Friends, grade-schoolers in Denmark are about to return to the classroom! Can you imagine? That's more evidence that those strong-willed Scandinavians are bucking the trend and either resisting the urge to shut down every aspect of modern life, or they are gradually reintroducing activities that were previously forbidden. The Scandinavians aren't known for making rash decisions either, so the Left, which tends to idolize the Nordic nanny states, can't dismiss their unconventional COVID-19 strategies out of hand... The key assumption that the Swedes and the Danes appear to be making is that rational people can be trusted to act in their own best interest, and in the best interest of society, by "social-distancing" and improving their hygiene for the duration of the pandemic. Their view seems to be that shutting down everything is less effective than if everyone simply exercises common sense. Are they right? Scandinavia has just become the world's biggest laboratory. We're about to find out.
https://www.thelocal.dk/20200406/denmark-to-reopen-schools-and-kindergartens-next-week
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sweden-refused-implement-coronavirus-lockdown-121642208.html
I will be very interested in what comes of the official decisions of Denmark and Sweden to get back to normal.
ReplyDeleteMaybe these two countries have been listening to the advice of medical professionals instead of a bunch of damn politicians, and various fools surfing around the social media net with a lot of stupid stuff.
Dr. Waddy and Ray: We'll see; but I delight in the delicious and ironic discomfort this has to cause American leftists. I'd love to see Andrew Cuomo directly confronted with it. Of course the Scandinavians have been exemplar nonpareil for lefties for ever so long, despite the fact that these blessed countries display myriad difference with the U.S. Do any of them have anything resembling NYC around their necks? No and they may be acting accordingly, i.e. with common sense (which is anathema to the purely theoretical left). Cuomo's policy toward Upstate is that it is indistinguishable from unique NYC and that emergency measures which may be appropriate in benighted NYC setting are fully applicable Upstate. But it has ever been his policy and now his dictate, now that he enjoys very authoritarian power, that "his state is his fief,ehh, state that is, at least for now".
ReplyDeleteWe can look for him to carry over all the emergency powers he has assumed into normalcy despite their efficacy or lack thereof; only the Federal government can stop him; we in NY are not citizens, but his subjects. But we are still Americans Mr. President!
Ray, yes! The Danes and the Swedes (and now the Czechs and the Austrians) are not stupid. They would not be cycling down the pandemic hysteria unless they thought it was safe and prudent to do so. We shall see. It's an open question whether the most extreme measures were ever effective anyway. Just observing extra caution, in hand washing and staying home when we're symptomatic, may have done far more than shutting down the economy did.
ReplyDeleteJack, I suspect even Cuomo will back off his lockdown measures fairly soon. He enjoys bossing us around, sure, but even he has to answer to the business community and to his mega-donors, who no doubt would like to get back to work!
Dr. Waddy, I don't share your thoughts about Cuomo and backing off his lockdown measures. I believe he will further go into say end of May-early June. Wanna take bets? grin
DeleteGreat comment, Jack! grin.
Ha ha. We could have a friendly wager, sure, but I fear in the end we'd both be proven right (and wrong): some restrictions will last until June, and others won't.
ReplyDelete