The rise in mental health issues and gun violence since 2020 is no coincidence. With prolonged isolation due to the pandemic, it's no surprise that both physical and mental health have suffered. Isolation has long been recognized as a significant factor in increasing stress, anxiety, and even aggression.
The rise in mental health issues and gun violence since 2020 is no coincidence. With prolonged isolation due to the pandemic, it's no surprise that both physical and mental health have suffered. Isolation has long been recognized as a significant factor in increasing stress, anxiety, and even aggression.
The rise in gun violence has been trending up for at least the past 20 years. The use of social media has been following a similar trend for the past 20 years.
The lock down caused incalculable damage to humanity. It stole years in development from every child. We will be seeing that damage play out for years.
Covid caused the damage; trumpтАЩs refusal to acknowledge the pandemic exacerbated the problem, as did so many refusing to get vaccinated for political reasons. We donтАЩt know how much worse it could have been without lockdowns. No one will ever know. We also werenтАЩt the only country to feel lockdowns were the right move at the time.
Hindsight is 20/20. Drink bleach, take ivermectinтАж lies, lies and more lies. Trump was president during the lockdowns so by your logic he should be held accountable.
Pinning down whoтАЩs to blame for the damage caused by pandemic lockdowns is like trying to untangle a knot with no endтАФthereтАЩs no single culprit, just a messy mix of decisions, unknowns, and consequences. The damageтАФeconomic collapse, mental health crises, disrupted education, and delayed medical careтАФstems from a global response to an unprecedented virus, not one person or entity. LetтАЩs break it down.
First, governments and health officials set the stage. In the U.S., the CDC and NIH, led by figures like Anthony Fauci, pushed early lockdown recommendations based on modelingтАФlike the Imperial College London projections (March 2020)тАФpredicting millions of deaths without drastic action. These models assumed worst-case scenarios, and leaders, from Trump federally to governors like Newsom and Cuomo at the state level, acted on them. States had the real power under federalismтАФCalifornia locked down hard, Florida less soтАФand outcomes varied (e.g., FloridaтАЩs age-adjusted death rate was lower than CaliforniaтАЩs per CDC 2022 data). Globally, the WHO endorsed lockdowns, and countries like Italy and China set precedents others followed. Were they wrong? Hard to sayтАФdata from Sweden (light restrictions, similar per-capita deaths to some locked-down nations per Johns Hopkins 2022) suggests lockdowns werenтАЩt the only path, but in 2020, fear of overflowing hospitals drove the call.
Second, Trump and the federal response get scrutiny. He declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020, unlocking funds, but left states to tailor lockdownsтАФsome say he dodged leadership, others argue he respected constitutional limits. Operation Warp Speed was a win, speeding vaccines to market, yet his mixed messaging (downplaying masks, musing about disinfectants) muddied trust. Still, he didnтАЩt mandate lockdownsтАФgovernors did. Blaming him alone ignores the decentralized reality and the fact that Biden, taking office in 2021, kept many restrictions going.
Third, state and local leaders owned the execution. New YorkтАЩs Cuomo mandated nursing home admissions of Covid patients, linked to thousands of deaths (NY AG report, 2021), while TexasтАЩs Abbott lifted restrictions early (March 2021) with no major spike. Lockdown severity didnтАЩt always track with resultsтАФcompare locked-down Michigan (high unemployment, 11% excess deaths) to looser Georgia (lower economic hit, similar mortality per BLS and CDC 2021). Local choices amplified or mitigated damage.
Then thereтАЩs society itself. Public complianceтАФor lack thereofтАФshaped the fallout. Some hoarded, others protested, and vaccine hesitancy (across political linesтАФ25% of Black Americans hesitated per Kaiser 2021, not just Trump supporters) stretched the crisis. Businesses shuttered under mandates, but consumer behavior (e.g., avoiding travel) deepened the economic wound.
Finally, the virus was the wildcard. Its unpredictabilityтАФsilent spread, shifting fatality ratesтАФforced a scramble. Lockdowns bought time, but studies (e.g., NBER 2021) show their economic cost (trillions lost) often outweighed health gains in hindsight, especially for younger populations. We didnтАЩt know enough early onтАФhindsight shows schools couldтАЩve reopened sooner (AAP 2021 guidance), but fear ruled then.
So, whoтАЩs to blame? No one and everyone. Scientists misjudged models, leaders overreacted or undercorrected, and people adapted unevenly. The damage was a collective trade-offтАФtrading lives for livelihoods, often blindly. Pointing at Trump, Fauci, or any governor misses the bigger truth: it was a global panic response to a global threat, and the scars reflect that chaos, not a single scapegoat. DataтАЩs still debatedтАФlockdownsтАЩ efficacy remains murky (Lancet 2022)тАФso the "who" stays less clear than the "what."
So why did you say the comment below? That is what I was initially responding to. The reason I involved trump is he was the leader of all the issues you listed.
тАЬAnd of course, no one who perpetrated the lockdowns will ever be charged, or have to compensate us for the lives lost and time stolen.тАЭ
Darrell, I see no value in continuing this discussion. You show no genuine curiosity or willingness to engage in good faith. Instead of constructive dialogue, you resort to dogma and personal attacks. Conversations should focus on ideas and solutions, not tearing people down.
