Post AlKxaAegh0dWTo9mhU by david_colquhoun@mstdn.social
(DIR) More posts by david_colquhoun@mstdn.social
(DIR) Post #AlKqlZdhRYfdTNBX3A by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T19:36:55Z
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I don't really care enough to make a lot of noise about it but I kind of hate the talking point about "Trump told us to inject bleach" I remember watching the infamous press conference live and what was appealing was that he was clearly unprepared, asking questions that exposed how little attention he'd paid to the crisis. That was bad.But when he asked that question it was the only time I can remember him seeming ... curious about how something worked. 1/
(DIR) Post #AlKr0SwkbpL93kCHOC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T19:39:36Z
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He did not make space for an expert to answer his question or explain what was wrong with his idea. That's also bad. But really he just wondered out loud "hey could this solve the problem?"In a better world someone would have stepped up, said "No and here is why." And everyone could have learned. Though a person with an aversion to being corrected should never spitball in public. That's the real error. 2/2
(DIR) Post #AlKrAOh7H0qmldcUXg by david_colquhoun@mstdn.social
2024-08-25T19:41:23Z
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@futurebird He was visited by snake-oil salesmen, and was stupid enough to believe them.
(DIR) Post #AlKrOBz5KIFXOxbPkm by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T19:43:53Z
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@david_colquhoun Was there someone who told him that? My impression was he heard information about how bleach could be effective for cleaning surfaces (when we still thought this would matter a lot) and, in real time started wondering why that couldn't solve the whole problem. Then no one corrected him. Media pounced on it. And his fans, being reactionaries defiantly proceeded to poison themselves. God that was depressing.
(DIR) Post #AlKrRB4p9llRSKi6sq by davidnjoku@mastodon.world
2024-08-25T19:44:14Z
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@futurebird I've just gone back and rewatched the press conference on Youtube.You're correct; it's not that he said we should inject bleach; instead he was suggesting that they test that as a solution.This doesn't make him a good guy (and I know that that's not what you're saying). We've all had bosses who've made us waste precious time on their hare-brained suggestions. That's what he was doing.Side point: he looked so much younger back then. These years haven't been kind.
(DIR) Post #AlKrhHVwzQSO3T4riq by david_colquhoun@mstdn.social
2024-08-25T19:47:18Z
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@futurebird I think that he had a visit from the MMS lot
(DIR) Post #AlKrtcR71o8WPzhItE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T19:49:32Z
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@davidnjoku Yeah. It was annoying that he'd done no homework.Yet at the same time it was a chance to teach the public a little about why it's such a huge challenge to deal with a virus.But, his leadership stye did not have room for him to be corrected in real time and everyone got very silly. (That's why the uncorrectable leader is a bad one)
(DIR) Post #AlKs9CBaOVhHdZrXns by cshlan@dawdling.net
2024-08-25T19:52:20Z
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@futurebird YES! This has been frustrating me for years.It totally showed that he's the kind of boss that listens vaguely, asks uninformed questions, and gives orders expecting others to figure out how to make things work. But it was the media that spun it into "he said we should inject bleach!"
(DIR) Post #AlKsLhjOw2Emwsdzbk by rehana@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T19:54:39Z
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@futurebird I'm not sure he understands that there's such a thing as spitballing, where something he says might be wrong.
(DIR) Post #AlKsNz71HfuTQxmLUu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T19:55:05Z
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@cshlan To be fair the poor communication around what he said, the fact that there was no clear correction, or clarification put some people in real danger. And like I said, I don't really care about this that much. Or I do care but I recognize that's just me being annoying about it not being "exactly correct" in a way that likely misses the point.
(DIR) Post #AlKsgg0MY6F5fwZtWy by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T19:58:26Z
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@david_colquhoun MMS?This was really early, the people around him were still... mostly competent, sort of.
(DIR) Post #AlKsnUACyMrYygQiSu by ehproque@paquita.masto.host
2024-08-25T19:59:38Z
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@futurebird @david_colquhoun it was that, he also talked about UV light iirc. Also remember the Dilbert guy bending over backwards to justify it as "there is cutting edge technology of which he's obviously aware in which …"
(DIR) Post #AlKsyX2Qcqef4v3fwO by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T20:01:40Z
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@ehproque @david_colquhoun OMG Trump - splaining was the worst. I feel like people do that less now. But for the longest time it was always "no, this is a stroke of genius you are clearly too unformed to understand" for every fart that came out of that guy. Insufferable.
