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COVID-19 Has Blown Away the Myth About 'First' and 'Third' World Competence:
One of the planet's – and Africa's – deepest prejudices is being demolished by the way countries handle COVID-19.
For as long as any of us remember, everyone "knew" that "First World" countries – in effect, Western Europe and North America – were much better at providing their citizens with a good life than the poor and incapable states of the "Third World". "First World" has become shorthand for competence, sophistication and the highest political and economic standards.
[...] So we should have expected the state-of-the-art health systems of the "First World", spurred on by their aware and empowered citizens, to handle COVID-19 with relative ease, leaving the rest of the planet to endure the horror of buckling health systems and mass graves.
We have seen precisely the opposite.
[...] [Britain and the US] have ignored the threat. When they were forced to act, they sent mixed signals to citizens which encouraged many to act in ways which spread the infection. Neither did anything like the testing needed to control the virus. Both failed to equip their hospitals and health workers with the equipment they needed, triggering many avoidable deaths.
The failure was political. The US is the only rich country with no national health system. An attempt by former president Barack Obama to extend affordable care was watered down by right-wing resistance, then further gutted by the current president and his party. Britain's much-loved National Health Service has been weakened by spending cuts. Both governments failed to fight the virus in time because they had other priorities.
And yet, in Britain, the government's popularity ratings are sky high and it is expected to win the next election comfortably. The US president is behind in the polls but the contest is close enough to make his re-election a real possibility. Can there be anything more typically "Third World" than citizens supporting a government whose actions cost thousands of lives?
(Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Monday May 18 2020, @03:03PM (4 children)
Mr Buzz, I'm not lookin' for trouble or anything but when you say...
.. you do realize from where most of those cultures came from, at least up until the last 30ish years anyway?
Oh, and while I'm here...I'm not trying to cramp your style and obviously you're free to do as you please, but please stop with your fallacious sig. I can't do anybody potential harm if I wear a mask. And wearing a surgical mask for protection is not the same as carrying firearms for protection. I know you know this. Have a nice day.
(Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Monday May 18 2020, @03:10PM
OOPS! Sorry, bradley13, didn't see you had basically said the same thing (at least partially) while I took my sweet time typing out my reply.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday May 19 2020, @11:35AM (2 children)
See above about those cultures now existing here as well. Culture is mobile. Has been since it came up out of Africa. And we collect that shit downright eagerly compared to most of the world.
You wear a mask to protect yourself and others? Even if you're not sure if it's actually going to be necessary today? Yeah, you're right, nobody carries a gun with that exact reasoning. Would you like to compare the number of protective uses of firearms to illegally offensive uses? I promise you you'll be disappointed.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Tuesday May 19 2020, @01:29PM (1 child)
First point: I don't know if "collect" is the right word in this case. "Collect" as in lint and not as in "baseball cards", maybe. And "eagerly?" If American history has shown us anything, they certainly weren't and aren't "eagerly" welcomed.
Second point: Hey, I tried. If you have the time and inclination, sure, I'd love to see the numbers.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday May 20 2020, @03:26AM
First point: Dude, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo and Mexico doesn't. We celebrate Oktoberfest and St. Patrick's day. We eat as many tacos as we do hotdogs. We polka your eyes out. We invented the fortune cookie and chop suey. We bring a bunch of slaves over from Africa and a couple hundred years later you can't hardly find music made here that doesn't have strong ancestral influences from the music they brought with them. That shit ain't immediate but it happens as sure as night following day here.
Second point: A CDC (CDC for gun stats? WTF?) report [nap.edu] commissioned by Obama has this to say:
Which puts defensive gun use between ~1.7 and 10 times (Nice variability of data there, guys. Glad to see we're getting our money's worth.) as common as gun crime.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.