Ed, You’re right. We need a fire brigade. Whether or not we have a proper fire brigade, as you say, is a meritorious debate to be had, but that was never my point. I agree that personal responsibility and individual action or inaction is no substitute for good leadership. However, lacking the fire brigade we need is no justification for further sabotaging public health. Carrying on with your analogy, we should not encourage people to toss lit fags or start little fires that might add to an ongoing conflagration. In this case, we are talking about a group of more than 6 people, but there are also people who do not obey mask mandates and those who never respected social distancing. Bad leadership, an incompetent or nonexistent fire brigade, is no excuse for this behaviour. When it comes to public health, we must all comply with things like vaccination or mask wearing because we all have a vested interest in not dying and not causing others to die, regardless of the competence or incompetence of those in government.Not having a proper 'fire brigade' is no excuse for encouraging arsonism that puts even more people at risk. That helps no one.
Josephine Williams ● 1317d