(DIR) Post #AlKtMMe4uvNXnP26BU by rubinjoni@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T20:05:52Z
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@futurebird @david_colquhoun Unfortunately, the same basic mechanism drives a lot of US foreign policy, including wars and drone strikes. Somebody pitches an idea (often having financial interest to do it), and then everyone uncritically accepts it without putting much thought into it. Trump just kept being so incompetent he kept yelling the quiet parts as loud as he could.
(DIR) Post #AlKtfI10M9h4wBmTGy by ehproque@paquita.masto.host
2024-08-25T20:09:22Z
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@futurebird @david_colquhoun I do remember people saying he didn't say COVID was a hoax.I remember the clip like it was yesterday: "Coronavirus (Crowd boos) the new hoax …" 🤮.I do wonder if media was always like that and we just didn't have the means to notice/prove it.
(DIR) Post #AlKtyzvFKpB8cCU7xA by cshlan@dawdling.net
2024-08-25T20:12:54Z
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@futurebird I'd argue it was the media spin that put people in danger.I felt like the people giving the presentation kind of froze and then, yeah, he didn't give them a chance to explain. But the media had all the time and space to explain and went with "omg! Isn't he stupid!" instead. Maybe they didn't think about how his fans were likely to try anything they thought he'd suggested but that's a fault of theirs, too. They were too focused on their fight with him.
(DIR) Post #AlKu98EnH1xfIgSbbs by cosmicspittle@ecoevo.social
2024-08-25T20:14:43Z
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@futurebird @cshlan I think the “exactly correct” is important for the way it is currently being used. By claiming it was a statement (or imperative) when it was actually a question - especially when so easily proved otherwise - credibility is lost. This is kind of a big deal for those people still on the fence. This is when people throw up their hands and say “everybody is lying” and then disengage….which is very bad for a democracy.
(DIR) Post #AlKuCSiLbA0Ffzs7H6 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2024-08-25T20:15:25Z
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@cshlan Yeah. I think I have to agree with this.
(DIR) Post #AlKvyItpUbZR5fcRdY by grumpasaurus@infosec.exchange
2024-08-25T20:35:13Z
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@futurebird @david_colquhoun man I nearly forgot about that where people called to legit ask if bleach could treat COVID https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/26/politics/maryland-disinfectants-coronavirus-larry-hogan-donald-trump/index.html
(DIR) Post #AlKxaAegh0dWTo9mhU by david_colquhoun@mstdn.social
2024-08-25T20:53:15Z
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@futurebird https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/bleach-miracle-cure-donald-trump
(DIR) Post #AlKy55JMbxcwsnvK6q by apropos
2024-08-25T20:58:58.750624Z
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@david_colquhoun @futurebird people tell the most ridiculous lies to you for momentary political advantage and then, years later, when even the liars have forgotten, you still believe the lies. This is genuinely sad.https://search.brave.com/search?q=trump+bleach+hoaxhit #1: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-bleach-covid-19/full text, that snopes includes while deceptively summarizing it to make the lie not sound so egregious:>So I asked Bill a question that probably some of you are thinking of, if you're totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light — and I think you said that that hasn't been checked, but you're going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you're going to test that too. It sounds interesting.talking about using light as a disinfectant, a real product of a real company. You remember this as "Trump told people to drink bleach"
(DIR) Post #AlL3tOxUKyAM4FVIa8 by david_colquhoun@mstdn.social
2024-08-25T22:04:01Z
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@apropos @futurebirdI already sent a link to what matters about this story: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/22/bleach-miracle-cure-donald-trump
(DIR) Post #AlL7ysLGutliSoUgwS by jstevenyork@mastodon.social
2024-08-25T22:49:46Z
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@futurebird As I recall, the way he phrased the question came across just as much a suggestion, with a hint of: "Maybe my big brain can think up things in a couple seconds that probably you haven't through of." Because of his gullible and suggestible followers, pretty much anything he says can be dangerous. He didn't MAKE them drink the figurative poison, but he put the bottle in front of them with the cap off and then looked away.l But that's just my take from memory.
(DIR) Post #AlLuusngAOyQTqVV9k by wilbr@glitch.social
2024-08-26T07:58:06Z
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@futurebird @cshlan I fully agree with all that's above: he didn't say "everyone should go inject bleach and expose themselves to UV-C" but that's not the point, he doesn't have to. He didn't say "let's do a coup attempt" on Jan 6, he just said "we'll march to the Capitol."When he said "suppose that we hit the body with ... ultraviolet or just very powerful light" the danger isn't that he gave anyone orders, it's that he's an authority figure saying stupidly dangerous things.