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Mia's avatar

It's disingenuous to lump Stewart and those concerned about the (solid, based in evidence) possibility that COVID 19 was accidentally leaked from a lab with whackadoodle Trump supporters who refuse to believe climate change or evolution exist. The lab leak theory is not anti-science. Lab leaks are how we got such lovely treats as Africanized killer bees (as someone allergic to bees, yes, scientists could kill me if I ever encounter a killer bee swarm.) Only people with simplistic black and white thinking could insist that questioning scientists' lab activities should never happen and that to raise these questions means being anti-science. Jon Stewart didn't villainize science or scientists. He raised very valid points. Scientists are genetically engineering crop seeds that are sterile, for example, to maximize profits to seed companies. What could go wrong there, except wiping out entire plant species? Questioning the way we allow scientists to conduct experiments without more stringent safety measures is not anti-science. It is pro-science. My dad (a physicist) worked in a lab in college that famously accidentally infected many people with polio. This continues to happen because politicians and media figures like you squelch all discussion of public safety. Thank God for scientists. They have made our lives immeasurably better. But without scrutiny and more stringent safety measures, Jon Stewart is correct- they may also accidentally kill us. It's a politically disadvantageous fact, but it is a fact. There needs to be room for nuance in our thinking. We should be able to question things without being raked over the coals by media figures as "unscientific." I mean, I think cars are good, but should be able to question companies' safety standards without being labeled as "anti-car" or question the use of pesticides without being labeled as "anti-farmer." Come on.

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Dar's avatar

Very grateful to all the scientists who helped us. Not so happy that Jon Stewart ranted about a Chinese Lab being responsible. It doesn’t change what happened but it does increase the prejudice against Chinese Americans.

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