How is it possible that the USA has about 20 percent of the world’s cases of Covid-19 and a similar share of deaths, but just 4.2-percent of the world’s population?
In very compliant and obedient states, like California, with the first city shut down in the country (San Francisco), and constant stay-at-home orders and lockdowns, things are worse than ever. Why?
Current reporting now says that it is worse all over the country as 2021 unfolds. How are we the worst in the world? We have not done less precautions than in the EU or South America, Asia or Africa. In fact, we’ve done more. More masks, more lockdowns.
In populous nations such as Nigeria, both the case count and the death count are so low that racist excuses are used to explain it. These include the idea that the Nigerians are just too lazy to count the dead (New York Times). Yet the dead are not piling up in the streets.
Other rationales appear to explain how the entire continent of Africa has very few cases of the virus despite the fact that we are told that Africans (and Hispanics) get the disease more than whites. Apparently, not so in Africa (or Mexico).
A gem that cropped up to explain this was the idea that Neanderthal genes in the white population account for the discrepancy among Africa, Europe, the US.
Another argument is that the population of Africa is so much younger and the disease targets the over-60 folks. That might account for some of it, but when you run the numbers, it does not add up. And why are schools shuttered?
Another anomaly is India with a population of over one billion, many of whom live in squalor. With about four times the population of the US, India has half the cases and deaths. How does that work? China is even more in the clear as it continues to run its manufacturing sector at full capacity. Its virus numbers are near zero. The often cited explanation for that is that China lies about everything.
You can look at all the data and there is just one explanation for this anomaly (and it’s an extreme one): mass hysteria creating mass psychogenic illness and hysterical contagion brought about by lockdowns and media coverage highlighting and exaggerating the “pandemic.” These are real psychological conditions.
The public has been frightened to its core, resulting in suicides and public freak-outs. Examples abound on the net showing some poor person getting a positive test for Covid-19 and breaking into tears or panicking despite the fact that they felt fine and have no symptoms.
This is further compounded by panicky government shut-downs in much of the country at the behest of the state health departments.
When the WHO reports that these lockdowns and stay-at-home orders won’t solve this problem because of the consequences of suicides, domestic abuse, and murder; much of the media refuses to discuss or promote this and literally promotes lockdowns instead. Why? Does it sell that many more newspapers?
In addition, nobody in the media reports any of the findings of this important report, linked here, which shows that asymptomatic folks who tested positive do not transmit the virus. The idea that people are roaming around without symptoms passing the virus to every oldster they see is an accepted belief. This apparently false belief is the rationale for these lockdowns. Solid scientific evidence disputing this is not even discussed by the media, government officials, or anyone outside the medical research community. And remember that the people ignoring these facts are the ones moaning and groaning about people who “deny science.” What gives? Why isn’t the media joyous and demanding an end to the lockdowns?
Hysterical Contagion has happened a lot over the centuries, with some funny examples such as the 1962 “June Bug” incident. Here is a simple rundown from the Wikipedia.
“The June bug epidemic serves as a classic example of hysterical contagion. In 1962 a mysterious disease broke out in a dressmaking department of a US textile factory. The symptoms included numbness, nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. Word of a bug in the factory that would bite its victims and cause them to develop the above symptoms quickly spread.
“Soon sixty-two employees developed this mysterious illness, some of whom were hospitalized. The news media reported on the case. After research by company physicians and experts from the US Public Health ServiceCommunicable Disease Center, it was concluded that the case was one of mass hysteria...the researchers believed some workers were bitten by the bug, anxiety was probably the cause of the symptoms. No evidence was ever found for a bug which could cause the above flu-like symptoms, nor did all workers demonstrate bites...Of the 62 employees that reported symptoms, 59 worked on the first shift, 58 worked in the same area, and 50 of the 62 cases occurred in the two consecutive days after the media supposedly “sensationalized” the event. Most of the employees who became sick took time off to recuperate.”
The key to this is the media “sensationalizing” the event. Imagine if this was all the news there was day after day, week after week, month after month, like we get with the Covid fear coverage. What does constant media bombardment do to a population?
Media bombardment was used to create mass hysteria in the US to get us involved in WWI. This was aided by the media, the government, and even Hollywood. And it was a worldwide phenomenon, just like today. Although WWII was a different story, its beginnings in Germany could be attributed to German media bombardment and mass hysteria there.
Momentary recent situations, again promoted by the media, told you that the North Koreans were going to send a missile to destroy Hawaii or that ISIS was coming to get you got plenty of people concerned.
With Covid, there is no other explanation for the major discrepancies from country to country. The nations with worsening situations have the loudest media sensationalizing the situation. Find a country that is not influenced by modern Western media and the cases and deaths drop. China’s low numbers can be explained by state control of media reporting with calm, not allowing sensationalism. The US and the UK in particular have a much more hysterical and freaked out journalist class prone to exaggerating situations and outright fearmongering.
The severity of the virus from country to country is a reflection of media coverage, not the other way around. This explains how the Swine flu during the Obama administration did not get out of hand. The testing and reporting was stopped.
This thesis may seem radical to some, but there is no other obvious explanation for the ridiculous US numbers. Every explanation has been shallow or cliched involving racism, wealth gaps, health insurance, or Trump.
When this is all over and studied, the truth will come out. The mainstream and corporate media, including most local reporting, has done a disservice to the American public by sensationalizing the pandemic at the expense of serious and honest reporting. And it is literally making people sick. —jcd
January 12, 2021
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