Live data from Hacker News

GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

kotaku.com

131–140 of 167 posts

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#131
post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. People are using potential death counts as a reason for all these draconian measures. And yet, there are numerous other causes of death with straightforward, clear solutions. But we don't shut down society over them. In my mind, the main reasons that for the coronavirus hysteria are media overreaction, especially social media, and the fact that this "source of death" comes as a fast-acting virus, rather t…

But we don't shut down society over them. Can you imagine any possible reason for why that might be?

Sorry, but I'm not really interested in responding to snarky sarcastic gotcha questions. If you have a point to make, make it.

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#132

And modern people wonder how the witch-hunts happened in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The mob-like response to this is sad and deranged... Many companies will go out of business as a direct response to these closings. Millions of people will lose jobs. Before throwing out insults, consider that GameStop probably has to try and stay open, or they'll go extinct. Considering that a retail employee that sells video g…

You must be a troll to say you'd rather save GameStop, a corporation that only has a few years left, instead of stopping the spread of a serious disease.

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to be Elon's fanboy until very recently, but I can't really explain his recent coronavirus tweets, saying that the panic is dumb, children don't get it, or that it'll all be over by April. He's the last person on the planet I'd suspect of not getting the basic math behind the infection, or the basic facts of it.

He should keep these thoughts to himself for sure, but he’s not wrong. Hoarding toilet paper and food staples is dumb. Seasonal flu affects more kids and has worse symptoms than Coronavirus (as of now)

Is your argument that the number of people who die from the flu annually is greater than the number of people in the US who have died from the coronavirus in the past two weeks, and thus the coronavirus news is overblown?

Look at the growth charts on this page: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

About 10x more cases every 8 days. Sure, the medical care for the current number of critically ill people is OK for now, but can it handle 10x that in 8 days? 100x that in 16 days? Have you seen videos of hospital wards in Italy?

But I agree, hoarding TP is dumb.

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a short-sighted view. If GameStop closes, they will go out of business. If they go out of business, these employees will lose their jobs. I see no reason why a GameStop employee can't just quit or refuse to come to work if he/she fears getting infected.

Do you support unemployment benefits for employees who quit because of coronavirus?

Sure, and that might have been a better solution than simply forcing everyone to go on unemployment, which is what will probably happen now.

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#135
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The parasites to our society is the meat packing industry which causes all of these issues to begin with. Get rid of them and not only do you élimante these viruses, you also eliminate the obesity epidemic saving folks the viruses end up killing, and take the world a step closer to fixing climate change.

This is completely off-topic. This virus came from bats and most was mostly likely transferred to pangolins that were illegally killed and traded.

There's a tenuous link. Don't forget China culled something like 1/4 of the world's pig population to deal with swine fever in 2019. There exists regulations on meat production in most countries to prevent outbreaks in livestock passing to humans but these are not 100% effective.

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#136
post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But we don't shut down society over them. Can you imagine any possible reason for why that might be?

Sorry, but I'm not really interested in responding to snarky sarcastic gotcha questions. If you have a point to make, make it.

I'm not being snarky, I'm trying to understand your disagreement with the medical community who have repeatedly advised us "this is not like these other things, please do not compare them to these other things" vs your responses of "why aren't we acting like this with other stuff" and essentially doing exactly what the people trying to get us out of this are saying DON'T DO.

That's my point.

Could I have an answer?

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me see if I get this right: You are describing the response that is backed by every epidemiologist, every doctor, every functioning government in the world, as a "mob?" That's a nice bit of mis-framing to accompany telling me to treat your ideas with more respect. The fact is, you are the one who agrees with the mob. Go to Florida. Enjoy Spring Break along with thousands of people who think the risk is negligible…

I don't live in the United States and I have never gone on Spring Break, so this is again an ad hominem attack, not an argument. As I said before: decisions have consequences. Of course doctors will suggest the best medical solutions for medical problems. That is their job. But they aren't economists and they don't take into account bigger consequences of political actions. Long-term shut-down of the economy will res…

You pluck that one line out, describe it as a personal attack, and then complain about "wrongthink," as if you live in some Orwellian society.

