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80 million sounds like a pretty big number. That’s because in most scenarios, it is. For example, let’s say we were talking about 80 million inches. That’s a lot of inches. In fact, 80 million inches is about the same distance as it is from New York City to Minneapolis. I think that in this context, in inches, 80 million is a pretty big number.
Now, think about the number 383. It may or may not be a large number. We don’t really know because we don’t have any context. So, let’s add some. Let’s stick with inches because we’ve already started going down that path. 383 inches is just shy of 32 feet. It’s just about the distance someone would travel backing their car out of the driveway and onto the street.
383 is about .0005% of 80 million. I think we can all agree that 383 inches is very small when compared to 80 million inches. It is literally a rounding error.
Let’s do the same thing for 156 inches. That’s about the length of a Mini Cooper. 156 inches is .0002% of 80 million.
Using the context of inches, I think any reasonable person would take the perspective that 383 and 156 are inconsequential when compared to 80 million.
Now, let’s change the context.
There are about 80 million people under the age of 18 in the United States. Let’s say that they all got vacksinated against COVID-19. They’re not and they won’t be, but let’s stick with it for our example.
Now let’s say that 383 of those kids had an adverse reaction, 156 of them died. Nobody injured or killed the kids on purpose. They were accidentally injured or killed. That’s a total adverse reaction rate of .0005% and a death rate of .0002%. The math stays the same as our inches example, we’ve merely changed the context.
Change the context of 80 million from inches to kids and it’s still a pretty big number. But did the different context change your mind about the numbers 383 and 156?
The argument of whether or not the COVID-19 vackseens should be forced on everyone mostly follows the line between Conservatives and Liberals. Not exactly but it’s pretty close. Close enough that I can make some generalizations. Remember, I didn’t say the COVID argument was if the vackseens are effective, the argument is if they should be forced on people. And that, I think, follows how people lean politically.
A Conservative would look at those numbers and say that the number of injuries and deaths of kids due to the vackseens is too large. Conservatives would also say that the vackseens are too dangerous and the risks aren’t entirely known. So, vacksinations should cease immediately and stay ceased until they’re better understood, and someone can truly give informed consent.
But they would also say that, if the vackseens are available, the decision of whether to give them to their kids should be left to the parents. In any context, Conservatives believe in personal accountability, and are against government overreach.
On the other hand, a Liberal would look at the dead and injured kids and say, “Meh. It’s only 156 kids. Some sacrifices must be made for the greater good.” Liberals feel that the risk of a few kids dying is a small price to pay to help everyone feel safer.
Notice I didn’t say be safer. Liberals are fine with killing a few kids even if it only makes them feel safer. They would support the government forcing vacksinations on people of all ages.
How can I be so sure? Because most Liberals think that forcing COVID vackseens on everybody, even kids, is a good thing. In this context, they consider the deaths of 156 children to be inconsequential and are perfectly OK with even more kids dying. If they felt otherwise, they’d be calling for a stop to further vacksinations.
Now, let’s change the context again.
Let’s say that 383 kids of the 80 million kids in the United States were injured in an accidental shooting this year, and that 156 of those kids died. That’s an injury rate of .0005% and a death rate of .0002%. The math stays the same as our vackseen example, we’ve merely changed the context again.
The context of 80 million stayed the same but we changed the context of the deaths of 156 kids. Now what do you think?
A conservative would say that, while the death of a child is tragic, the fault lies with the people using the guns and not the guns themselves. Conservatives would promote gun safety education and stronger punishment for people who put kid’s lives at risk. Even in this context, they would still believe in personal accountability and decry any attempt by the government to further erode our 2nd amendment rights.
On the other hand, a Liberal would say that all kid’s lives are precious and that even a single child killed by an accidental shooting is too many. They would call for more gun control. In fact, many would call for the confiscation of all privately-owned weapons. Because it might save the life of a single child.
We have no way of knowing how many instances of serious illness and deaths can be attributed to the COVID vackseens. The government’s ability to do accurate record keeping doesn’t seem to exist, and the reports of kids dying from the vackseens are usually swept under the rug and/or blamed on something else.
We know it happens. We just don’t know how often it happens. But out of 80 million kids, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect at least 383 will have a serious adverse reaction and 156 will die. It may even be many times more than that.
So, let’s talk some more about the numbers 383 and 156. You should know by now that I usually have a reason for everything I do and that the numbers I chose aren’t random. In 2017, which is the last year for which complete data is available, there were 383 accidental shootings of kids in the United States, resulting in 156 deaths. And 2017 is the year that holds the record for having the most accidental shootings of children. Ever.
It’s interesting how, while the numbers stay the same, changing the context tends to radically change a person’s perspective. Not so much the perspective of Conservatives, but definitely the perspective of Liberals.
For Liberals, the lives of children are only as important as how much value they add to the Liberal agenda. 156 children dying of accidental gunshots is a tragedy that needs to be exploited. But if those same 156 children accidentally died from a COVID vackseen? Well, that’s just a rounding error.
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