Sometimes it really isn't that bad
This is going to be a hot take and I'm bracing for comments disagreeing with me but just something I've wanted to say. It seems like every time we get some good news regarding COVID or recently hantavirus or really any outbreak, the CC community immediately says the health agencies (government or otherwise) are lying, the data is missing, we don't actually know enough yet, etc. It's absolutely true the government has done a horrible job about downplaying things and the CDC is not that trustworthy right now so I get it but also sometimes, especially when other agencies are saying the same thing, it would be nice if we could just accept it as the truth, because sometimes it is the truth. Seeing it a lot with hantavirus right now, when literally every agency, even ones that have disagreed with the CDC and have been trusted messengers like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association and Your Local Epidemiologist and independent doctors, are saying it's probably not going to be that bad, everyone is kind of determined to point out a study or a thing that seems like it miiiiight disagree, even when the trusted messenger addresses that very study. Hantavirus isn't new but every time an agency shares what's known about it and that this outbreak is going as they expected, everyone is saying there's no way they're right and this is going to be exactly like covid which isn't the best comparison since covid was new but for this we actually already have decades of knowledge. It's like we almost want things to be bad. I'm seeing people begging for a particular messenger to address hantavirus and then they finally do and say it's probably going to be ok and everyone is mad at them lol. Did you want to hear from someone you trusted so you could get helpful information, or did you just want someone to agree with your worst fears? Same thing when there's remotely good news about COVID, like a promising clinical trial or low case rates. Someone even in this sub will say it's good news and people will rush to point out the million reasons they think it's not accurate.
I don't know what my point is, it just gets exhausting and sometimes I wish this community weren't like this. I love CC spaces for the opportunities to ask questions or vent on hard days but man they get kind of exhausting for always being like this. I have to step away from these spaces sometimes for this reason; not only is it miserable but it ironically makes these spaces lose some of their credibility. I dont know why this is but I wish we could stop being so committed to the worst case scenario and accept that maybe for some things it really is ok to feel a little bit of hope? I think being a bit of a pessimist is a fair response to trauma and gaslighting and harm over the years with COVID but I wish we could find some balance and believe that sometimes it's true that it really isn't that bad.