Re: Naomi Klein
"I think you'll find that unlike the terrorist bogeymen, this virus is 100% real, and its effects are able to be mapped and predicted with a fairly good degree of accuracy."
The terrorism threat exists. There are people who want to destroy things we really need and who hold no regard for innocent lives. Those of us who argue against the overreaction don't do it on the basis that there is no terrorism risk. We argue on the basis that the reaction destroys far too much for what it benefits us in regards to the terrorism risk. The same can be true here.
Should we have increased efforts to prevent people leaving self-isolation? Maybe. It depends on where these people are and what they're doing. Should we do this with individualized tracking? Something to consider in a measured, thoughtful way where people have to ask what the downsides are and think about them for quite a while before saying yes. Should we do it with general tracking? Almost certainly not. Should we do it with 1984-style telescreens? Not on your life. All of the preceding solutions could work, so if we agree the problem needs to be solved, we still need to exert effort on finding the best, or at the very least a good solution. Finding a solution and blindly agreeing to it despite all the potential disastrous side-effects is extremely irresponsible.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
