are human rights violations
• Informed consent is essential
• Bodily autonomy is paramount
• Incentives incentivize
• Shutting down manufacturing causes supply chain disruptions
• Supply chain disruptions threaten economic stability
• Science doesn’t advance by “following”
• Panicked people don’t make rational decisions
As Kay notes: "Acknowledging the truths above would’ve been enough to keep probably 90% of the harm from occurring. But not only were they ignored, they were suppressed, despite rational people screaming them from the rooftops. Perhaps Emily could imagine our surprise at hearing her now say that she didn’t know."
(Oster's op-ed can be viewed here, and you can add to the ratio here.)
Since we did know, every politician, health official, and journalist who disingenuously pushed lockdowns and mandates knowing they were never necessary needs to be held accountable.
No amnesty for Covid tyrants.
And never forget:
The Democrats ruined millions of lives with their Covid policies. Now @TheAtlantic wants us to forget and move on.
They want us to forget about their school closures. They what us to forget what they did to children. Do not forget this. Do not forgive this. Vote wisely pic.twitter.com/hEwfI4xf5C — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 31, 2022
.@TheAtlantic wants us to forget and forgive the Democrats for their Covid response. That’s gonna be a hard no from me. pic.twitter.com/HHoDBjytuJ
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 31, 2022
No... no we won't. pic.twitter.com/Ff2zlrqmoO
— Quite_Problematic (@QuiteProblmatic) October 31, 2022
Free Press International
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