Explaining the Two Sides in the Coronavirus Controversy

You can think of the coronavirus crisis as a drill.

One faction thinks of it as a drill for bubonic plague, coronal mass ejection, or an asteroid strike.

The other faction thinks of it as a drill for a possible future international conflict in which the Enemy releases a moderately-bad virus to interfere with the economy of any nation that's reluctant to sacrifice its citizens. It's similar to the reaction to Kavanaugh's accusers: “If we react the wrong way, we'll see more of this in the future.”

What Does and Doesn't Make the Coronavirus Problem Worse

Things we have reason to believe can spread COVID-19:

1. Airlines.
2. Subways.
3. Cool weather (5–11°C).
4. Lack of UV.
5. Large institutions (schools, prisons, nursing homes).
6. Large celebrations allowed by stupid mayors.
7. Lack of masks.
8. Languages with lots of vowels.

Things we have reason to believe that do not increase COVID-19 deaths:

1. Parks.
2. Beaches.
3. Walkable neighborhoods.
4. Ventilator shortages.
5. Global trade.

We still don't know if mandatory lockdowns are needed. We have reason to believe people were social-distancing themselves anyway. (This also implies that ending such lockdowns won't revive the economy.)