Any Covid talk is fine, and since it affects all of us very personally, no restrictions on talking about how the restrictions are affecting you. However, generalizations about swaths of people are unproductive, particularly since presumably all members of that group aren't members of TBC. Placing blame on leaders is likewise unproductive as they are also not present.
And I am reluctant to provide examples out of fear of patronizing, but I feel like it is the easiest way for me to communicate what we are talking about. So to clarify:
Unproductive:
Productive:Elbonians are all morons who want to kill me and all of my relatives. And while not all elbonians are bad, all bad things are because of Elbonians.
Unproductive:I know you were invited to attend an Elbonian event, but I would strongly advise you to not attend because it seems the protocols they have in place are unsafe and I've seen protocols at similar events that are definitely unsafe and can be superspreader events. And remember that something that just unsafe for you has a high probability of being deadly for others. If you can avoid that event, it would not only be in your best interest but the best interest of those you love and care for as well.
Productive:Julius Caesar and his followers don't care about anybody and are solely responsible for [100% of the deaths and misery/all of the unemployment from lockdown/etc.].
Productive:We are currently locked down because of a rule imposed by Julius Caesar, and it is causing a lot of financial duress for my family and a lot of my acquaintances because of this policy as well.
Remember, you attract more flies with honey than vinegar. There are probably few people in this country who have taken more precautions than my family has, and I too, wish that people would take this more seriously. I'm likewise in disagreement with the policies of the state I am in and the country I am in and believe there probably were things that could have been done differently, particularly with the benefit of hindsight, that would have resulted in fewer deaths. However, cutesy nicknames ("Ron Deathsantis", "Gretchen Whitchmer", etc.) and generalizations such as "politicians and their supporters are responsible for a lot of the misery" are obviously contentious statements, and it is impossible for me to see these types of statements in any other light. This type of language is woefully counterproductive, and no matter how angry you are, that anger will not convince anyone who doesn't already agree with you.Romulus has done a good job. New Zeland has had almost no instances of Covid 19, and I think it was because of [policy x]. I think if we adopted [policy x, y, z], we would see improvements.
We are in unanimous agreement that this disease needs to be taken seriously, and so we feel the best thing we can do is keep well-reasoned arguments on-point and away from language that is going to polarize people away from taking all of the precautions that they can afford to take. We, frankly, have little influence on anybody but the people here. Nothing we do will make a governor, much less a president or prime minister have a change of heart, enact any policy, or otherwise be seen by anybody who is not already here. But we can change the minds of the people who are here and, in turn, maybe change the minds of people who are in their direct sphere.
