Author Topic: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism  (Read 709 times)

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Offline DUmpDiver

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How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« on: April 11, 2021, 07:09:24 AM »
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016291449

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Judi Lynn (146,480 posts)


How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
APRIL 9, 2021

BY KENN ORPHAN

One thing this pandemic has demonstrated in stark terms is class struggle. Those people deemed essential, though often applauded in public, have been treated as expendable. In truth, they were always treated this way. But this last year has made this struggle visible for anyone paying attention.

The medical staff, grocery clerks, janitors, sanitation workers, transportation services, delivery people, all of them have been the ones on the front lines, not only of potential exposure to a lethal pathogen, but to abuse from privileged customers, clients or patients who feel their rights have somehow been violated for being asked to simply wear a mask. There are countless videos of people (mostly white and middle to upper middle class) berating workers. And this often takes on a racist tone.

Over the past year we have witnessed people throwing groceries at workers, spitting at them, calling them names. In various states, from California to Texas to Florida, there have been mobs that invaded stores like Target or Home Depot without masks and carrying anti-masker and “Covid is Hoax” signs, even physically attacking other customers and workers. And in one recent instance in British Columbia an older white male customer was asked to wear a mask in a pizza restaurant. He answered angrily: “are you f**king Middle Easter or where are you from?” Concluding with “I’m worth $50 million, you’re worth zero.” He and his companion then went on to assault a teenage customer outside tearing his mask from his face.

How disconnected from reality could one be to think that being asked to wear a mask in a store is a violation of ones’ rights? And how privileged does one have to be to think dressing down a worker is somehow a noble expression of those supposed rights? And this gets to the crux of the problem: capitalism.

More:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/09/how-the-pandemic-laid-bare-the-cruelties-of-capitalism/

Because there's no people against wearing masks in socialist countries?

But I rowed this one over for this post:

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rampartc (3,498 posts)

1. this is why our teachers are treated so poorly

if they were paid commensurate with their education and value to society, perhaps the parents would not treat them like babysitters.

How can we pay teachers based on their "value to society" when we have no means to measure it since teachers are paid based on how many years they've worked, not results?




Offline SSG Snuggle Bunny

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2021, 08:52:16 AM »
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How disconnected from reality could one be to think that being asked to wear a mask in a store is a violation of ones’ rights?

How much of an arrogant narcissist do you have to be to think you can wave your hand and make demands of other people without supporting your claim in matters of evidence or law?

Wearing a mask is not only useless and an infringement on my person, but insufferable ****s like you beg to be put in your place.

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rampartc (3,498 posts)

1. this is why our teachers are treated so poorly

if they were paid commensurate with their education and value to society, perhaps the parents would not treat them like babysitters.

I think the last year has proven just how disposable teachers truly are.

Why go into the world and pay taxes in order to pay for a babysitter that allows you to go into the world and pay taxes?
« Last Edit: April 11, 2021, 08:57:10 AM by SSG Snuggle Bunny »
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Offline SSG Snuggle Bunny

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2021, 09:38:31 AM »
Okay, I actually went and read the entire article.

Synopsis: some guy (of debateable existence) was rude, ergo an entire socioeconomic system is morally bankrupt.

I'm not sure how socialism would cure this alleged classism, because every Marxist society is also divided into classes, only they substitute party membership for material well being.
According to the Bible, "know" means "yes."

Offline SVPete

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2021, 09:58:01 AM »
1. General speaking, generalizations don't work, in general.

2. The millions of people wearing mask because they believe they are absolutely protective or so that government no-thought moronicrats don't hassle their local stores, favorite restaurants, or their employer won't make the front page of the NYT or be on the 6 O'Clock News or get a feature article in Salon or TDB. People lack that are in the vast majority, but because stories about them won't sell advertising they are invisible to ignorami like DUpipo.

3. How in Hades are rando rude idiots emblematic of capitalism? :thatsright: Do Venezuela, Cuba, and China have an acute shortage of rude people? :thatsright:  :tongue:
If, as anti-Covid-vaxxers claim, https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2021/robert-f-kennedy-jr-said-the-covid-19-vaccine-is-the-deadliest-vaccine-ever-made-thats-not-true/ , https://gospelnewsnetwork.org/2021/11/23/covid-shots-are-the-deadliest-vaccines-in-medical-history/ , The Vaccine is deadly, where in the US have Pfizer and Moderna hidden the millions of bodies of those who died of "vaccine injury"? Is reality a Big Pharma Shill?

Millions now living should have died. Anti-Covid-Vaxxer ghouls hardest hit.

Offline ADsOutburst

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2021, 11:15:25 AM »
...
3. How in Hades are rando rude idiots emblematic of capitalism? :thatsright: Do Venezuela, Cuba, and China have an acute shortage of rude people? :thatsright:  :tongue:
1. Something bad happened.

2. ???

