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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 24, 2022

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At the start of the pandemic, whenever I pointed out that Covid disproportionately affected the old and infirm and posed about as much risk to young people as the flu, the response from doomers was generally some variant of "Oh, so you think a young person's life is worth more than an old person's? (You monster?)" And I would hastily backtrack and offer some mealy-mouthed equivocation like "Oh no, I'm not saying that, I'm just saying we have to balance costs and benefits... weasel words"

Within a few months, my response hardened into a resolute yeschad.jpg

And honestly, I really don't think that anyone actually thinks an old person's life carries the same moral weight as a young person's. Go to the funeral of an 88-year-old person. Sure, people may be a little sad, but the atmosphere won't be significantly different from a golden anniversary.

Then go to the funeral of an 8-year-old person. People will be distraught. They will be tearing their hair out, wailing and gnashing their teeth. Likewise at the funeral of an 18-year-old or a 28-year-old.

There is no meaningful comparison that can be drawn between any of these and the funeral of an 88-year-old person, and it's absurd to pretend that there can.