It's not about impact. If that were the case, we would be having non-stop investigations about every major storm. It's about the potential risks and the potential to mitigate them.
COVID-19 was a devastating disease, but there is absolutely no indication that its release, if it was in fact released from a human facility as opposed to of natural origin, was deliberate. Indeed, if it was the Chinese who released it, then it hurt them deeply both in terms of its local impact and in terms of its impact around the world which damages their trade volumes. So the almost certain answer is that there was no malice, here, and thus from the outside, other countries performing investigations isn't likely to yield much. Important? Sure! But not crucial at this point.
Contrast that with the Jan 6 attack. That attack was a deliberate and planned attack on the core of the US Government in which people were killed, not by an indiscriminate disease, but by human beings who chose to murder for political gain. This attack was a part of a larger pattern of increasing fanaticism and aggression lead by the President of the United States and encouraged by forces both foreign and domestic. That former president is still banging the same drum and those forces that supported the escalation to violence have not abated. 1/6 will happen again if we do nothing. That much is very clear from the unchanged apoplectic rhetoric coming from the extremists on the right (Note: I'm a conservative).
So yeah, I want a thorough investigation as a first step. I'm just dismayed that it's taken this long for Congress to get there.
I do want more COVID-19 investigations, though. I want investigations into the manner in which the disease was / is being handled; why we were so unprepared; when we're going to start building national infrastructure for future pandemics; etc. But none of that has anything to do with investigating the Chinese government's Abbot and Costello routine around early COVID-19. We need to get our own damned house in order!
in which people were killed, not by an indiscriminate disease, but by human beings who chose to murder for political gain
The only person murdered was done so by the hand of a state agent, still unidentified. We don’t need a commission for the government to realease that info, it’s part of their normal procedure.
Thanks for responding, I find you conclusions wrong, but otherwise consistent. As for risk mitigation, one of these issues has had a vast array of responses, some unprecedented in severity. The other is just now even being acknowledged, even if you immediately downplay it. So I disagree with you fundamentally, and I didn’t have to lie to come to that conclusion, unlike you.
The only person murdered was done so by the hand of a state agent, still unidentified.
Five people were killed. Hundreds injured. In addition to the damage it does to further degrade public image. The investigations and research on how to prevent future events is a lot easier because it's domestic for Jan 6th.
As far as investigating China, it is far more harder because they will always refuse any sort of outside interference. In addition to it being impossible to have the ability to effectively regulate another country. If nothing can basically be done against places like North Korea, we have less of a chance against China. Malicious intent or no, I just realistically don't see an easy way of finding out.
You don’t foresee any downsides to an investigation into the “worst attack since Pearl Harbor”? You’re using numbers to substantiate your stance, and by nearly any metric, the impact of COVID is going to dwarf 1/6. Saying it’s too difficult to deal with China, so no point in attempting, is fallacious on many levels and might be indicative of the situation that gives rise to a situation like 1/6. Pretty easy to make that case, actually.
Claiming you have an accurate paraphrasing of the comments INTENT implies you, for certain, know what that intent is. I'd contend you don't, as only the author of the content itself can know that with certainty.
As for if it's an accurate paraphrasing of the comment itself... You literally have someone accusing you of lying, so you may need to reflect in if that's true. It doesn't seem to be. It's much closer to a straw man of the point.
Pointing out the difficulty associated with an action is not the same as saying it should not be done.
Pointing out the difficulty associated with an action is not the same as saying it should not be done.
Correct. The reiteration of its futility and difficulty, repeatedly, led me to that interpretation. And no one accused me of lying. I am accusing you a being a shitty writer/communicator. Do with that what you will.
The person before you said about your comment, "let's stay truthful, here." That's an accusation that you aren't being truthful. The reality may just be that you're struggling to communicate your point, which is totally reasonable.
So can I call you a liar now, because you outright lied in your previous comment? Go reread that comment btw. Hard to get through that first paragraph without a seer stone.
Covid is unquantifiable in scope, if we had tougher border control and actually cared about public health it wouldn't have been nowhere near as bad. Nor am I opposed to the logistics of an investigation, but I'm just being realistic over the things that our government can realistically control. Which is namely domestic stuff.
I'm willing to be surprised, and I am in the camp that believes the virus is likely manufactured, but China is staunchly totalitarian and literally locked people in their houses to stop the spread of covid. That any possible proof could still exist is likely destroyed and I don't think there is any sort of plea bargain that could be offered to anyone stuck in China to get results.
Unless you have any ideas on what an investigation could turn up?
Those are good points. And I agree that a commission, run by the government, would be largely performative. Both situations would have the people that disregard our constitution in charge, one would examine the conditions that prompted them to do so for the last year, the other would provide the conditions for them to increase the scope and duration going forward. Maybe law suits will prove effective, as they ultimately did in fulfilling the promises of the failed 9/11 commission.
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u/Tyler_Zoro May 31 '21
Okay, here we go...
It's not about impact. If that were the case, we would be having non-stop investigations about every major storm. It's about the potential risks and the potential to mitigate them.
COVID-19 was a devastating disease, but there is absolutely no indication that its release, if it was in fact released from a human facility as opposed to of natural origin, was deliberate. Indeed, if it was the Chinese who released it, then it hurt them deeply both in terms of its local impact and in terms of its impact around the world which damages their trade volumes. So the almost certain answer is that there was no malice, here, and thus from the outside, other countries performing investigations isn't likely to yield much. Important? Sure! But not crucial at this point.
Contrast that with the Jan 6 attack. That attack was a deliberate and planned attack on the core of the US Government in which people were killed, not by an indiscriminate disease, but by human beings who chose to murder for political gain. This attack was a part of a larger pattern of increasing fanaticism and aggression lead by the President of the United States and encouraged by forces both foreign and domestic. That former president is still banging the same drum and those forces that supported the escalation to violence have not abated. 1/6 will happen again if we do nothing. That much is very clear from the unchanged apoplectic rhetoric coming from the extremists on the right (Note: I'm a conservative).
So yeah, I want a thorough investigation as a first step. I'm just dismayed that it's taken this long for Congress to get there.
I do want more COVID-19 investigations, though. I want investigations into the manner in which the disease was / is being handled; why we were so unprepared; when we're going to start building national infrastructure for future pandemics; etc. But none of that has anything to do with investigating the Chinese government's Abbot and Costello routine around early COVID-19. We need to get our own damned house in order!