Fine, suit yourself, here is my comment without the suggestion that you go to Florida:

---

Let me see if I get this right: You are describing the response that is backed by every epidemiologist, every doctor, every functioning government in the world, as a "mob?"

That's a nice bit of mis-framing to accompany telling me to treat your ideas with more respect. The fact is, you are the one who agrees with the mob.

The "mob" wants to go to work. The "mob" will line up elbow to elbow to get into bars that are open. The "mob" takes cruises. The "mob" squeezes into economy class on airplanes.

How about this for politeness?

PLEASE stop framing the world's response to a lethal global pandemic as some kind of panic that is not grounded in facts, expertise, or experience.

---

If you want to have a rational conversation, perhaps you should let go of suggesting that the response is that of a mob, as if the people who disagree with you are irrational and panicking.

Remember that you begun this discussion by bandying phrases like "witch hunt." And your tone has not become more rational and balanced. Ponder that when asking yourself why your ideas are not getting the respectful responses you believe they deserve.

If you want to begin again, my point at the top was that companies don't have a right to survival at any cost. That's what you suggested, and you have not spoken to it since.

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#138
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but I'm not really interested in responding to snarky sarcastic gotcha questions. If you have a point to make, make it.

I'm not being snarky, I'm trying to understand your disagreement with the medical community who have repeatedly advised us "this is not like these other things, please do not compare them to these other things" vs your responses of "why aren't we acting like this with other stuff" and essentially doing exactly what the people trying to get us out of this are saying DON'T DO. That's my point. Could I have an answer?

Well it's certainly not "just another flu" so I don't disagree with doctors there at all.

I mentioned it in another comment, but: the doctors are not the problem here. Of course doctors will recommend the best medical advice and I don't doubt the medical consensus. The issue is a broader one: what are the societal and economic consequences of total shutdown? Are these consequences better or worse than the estimated death count of the virus? Keep in mind that this includes death, too. Is there something we can do that attempts to minimize the negatives of both?

These are difficult questions and I don't pretend to have the answers. I'm simply noting that even suggesting an alternate path is shouted down.

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you support unemployment benefits for employees who quit because of coronavirus?

Sure, and that might have been a better solution than simply forcing everyone to go on unemployment, which is what will probably happen now.

Can you explain your rationale behind your thinking? I assume you were being hyperbolic with "everyone", aka 100%. What percentage do you actually think will hit the dole lines? How confident are you in that prediction? What behaviors of yours have changed because of this confidence?

I've seen a lot of "the economy will tank because consumers can't visit shops". I've seen a lot of friends in food & bev lose their jobs.

I haven't seen much in the way of hard numbers. Seems to me that a huge increase in worldwide deaths and a huge increase in sick time absences would be economically worse than lockdown.

Re: GameStop: We Can Stay Open During Lockdowns Because We're 'Essential Retail'

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't live in the United States and I have never gone on Spring Break, so this is again an ad hominem attack, not an argument. As I said before: decisions have consequences. Of course doctors will suggest the best medical solutions for medical problems. That is their job. But they aren't economists and they don't take into account bigger consequences of political actions. Long-term shut-down of the economy will res…

You pluck that one line out, describe it as a personal attack, and then complain about "wrongthink," as if you live in some Orwellian society. Fine, suit yourself, here is my comment without the suggestion that you go to Florida: --- Let me see if I get this right: You are describing the response that is backed by every epidemiologist, every doctor, every functioning government in the world, as a "mob?" That's a nice…

> If you want to begin again, my point at the top was that companies don't have a right to survival at any cost. That's what you suggested, and you have not spoken to it since.

Of course companies don't have a right to survival. I don't care about GameStop the company. I care about the people that work there and their livelihoods, many of which are minimum-wage retail workers. They can't easily get another job.

Post reply on HN