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Comment by lebedsalavat | Hacker News Reader

totally agree. Stop living life because there's a chance of dying.

How did "do three things to prevent mass death" (distance, mask, wash hands) become "we're all going to die anyways so i'll keep doing whatever I want thank you."

Is America really that filled with narcissists?

It's called "rugged invidualism" here, not narcissism, thank you very much. And the answer is yes.

Narcissism is usually associated with self flattery or egocentricism, as opposed to selfish self-determinism/control (unless in the form of performant displays of anti-lockdown value-signalling).

COVID inspired woke-scolding is more narcissistic.

That's one trait of narcissism, the main one is thinking that the world begins and ends with you. A virus doesn't begin and end with you (by definition), so any argument about self-determinism/control is a red herring meant to distract from what is happening. Wearing a mask isn't about you, the same way that a virus isn't interested in infecting one host. It about communal safety, not yours.

> COVID inspired woke-scolding is more narcissistic.

I have a feeling you would say the same thing with or without a deadly virus ravaging your country.

> the main one is thinking that the world begins and ends with you

i.e "egocentricism", as mentioned. Are you arguing about the perception of a narcissist, or your own? I'd rather not bite, thanks.

> Are you arguing about the perception of a narcissist, or your own?

"Symptoms include an excessive need for admiration, disregard for others' feelings, an inability to handle any criticism, and a sense of entitlement."

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-...

I get that you enjoy splitting hairs to confuse an otherwise simple discussion, but I don't.

Well, when did "flatten the curve to avoid overwhelming the health system" become "lets close gyms, churches, salons, non-chain stores indefinately but keep open Home Depot, Walmart, liquor stores, pot shops?" Or allowing gatherings for one political viewpoint as ok, but gathering for another as 'selfish and dangerous'? There's plenty of inconsistency to go around. Add in different perceived risks and different risk tolerances, and what u see as necessary can be seen as narcacism by others.

On the face of it the rules are very simple: stores selling essential goods are allowed to stay open, others must close. So taking each of those:

        Home Depot - construction industry is essential
        Walmart - groceries are essential
        Liquor stores -- groceries are essential
        Pot shops -- pharmacies are essential
        Gyms -- recreation is not essential
        Churches -- culture is not essential
        Salons -- culture is not essential
        Non-chain stores -- don't have groceries, therefore not essential
        Political gatherings -- opposed by the opposite side, nothing has changed

Now you can quibble with some of the categories, but the rules aren't inconsistent. They do just happen to benefit the powerful corporations, surprise surprise.

But specifically we went from "avoid overwhelming the health system" to "let's do the things that stops people from continuing to die". And those things involve avoiding human contact unless it is essential, mask wearing, and social distancing. It's not crazy that our government is asking us to do things that make us less likely to die. You know, unless you're a seatbelt truther.

> There's plenty of inconsistency to go around.

"The response wasn't perfect so shut down all current and future attempts to save lives."

Cool.

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