Scott Tibbs
COVID-19 fearmongers should apologize
By Scott Tibbs, May 4, 2022
Back in April and May of 2020, many people (including me) warned that locking down the economy for an extended period of time would lead to deaths of despair: Alcoholism, suicide and drug addiction and overdoses. Not only that, but the effect of depression and anxiety on mental health bleeds over to physical health. Lockdowns were unsustainable over the long term and would cost lives.
We were right all along, and everyone knew it at the time. But the COVID-19 fearmongers refused to allow any dissent against their panic porn, and accused skeptics of being cold-hearted murderers, willing to sacrifice lives to the almighty dollar. They viciously attacked Christians especially, accusing us of being hypocrites or worse. These attacks were always lies. Let me repeat that: These attacks were
always lies.
Over the last two years, those of us who warned that overly aggressive quarantine and "stay at home" orders would cost lives have been proven right over and over and over again. And we need to be very clear about this: The people who called us murderers knew we were right from the very beginning. Drug overdoses spiked dramatically during the pandemic, both
locally and
nationally.
Suicide rates spiked.
Alcoholism increased significantly, leading to an increase in
alcohol-related deaths.
Everyone knew early in the lockdowns that this was not a debate about lives against the economy. This was always about lives against lives, and which policy would save the most lives while doing the least amount of harm. And as I said many times back then, I thought at the time that
temporary lockdowns and "stay at home" orders were wise until we learned more about how to deal with the new virus and to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed.
But these policy decisions were never easy, and we could have come together as a country to fight a common enemy. We might not have agreed on specific solutions, but we could have recognized that we were in this together and that both sides were operating in good faith. But lockdown supporters refused to recognize this and demonized those who had a different opinion on policy. This was a terrible failure that deepened our political and cultural divisions and destroyed trust in the public health establishment and the mainstream news media. It never had to be this way.
If the COVID-19 fearmongers have even the smallest shred of integrity, honesty and human decency, they will apologize for their reckless and fraudulent attacks on lockdown skeptics. If they will not apologize for moral reasons, they should apologize to repair their own wounded credibility. I am not naïve: I know this will not happen. Therefore, we should never let the American people forget how much we lost due to overly restrictive lockdowns.
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