Destructive

Catastrophists who are members of Team Apocalypse are overwhelmingly Democrats. They are also COVID-19 true believers,  and when put in leadership positions (e.g., state governors or mayors), develop policies that defy logic; are often nonsensical and contradictory (e.g., why allow liquor stores to remain open while insisting that clothing stores close), and have risks that are far more dangerous than the virus they tell us they fear (e.g., wrecking the U.S. economy while putting tens of millions out of work), Despite clear and irrefutable evidence to the contrary (e.g., morbidity rates for healthy people under 50 are very low), catastrophists believe that everyone who has the potential of coming into contact with a COVID-19 carrier is "putting their life on the line." 

No matter that both the "data" and the "science"—two words that are generally ignored by catastrophists but nonetheless have become a tedious part of their narrative, indicate that statistically, the only people who have to fear COVID-19 are over 65 or 70 years old (actually, data from NYC, CT, MA, PA, MI, and other states indicate that the real age for concern is 80-plus. Yeah, I know, every catastrophist can cite an edge case in which a young person or a child got COVID-19 and became deathly ill or died, but that's a statistical anomaly (much like getting struck by lightning) that cannot and should not be used as an excuse for insane policy decisions.

I sit in absolutely stunned amazement when Democrat governors continue to insist that schools may not open in the fall. After all, why open schools when children have a near zero probability* of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19? I suppress a laugh when big city mayors (all Dems) continue to insist that bars remain shuttered and beaches closed, even as tens of thousands have decided to patronize both. And I get really angry when pampered progressives tell blue collar people (who can't work out of their homes) to just suck it up and get into a food line.

 A wag on Twitter wrote [paraphrasing]:

So let me get this straight, the people who are most likely to become seriously ill or die from COVID-19 are no longer in the workforce.

Let's close down the economy so that younger people who do work [but are very unlikely to suffer serious consequences if they get COVID-19], can't work.

Of course, the catastrophists clutch their pearls and tell us that those younger people can infect grandma. How about suggesting that grandma self-isolate and that younger people do everything possible to avoid contact with her—you know, wear a mask while at home, stay six feet apart, wash hands—all that good stuff. And please, spare me the "what about extended families!?" argument. Only 17 percent of all U.S. families are "extended families." Following typical catastrophist (il)logic, that's a good reason for putting all families in jeopardy of losing their livelihood and income.

But, but, but, the catastrophists exclaim ... Dr. Anthony Fauci!!  Who other than an untrustworthy and purposely ill-informed media have elevated Fauci to oracle status? He's a doc with an opinion. There are other docs with different opinions—and yeah, those docs are equally qualified and equally well-respected in the epidemiological community. For example, Adam Ford reports:

More than 600 doctors signed and sent a letter to President Trump urging him to reopen the U.S. economy, calling the coronavirus lockdowns a "mass casualty incident" with "exponentially growing health consequences."

The letter warns that tens of millions of Americans are at immediate risk of serious health concerns or death directly caused by the shutdown due to issues such as missed preventative healthcare checkups, suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, homelessness, heart attacks, and strokes.

And finally, there's the whole business of "science" and "data."  After watching the bad decisions that have come out of catastrophist leadership, I'm convinced that the largely Democrat politicians on Team Apocalypse wouldn't know "science" if it stripped off its N95 mask, stepped inside the 6-foot social distancing boundary, and said, "You're so, so wrong, it makes me laugh."

Only problem  is that what the catastrophists are doing isn't funny, it's destructive.

FOOTNOTE:

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*  The editors of the Wall Street Journal provide some perspective on the threat COVID-19 poses for children:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that 15 children under age 15 in the U.S. have died of Covid-19 since February compared to about 200 who died of the flu and pneumonia. [emphasis mine] Children represent 0.02% of virus fatalities in the U.S., and very few have been hospitalized.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics last week found that only 48 children between March 14 and April 3 were admitted to 14 pediatric intensive care units in the U.S., and 83% had an underlying condition. The most common was “a long-term dependence on technological support (including tracheostomy) associated with developmental delay and/or genetic anomalies,” the authors note. The fatality rate for children in ICUs was 5% compared to 50% to 62% for adults.

Another new JAMA study examines children treated for cancer at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering. Twenty of 178 pediatric patients tested positive for coronavirus—an infection rate of 11.2%—but only one required noncritical hospital care. Thirteen of their 74 adult caregivers also tested positive—an infection rate of 17.6%. “Together, our results do not support the conjecture that children are a reservoir of unrecognized SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the authors conclude.

But all of this involves numbers and evidence. Catastrophists don't want to consider either. Better the run around with their metaphorical hair on fire making bad decision after bad decision.