Truly terrible takes you can expect to hear a lot more of over the next 2 months based on painful experience of the climate discourse - a thread.

1. 'Hospitals are not actually being overwhelmed - look at this cherry picked data point I found.'
2. Hospitals are being overwhelmed, but it is OK because they are not being overwhelmed everywhere.
3. Hospitals are being overwhelmed, but we couldn't have possibly known this would happen or done to stop it.
4. Hospitals are being overwhelmed, we could have taken action to stop it, but that action would have cost too much - here look at my economic modelling (which is much better than your economic modelling).
5. Hospitals are being overwhelmed, it is bad, but we can adapt to it by increasing hospital capacity (and no, we will not advocate paying any more in taxes to do so).
6. Hospitals are being overwhelmed, it is bad, but we can innovate our way out of the crisis (but no, we will not advocate for any policy or tax changes to enable innovation except for more deregulation).
7. (Post inevitable lockdown, once infections are falling and vaccines are being deployed) Look, we told you there was nothing to worry about. What a massive and damaging over-reaction that lockdown was.
All these takes will be demonstrably counter to ample evidence and genuinely dangerous in creating a political climate where measures to tackle infections are delayed and then disobeyed.
Anyone who points this out will be accused of being an 'enemy of free speech', wanting the economy to crash, or being part of an elite conspiracy.
And the commentators and titles that peddle these takes and as such do genuine harm will face precisely zero penalties and will engage in no reflection, all the while pillorying those working to deliver the policies and innovation that will bring an end to this crisis.
The only good news from the climate discourse is they will be proved wrong eventually and will fail to halt the sensible and necessary measures required to deliver urgent progress. The tragedy is that progress will be slowed by their relentless recklessness.

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