[tlowrimore]

It is important to consider the context within which these suggestions were initially put forth. We had a president that claimed to have Coronavirus under control, that it was no worse than the flu and who openly and frequently cast doubt upon the only expert in the room. Perhaps had his behavior been a bit more tempered, he would have been taken more seriously.

[handmodel]

I posted an article on HN at the time from a Chinese-born Harvard Public Health PHd who was writing in winter of 2020 he thought it could have come from the lab.

It actually wasn't downvoted too much - plenty of people here found it plausible - but the amount of people saying I was stupid and gullible has really stuck with me.

I was told I had no idea how viruses work (this is true enough - I don't have a degree in biology) but still felt extremely gaslit.

[philliphaydon]

I first heard about the lab leak theory late jan 2020, but I also was considered stupid and gullible too for believing it. Also mocked for wearing a mask from singapore to london in Feb 2020. :/

[908B64B197]

> I was told I had no idea how viruses work (this is true enough - I don't have a degree in biology) but still felt extremely gaslit.

You don't need a degree to understand how a virus works.

[s5300]

>but the amount of people saying I was stupid and gullible has really stuck with me.

The amount of people saying something about you on a mostly anonymous internet message board has really stuck with you?

This is, probably for your own good, a decent indicator that you should stop visiting said website.

[handmodel]

I mean you are here now lol

I like this website. I feel like I learn a lot - mostly on discussions about fields I only have outside knowledge of.

Its not like I was personally offended but had the realization that it is possible for large groups of smart people to convince themselves of something even when it is not true (or at the very least, have no actual data to know if its true)

[TMWNN]

>I was told I had no idea how viruses work (this is true enough - I don't have a degree in biology) but still felt extremely gaslit.

Similarly, on New Year's Eve 2015 I saw mention of the Cologne mass attacks on women by refugees as they were occurring on, yes, 4chan/pol/, and checked /r/worldnews and /r/europe to find out more. I didn't see anything, and assumed that it was another /pol/ "it's happening" dank maymayism. I only later realized that German media and those subreddits' mods had all worked to suppress news of the attacks until they could no longer be ignored.

(Cue "/pol/ was right" couplet)

[908B64B197]

> by refugees

Was it confirmed these men were legitimate refugees?

> I only later realized that German media and those subreddits' mods had all worked to suppress news of the attacks until they could no longer be ignored.

Why would they do that?

[philliphaydon]

It doesn’t really matter who was president. The whole western world has handled Covid poorly. Including the current administration. The issue is no one has learned to not trust ccp. They lied about sars and tried to cover it up, and they lied about Covid from day 1 trying to cover it up.

[ghostwriter]

> We had a president that claimed to have Coronavirus under control, that it was no worse than the flu

Could you remind us who was that person who went to SF’s Chinatown to hug random people and was urging others to “come and visit and enjoy Chinatown” during the first critical months of unknown risk?

[tlowrimore]

It was Nancy Pelosi.

[refenestrator]

That makes the media look worse, not better. Their true inclination is to think one thing but they self censored so they wouldn't be seen as agreeing with the bad orange man?

[tlowrimore]

Perhaps. That does not change the fact that when you bloviate, demean and deflect, as did Trump, you will be disliked and distrusted. Reputation matters when making a claim that--in that moment--could not be supported with real evidence. Was it a plausible theory for the origin of the virus? Sure. But, when that message becomes entangled with a larger xenophobic rhetoric, then it just seems like, well, xenophobia. Again, the context matters.

[refenestrator]

I'm talking about the media's credibility. I'll give them "more credible than Trump" as a freebie but after that they have to earn it.

[blacktriangle]

Come on man, Antifa's just an idea - some senile old idiot