3. Rabble, rabble, mumble, something random, grrr, something...

4. A toaster.

5. ???

6. Capitalism is to blame.

7. Profit.

Offline Zathras

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2021, 02:38:04 PM »
Okay, I actually went and read the entire article.

Synopsis: some guy (of debateable existence) was rude, ergo an entire socioeconomic system is morally bankrupt.

I'm not sure how socialism would cure this alleged classism, because every Marxist society is also divided into classes, only they substitute party membership for material well being.

Since this pandemic originated in China, a socialist country, you could say that socialism allowed this pandemic to spread throughout the world.
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Offline landofconfusion80

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2021, 07:22:58 PM »
I always thought the pandemic exposed rogue liberal governors and an overbearing federal government,  but what do I know...
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20. absolute bullshit. the cave is unspeakably vile.

I don't know how any of you can live with yourselves.

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Offline ExGeeEye

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #7 on: April 12, 2021, 03:42:09 AM »
I always thought the pandemic exposed rogue liberal governors and an overbearing federal government,  but what do I know...

hi5 because there isn't a "Like" button.
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Offline USA4ME

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #8 on: April 12, 2021, 07:57:35 AM »
I always thought the pandemic exposed rogue liberal governors and an overbearing federal government,  but what do I know...

True.

I also didn’t see leftist countries developing a vaccine.

.
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Offline enslaved1

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #9 on: April 12, 2021, 09:26:03 AM »
Over the past year, we have also seen riots around the world over George Floyd, burning and looting of businesses and government buildings over George Floyd, "autonomous" anarchist takeovers of sections of cities with predictable results of violence, assaults, and realization of how much the government and capitalism actually provides, plus assaults on people wearing red hats, damage to vehicles of people with decor supporting certain presidents.  There are also plenty of videos and accounts of not only random citizens throwing fits, verbally and sometimes physically assaulting people for not wearing masks, but also police arresting citizens and politicians jailing citizens for opening businesses and churches or not following the overbearing laws set down (even here in Texas, although the salon owner who opened up and defied lockdown just got a court decision in her favor).  So what exactly do these events lay bare the cruelties of?
Romans 6:17-18 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Offline SVPete

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Re: How the Pandemic Laid Bare the Cruelties of Capitalism
« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2021, 09:27:37 AM »
True.

I also didn’t see leftist countries developing a vaccine.
.

It didn't get much coverage from the Trump-Hatred-possessed US MSM, but the "Sputnik V" vaccine was produced in Russia. It's kind of faded away, so I wonder if its effectiveness was less than stellar, or if the company that developed it didn't/couldn't get a partner to mass-produce it.

In China, Sinovac and Sinopharm have produced and are mass-marketing traditional weakened virus vaccines. They've been selling a lot to countries that were late to buying vaccines. One of their major customers is Chile, which is among the most vaccinated countries in the world. Unfortunately, it's starting to look like the Sinovac/Sinopharm vaccine Chile is using is not very effective against whatever is in circulation in Chile. Chengdu-based Clover Biopharmaceuticals has a more modern vaccine that uses technology similar to J&J's and AZ's, but it started Phase 2/3 testing about 3 weeks ago (approval for use would be about a year away).

Meanwhile, the US and UK demonstrated how companies partnering with government could develop, fully test, approve, and mass distribute vaccines, including logistics and supporting materials like needles, syringes, and disposables used in administering the shots. Note the words "partnering" and "including". OWS, in the US, did not take over or use the DPA to mandate the development, testing, or production. OWS enabled those processes and guaranteed purchases, conditional on approval. OWS also contracted for - and helped expand production capacities - the necessaries that a mass vaccination effort would need but the vaccine companies don't produce. OWS also coordinated distribution logistics to facilities chosen by the states, partnered with some drugstore chains for distribution and injections at nursing homes, explicitly permitted pharmacists and pharmacy techs to do the injections ... OWS was like someone familiar with large-scale full-scope projects organized and ran it.

OWS was a full-scale vaccine development, testing, production, distribution, and vaccination project, on a scope and scale HilLIARy and LIEden could not imagine, and which they would knee-jerkingly reject because government's role would be limited.

That was a long way of getting around to sating that US MSM would not give a lot of coverage to Russian and Chinese vaccines because of how those efforts would pale in comparison to Trump's OWS.
If, as anti-Covid-vaxxers claim, https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2021/robert-f-kennedy-jr-said-the-covid-19-vaccine-is-the-deadliest-vaccine-ever-made-thats-not-true/ , https://gospelnewsnetwork.org/2021/11/23/covid-shots-are-the-deadliest-vaccines-in-medical-history/ , The Vaccine is deadly, where in the US have Pfizer and Moderna hidden the millions of bodies of those who died of "vaccine injury"? Is reality a Big Pharma Shill?

Millions now living should have died. Anti-Covid-Vaxxer ghouls hardest hit.