The Atlantic Report: The Renegade Nurse

I wonder what progressives would say if Kaci Hickox, the quarantine-defying nurse, told the press that she refused to be isolated because:  1) It violated her civil liberties and 2) There were too many Mexicans among her medical staff.

If the progressive reaction to ebola confuses you, it's helpful to think of the differences between where conservatives and liberals believe our threats lie. Conservatives are cautious about external threats while progressives keep their focus on their internal rivalries.

Most zombie movies eventually rely on one trope:  The individual who is less concerned with the ravenous horde outside than sticking it to his compatriots. (One of the reasons Night of the Living Dead is lasting is that it complexifies this trope by making the dissenter's plan the right one.) Even though this character is always depicted as a villain, progressives seem to think he's the hero.

Russell Berman has the report here.

At the heart of [Hickox's] protest is a belief that authorities in the two states were confining her out of fear–both political and irrational–rather than medicine. She has no fever and feels fine, and as public health officials have stressed repeatedly in recent weeks, Ebola can't be transmitted unless a person is symptomatic.

So far, the media has restrained themselves. They haven't come out and said that they support her, but they're willing to keep a spotlight on her.

It appears they're being wise, but I doubt it. The progressive foot soldiers that have been raiding the comments sections all have a similar refrain:  Science has proved that we're safe.

Has it? There's a lot of speculation but surely the powers that be don't have an interest in making it look safer than it is.

Anyway, ebola is a good example of what I call the Nuclear Energy problem. Nuclear fission, as far as I can tell, is our best source of energy. It's even safe--except for one thing:  when it isn't safe it's really, really bad.

You are faced with a big prize wheel. You have a 45% chance of winning $10 a day for the rest of your life and a .5% chance of having your home burn down to nothing with all your family inside. Do you play?

That's what ebola is. What's the latest death rate? 70%? I've heard 90% in the past. It's a horrible way to go, as well. As for how easy it is to catch, well, the information has been so politicized who knows who to trust? Not to mention the fact that diseases can mutate without warning. The wisest decision is control what we can because the alternative is horrifying.

Hickox's defiance toward the quarantines and the progressive support for her are exceptionally short-sighted. Sure, she's within her rights, but what happens if she turns out to have it and transmits it to someone? Those rights will be gone for everyone else because she will have proved their danger. Conspiracy theorists would argue that this is all part of the plan--"prove" how civil liberties endanger the public in order to strip them.

It reminds me of a slogan I use as a manager:  "If everyone acts reasonably, we won't have a lot of stupid rules." While New Jersey's tent in a parking lot was a really dumb move, if Hickox had compromise between the public's concerns and her feeling of imprisonment, a happy medium could have been reached. By insisting that only her happiness was important, she's added more fuel to the prog-con battle.