(in a discussion about people using COVID mortality percentages as justification to be evil)
…That’s intentional.
If the right can control the narrative – Oh look, the death rate is only (insert single digit number here)%, then (talking point devoid of empathy here) and (selfish follow-up here, often about something ‘the economy’ or some strawman).
By ignoring the significantly higher percentage of people who live but have permanently altered lives and thus won’t achieve their previous potential (be it achievements, earnings, etc), and will instead incur extra costs (health care, etc) – it runs counter to their narrative.
If we counted casualties as Deaths + Wounded as a percentage and ran those numbers it would no longer be a single digit but well into the double digits. A) We don’t have conclusive figures on that yet and B) how many people will still be apathetic to the wounded (remain unchanged)
We live in a world right now wherein generations of veterans, homeless, people in need of treatment, differently-abled people are marginalized and relatively ignored. It may be convenient here and there to use a group (seniors, veterans, etc) as political pawns but by and large it’s not the case in day to day life. Look no further than 9/11 first-responders for a crystal clear case.
Survivors of COVID will be given the bootstrap treatment by the people now who cling to the mortality argument and worship the economy. I don’t have the answers of how to teach love to those fueled by hate….