The rise in mental health issues and gun violence since 2020 is no coincidence. With prolonged isolation due to the pandemic, it's no surprise that both physical and mental health have suffered. Isolation has long been recognized as a significant factor in increasing stress, anxiety, and even aggression.
The rise in gun violence has been trending up for at least the past 20 years. The use of social media has been following a similar trend for the past 20 years.
Causation or correlation?
Gun violence in both assaults and suicides greatly accelerated since 2020. Suicides accounted for more than half of the gun deaths in 2021.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
The lock down caused incalculable damage to humanity. It stole years in development from every child. We will be seeing that damage play out for years.
Covid caused the damage; trumpтАЩs refusal to acknowledge the pandemic exacerbated the problem, as did so many refusing to get vaccinated for political reasons. We donтАЩt know how much worse it could have been without lockdowns. No one will ever know. We also werenтАЩt the only country to feel lockdowns were the right move at the time.
Hindsight is 20/20. Drink bleach, take ivermectinтАж lies, lies and more lies. Trump was president during the lockdowns so by your logic he should be held accountable.
Pinning down whoтАЩs to blame for the damage caused by pandemic lockdowns is like trying to untangle a knot with no endтАФthereтАЩs no single culprit, just a messy mix of decisions, unknowns, and consequences. The damageтАФeconomic collapse, mental health crises, disrupted education, and delayed medical careтАФstems from a global response to an unprecedented virus, not one person or entity. LetтАЩs break it down.
First, governments and health officials set the stage. In the U.S., the CDC and NIH, led by figures like Anthony Fauci, pushed early lockdown recommendations based on modelingтАФlike the Imperial College London projections (March 2020)тАФpredicting millions of deaths without drastic action. These models assumed worst-case scenarios, and leaders, from Trump federally to governors like Newsom and Cuomo at the state level, acted on them. States had the real power under federalismтАФCalifornia locked down hard, Florida less soтАФand outcomes varied (e.g., FloridaтАЩs age-adjusted death rate was lower than CaliforniaтАЩs per CDC 2022 data). Globally, the WHO endorsed lockdowns, and countries like Italy and China set precedents others followed. Were they wrong? Hard to sayтАФdata from Sweden (light restrictions, similar per-capita deaths to some locked-down nations per Johns Hopkins 2022) suggests lockdowns werenтАЩt the only path, but in 2020, fear of overflowing hospitals drove the call.
Second, Trump and the federal response get scrutiny. He declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020, unlocking funds, but left states to tailor lockdownsтАФsome say he dodged leadership, others argue he respected constitutional limits. Operation Warp Speed was a win, speeding vaccines to market, yet his mixed messaging (downplaying masks, musing about disinfectants) muddied trust. Still, he didnтАЩt mandate lockdownsтАФgovernors did. Blaming him alone ignores the decentralized reality and the fact that Biden, taking office in 2021, kept many restrictions going.
Third, state and local leaders owned the execution. New YorkтАЩs Cuomo mandated nursing home admissions of Covid patients, linked to thousands of deaths (NY AG report, 2021), while TexasтАЩs Abbott lifted restrictions early (March 2021) with no major spike. Lockdown severity didnтАЩt always track with resultsтАФcompare locked-down Michigan (high unemployment, 11% excess deaths) to looser Georgia (lower economic hit, similar mortality per BLS and CDC 2021). Local choices amplified or mitigated damage.
Then thereтАЩs society itself. Public complianceтАФor lack thereofтАФshaped the fallout. Some hoarded, others protested, and vaccine hesitancy (across political linesтАФ25% of Black Americans hesitated per Kaiser 2021, not just Trump supporters) stretched the crisis. Businesses shuttered under mandates, but consumer behavior (e.g., avoiding travel) deepened the economic wound.
Finally, the virus was the wildcard. Its unpredictabilityтАФsilent spread, shifting fatality ratesтАФforced a scramble. Lockdowns bought time, but studies (e.g., NBER 2021) show their economic cost (trillions lost) often outweighed health gains in hindsight, especially for younger populations. We didnтАЩt know enough early onтАФhindsight shows schools couldтАЩve reopened sooner (AAP 2021 guidance), but fear ruled then.
So, whoтАЩs to blame? No one and everyone. Scientists misjudged models, leaders overreacted or undercorrected, and people adapted unevenly. The damage was a collective trade-offтАФtrading lives for livelihoods, often blindly. Pointing at Trump, Fauci, or any governor misses the bigger truth: it was a global panic response to a global threat, and the scars reflect that chaos, not a single scapegoat. DataтАЩs still debatedтАФlockdownsтАЩ efficacy remains murky (Lancet 2022)тАФso the "who" stays less clear than the "what."
ЁЯТп
So why did you say the comment below? That is what I was initially responding to. The reason I involved trump is he was the leader of all the issues you listed.
тАЬAnd of course, no one who perpetrated the lockdowns will ever be charged, or have to compensate us for the lives lost and time stolen.тАЭ
Once a free thinker,
Now chants the partyтАЩs refrain,
Truth bends to their will.
And still, no response to the actual question. You should run for office.
Darrell, I see no value in continuing this discussion. You show no genuine curiosity or willingness to engage in good faith. Instead of constructive dialogue, you resort to dogma and personal attacks. Conversations should focus on ideas and solutions, not tearing people down.
And yet you continue. And never answer the one question you continue to avoid. DonтАЩt make this about me.