For a couple of weeks now Finland has been in a semi-lockdown. Borders closed, schools closed, non-essential public buildings closed, public gatherings restricted. More prominently for a week now the southermost region of Finland, Uusimaa, has had its borders closed from the rest of Finland (you are allowed to cross the border only if you have an acceptable reason for it).
These are rather drastic measures. Particularly, freedom of movement within the country is a constitutional right. Likewise the freedom of gathering without requiring permission. However, it is argued that the constitutional right to life trumps all other constitutional rights, and thus when there's an exceptional extreme situation and the choice between protecting peoples lives and their other rights has to be made, the former trumps all others. Thus, freedom of movement and gathering has been restricted temporarily, to save lives.
This isn't, of course, in any way unique to Finland. It's just the example that affects me personally. Quite many other countries have similar lockdowns, even drastically more severe ones (like some countries going so far as to forbid people from leaving their domiciles, lest they be fined.)
Ok, fine. Drastic problems require drastic measures. It is yet to be seen what kind of long-lasting effect all these measures will have on the world's economy, and whether the cure is actually worse than the disease.
But let's not go there. Drastic measure to save people's lives? Fine, I can get behind that, give or take some of the more draconian measures.
What I cannot really get behind is the hypocrisy.
Countries are so worried about people dying of the coronavirus that they are going to absolutely extreme measures to stop it. At the same time the exact same countries don't give a flying fuck about other things killing lives.
For instance, do you know how many abortions have been made during the current year, so far?
And I don't mean over the span of one entire year. Just the current year, ie. during the last three months?
Over 10 million.
Not ten thousand. Not a hundred thousand. Not even a million. Over ten million abortions have been performed in the world over the span of the last three months.
That's more deaths in a mere three month period than this coronavirus will ever kill, even without the preventive measures.
Do you know how many suicides have there been during the past three months? Over 250 thousand.
Over 600 thousand deaths caused by alcohol, and over a million deaths caused by smoking.
And governments don't give a flying fuck about those deaths.
So much for the right to life trumping every other right.
These are rather drastic measures. Particularly, freedom of movement within the country is a constitutional right. Likewise the freedom of gathering without requiring permission. However, it is argued that the constitutional right to life trumps all other constitutional rights, and thus when there's an exceptional extreme situation and the choice between protecting peoples lives and their other rights has to be made, the former trumps all others. Thus, freedom of movement and gathering has been restricted temporarily, to save lives.
This isn't, of course, in any way unique to Finland. It's just the example that affects me personally. Quite many other countries have similar lockdowns, even drastically more severe ones (like some countries going so far as to forbid people from leaving their domiciles, lest they be fined.)
Ok, fine. Drastic problems require drastic measures. It is yet to be seen what kind of long-lasting effect all these measures will have on the world's economy, and whether the cure is actually worse than the disease.
But let's not go there. Drastic measure to save people's lives? Fine, I can get behind that, give or take some of the more draconian measures.
What I cannot really get behind is the hypocrisy.
Countries are so worried about people dying of the coronavirus that they are going to absolutely extreme measures to stop it. At the same time the exact same countries don't give a flying fuck about other things killing lives.
For instance, do you know how many abortions have been made during the current year, so far?
And I don't mean over the span of one entire year. Just the current year, ie. during the last three months?
Over 10 million.
Not ten thousand. Not a hundred thousand. Not even a million. Over ten million abortions have been performed in the world over the span of the last three months.
That's more deaths in a mere three month period than this coronavirus will ever kill, even without the preventive measures.
Do you know how many suicides have there been during the past three months? Over 250 thousand.
Over 600 thousand deaths caused by alcohol, and over a million deaths caused by smoking.
And governments don't give a flying fuck about those deaths.
So much for the right to life trumping every other right.
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