Anyone in marketing knows that humans have never been more-or-less rational.
Rational thought seems to be an after-market product that got bolted to the side, and can be used under certain circumstances. But it’s definitely not our default mode.
I believe that when times aren’t stressful and the social guidelines are clear, it’s easy for folks to drift with the flow and the flow can look like mass rationality.
But social guidelines have been blurred since, oh, 2016-ish. And times are stressful.
I suspect we’re as rational as we ever were, as a bunch. But we’re also more confused and stressed than usual.
After 22 years and at age 50, he was probably looking at a long, sweet retirement. Now those same Yakima county citizens don’t have to fund those decades he would have had left. And any covid spewing from his lungs are in the ground too, so they are safe from that as well. All’s well…
Two years ago, people would have felt bad about someone dying.
One year ago, people may have felt bad about someone dying. Or at least not laughed.
Today, someone unvaccinated dies and it’s jokes all around.
Our empathy is being lost or just plain worn out. I like to think that the people making this decision and leaving behind a family were not good at family and they’ll be better off without them. That’s probably just wishful thinking though.
A year from now, the people joking will not care if the family is around while they’re joking.
On fundamental level, I agree with you. However, this guy made a point of getting on his RF soapbox to lament that he won’t be able to continue to ‘protect’ the fine citizens of Yakima county, signing off with an insult to the governor. If I were in his family, I would neither be proud nor respectful of such behavior.
That’s where much of this lack of empathy is coming from.
I know what you mean, and I feel the loss of empathy myself. However, this person may have caused the suffering and death of others, both by directly spreading the disease and by loudly dismissing basic health measures that keep the public safe.
I doubt that I would have had much empathy for someone like that even before the pandemic.
I dunno. I can’t speak for everyone. When I first heard this story it said he had 4 kids (not sure of the ages). Empathy for them has been more on my mind than anything else when I see this story make the rounds.
Outside of Covid killing him, he had quit his job, had a go-fund-me, no longer had insurance, and drove two hours and slept in his car to be a traffic flagger when he could get work. I feel about the same for the situation he created as his passing.
I feel terrible for his surviving family and the only thing that would change that is something done on their own merits. For all I know his surviving wife has no means to support herself and begged him not to do any of this.
“Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.”
