(Terzide: By the way, those infection rates are not rising, see Dennis Zeilstra fillets gestuntel.)
A submitted opinion piece by Miriam Creusen inspired me to respond. I don't send the piece to the Volkskrant, that's a waste of effort, just read.
If a message is basically rattling and there is no vision behind it that is in line with the (scientific) facts, then you really can't justify it, even if your name is Mark Rutte. As a result, support is also falling apart further and further like grit.
You can then blame your opponents for that. Well, OK. And then? You don't help the situation one bit, I'm afraid. People are only getting worse. I wholeheartedly agree with Miriam Creusen that the questions from journalists are nonsensical. With some sharper journalism, the policy could have become more adequate.
"Unbelievable that we still need so many words when the basic rules have been the same for nine months," writes Miriam Creusen.
She therefore notes with approval that after 9 months of whirlwind science, groundbreaking research and astonishing observations, the corona measures have not grown a bit with the advancing insight into their effectiveness. She actually finds it difficult to discuss that.
The measures now do very little or nothing, except if they happen to negatively affect air transmission, such as at group meetings. Words such as 'air filtering' or 'ventilation', which could get society back on track, are avoided. No journalist even inquires about that. The toolkit (washing hands, distance, no face masks or anyway) is exactly the same as in March, when they said they didn't know anything about the virus yet. Do you really think that knowledge has not grown in the meantime?
If then about 50% of the available knowledge was reflected in the measures, I now estimate it at about 10%.
You can't expect people to put up with being squeaked on that basis. there is no progress, no advancing insight, blinded as politics is by The Vaccine, like a rabbit by approaching headlights.
The state scientists are just as slamming as the "science" journalists of the big newspapers. And as long as they don't intervene and mainly place pieces that fit nicely at the back of their polonaise, the politicians will follow their advisors, the state scientists. I understand that too. Talk about circles. Democracy does not appear to be crisis-proof. It's a really big deal.
