[ryandrake]

I think we are going to find, when the dust settles and this whole era gets studied, that we pinned way too much hope on vaccines and masks and way, WAAY too little was invested in 1. Overall health / Not being obese, 2. General hygiene and staying home when sick, and 3. Avoiding crowds and indoor gatherings. And I say this as one of HN’s huge and unashamed vaccine cheerleaders.

Everyone wants that easy pill (or shot) to “make it go away”. Or the magical mask talisman to wear and ward off evil. But nobody wants to actually make a permanent lifestyle change to end this.

If COVID at the very least serves as a REAL wake up call about our obesity crisis, it would be a miracle outcome for public health.

[falcolas]

If we couldn't get people to wear masks in public regularly, how can we expect them to make an even more significant and life impacting change that could better their health?

[caeril]

I'm not sure, but since we've already crossed the Rubicon of denying free association and ability to conduct business on the basis of arbitrary medical status, there's no longer any reason we can't deny the right to purchase calories to those who have clearly consumed too many of them.

BMI mandates and passports to grocery stores and restaurants: yes it's evil, but we've already decided that this particular abrogation of rights is a moral good. So, fuck it. Starve the fatties. The precedent is set, we can do whatever we want if we scream "public health" loudly enough.

[falcolas]

> we've already crossed the Rubicon of denying free association and ability to conduct business

We’ve always had this. And its been strongly protected for centuries. And this isn't even the first time its been applied to health (lepers, plague victims, tuberculosis, measles, etc).

Its the right of the business to not associate with someone, for pretty much any reason. A person, outside of government owned businesses, has no inherent right to associate with a business.