The media is heavily complicit in the firestorm of fear surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. They blast out the total numbers every night trying to get people too scared to leave their homes or they might suffer a life-ending encounter with the virus. Of course, the numbers they blast out are highly suspect. When the cause of death is monetized (as it is with Medicare and Medicaid patients), the one that pays the most is going to wind up on line one of the cause of death. The COVID-19 mortality rates are actually very similar to the flu.
This post relates to one technique that the media uses to amp up the fear. I live near a major metropolitan center. On Friday evening the local CBS news outlet ran the following headline as the lead-in to a story they broadcast.
“Grocery Store Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19”
Now, I have omitted the name of the grocery store to protect them from being looted and burned. If you do not think that is possible, then you must have been out of contact with all news sources for the last 5 to 6 weeks. Countless numbers of grocery stores have been destroyed for little or no reason. This includes major chains as well as mom and pop outlets.
Here’s the problem that I have with this headline. Since when is this a newsworthy story? Is this the first time in the history of the country that a grocery store employee has become ill? When was the last time that this station ran a story on a grocery store employee coming down with the flu? Keep in mind that the mortality rates for COVID-19 are similar to the flu. In fact, among younger people they are actually lower.
This is insanity. This is fear-mongering at its worst. This story has one purpose and one purpose only. It is to keep the economy shut down. It is to keep people in their homes. This station is complicit in attempting to destroy the economy that provides a good livelihood to most people (at least those outside the political arena).
Why are they doing this? It is certainly not a public service.