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Originally Posted by jcommin
If you talk to the animal lovers and vegans, some will tell you the virus was cause by eating animals. They site the virus started in a "wet market". If we would all eat plant based foods, this would have never happened.
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There is certainly some truth to this. There are clear health advantages to a plant-based diet, it’s easier to produce more food per acre of land, etc. The thought of killing animals for food is pretty distasteful to me and I find it interesting that we decry primitive behaviors when it comes to most things yet cling to this rather barbaric and unnecessary practice. I wish more people would lose the boorish macho redneck attitude about it and give it a try. We’d be collectively better off and might benefit from showing a little compassion too - I’ll stop there. Disclaimer: I am and have been vegetarian for over 30 years.
Sure there are some plant-borne illnesses but this is clearly the result of a despicable (and very unsanitary) practice in China (whether or not sparked or “helped along” by something coming out of a nearby BSL4 lab is as yet unknown for most).
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcommin
Some industries are going to change and won't recover for a long time - some of the small business owners will go bankrupt. This is mostly in the service sector. The stock market may take 6 months to a year to recover. The recovery time is probably slower - it won't snap back.
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The only constant is change... I like to think of these sorts of events as much like economic natural disasters… They’re destructive and while it’s hard to bear witness to that part, they do (or can, if allowed to) clear things out and set the stage long term for new life and new growth.
I’m really bothered by globalism and in particular our trend towards depending on cheap slave labor for just about everything we enjoy in our day-to-day lives… It has bothered me for a really long time yet the world continually turns a blind eye to it, putting greed, quarterly profits and selfishness above the well-being of others (not to mention our own national best interests) time and time again. That sort of “me first” attitude (not too different from the one that allows them to rationalize killing / eating animals to get back to your earlier point perhaps...) might finally change. Maybe this will be a wake-up call. I sure hope so.
China is NOT our friend and has acted terribly irresponsibly here. Their after-the-fact threats to cut off pharmaceuticals to the USA, even going so far as to accuse us of creating this rather than owning up to it themselves should be a wake-up call. Much like the Middle East with oil, we really should stop handing money, power and influence to people who ultimately want to destroy us - rather turn inward and produce for ourselves.
Sadly I expect most people in the US and west will go right back to their old behaviors once this sorts itself out - the insatiable lust for cheap throwaway junk will probably supplant any long-term common sense and / or desire to do the right thing. I’m hopeful but cynical. If I’ve learned anything on my 50-odd years on this rock it’s, “never, ever underestimate the human capacity to rationalize anything, no matter how abhorrent”.
I hope everyone stays well. If there’s any silver lining here, it’s that the extraordinary measures being put in place to protect our must vulnerable people (sick, elderly) demonstrate that we do actually have some capacity for kindness and compassion. I hope we build on that.