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by astrange 1993 days ago
It's impossible to prove they didn't randomly mutate a virus until it reached its current state, so people who want a conspiracy theory are already falling back to that, Russell's teapot style. But there's also no reason to care if they did or not.
2 comments
sillycon-valley 1993 days ago
> But there's also no reason to care if they did or not.

I would liken it to Chernobyl if they did accidentally release it. If it wasn't natural then it could have been prevented, including the 2 million dead.

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earthboundkid 1993 days ago
No reason to care? If SARS-CoV-2 is a lab accident, the labs need to be shut down and heavily regulated before reopening if ever. There is plenty of reason to care.

Will we ever know for sure one way or the other? That seems less likely. If it is an accident, China will hide it forever. If it’s not, it will be hard to prove unless you find the intermediary host somehow.

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astrange 1991 days ago
Sure, but are you going to shut down a lab in China? I'm not. Essentially any discussion of this topic in English is a waste of time unless we're going to shut down the US CDC.

(Which I've lived next to most of my life and never got sick, so it seems fine.)

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sillycon-valley 1990 days ago
Political pressure is a thing. Just because you can't have a direct effect individually doesn't mean you can't talk about it.

We still talk and try to address climate change even though we can't do much to force China to change.

Also, the facts matter. If they did accidentally release it it they at least should be reprimanded by the world for it.

Movies should be written about it, don't let them forget.

Btw seen Chernobyl on Netflix? It's good.

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