Discourse Blog

Discourse Blog

Share this post

Discourse Blog
Discourse Blog
Nobody Needs to Hear From Nate Silver on This
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
User's avatar
Discover more from Discourse Blog
A daily politics, media criticism, and culture newsletter from the left. Worker-owned, subscriber-supported, and free from corporate influence. Est. 2020.
Over 22,000 subscribers
Already have an account? Sign in

Nobody Needs to Hear From Nate Silver on This

You do not need to say everything that comes to your mind!

Jack Mirkinson's avatar
Jack Mirkinson
May 04, 2021

Share this post

Discourse Blog
Discourse Blog
Nobody Needs to Hear From Nate Silver on This
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share
Screenshot: ABC News

I don't know what it is about our modern society that some people think they need to weigh in on literally everything that is going on at all times. But these kinds of people definitely exist! To wit, poll person Nate Silver, who spews opinions everywhere in the manner of a World War II machine gunner (that weird FiveThirtyEight cartoon fox is the one next to him holding the bullets) or someone vomiting into a toilet:

Twitter avatar for @NateSilver538
Nate Silver @NateSilver538
It's very difficult to know what constitutes rational behavior during a pandemic like COVID-19 so there's a a limit to how much you might judge anybody's choices. But I'd argue one sign of *irrationality* is if a person doesn't change their behavior much after being vaccinated.
2:40 PM ∙ May 4, 2021
6,277Likes626Retweets

To be fair to Silver, he is tapping into what has quickly become one of the most tiresome features of our present discourse: are people who still wear masks STUPID and WRONG???

I get where this view is coming from, I really do: the science tells us that it's OK to walk around without a mask outdoors, and if you're vaccinated, you should feel pretty protected wherever you go. If you're online, you have undoubtedly been greeted by people loudly proclaiming that they will be wearing masks until the end of time no matter what anyone says. Those people are annoying, as are the sometimes contradictory or overcautious signs from political leaders. But look around. New York is lifting virtually all of its COVID restrictions in about two weeks, even though huge parts of the population aren't vaccinated. The cautious brigade is not really winning this argument.

Nate Silver has been loudly having opinions about COVID since the pandemic started—like his opinion in early April 2020 that New York City appeared to be turning a corner based on some Google data. (New York City was indeed turning a corner, but it was a corner that led into a giant mass grave.) So color me not too shocked that he is back at it again today.

Nate...if other people are just doing their own thing and not firebombing the CDC or blocking your way into the restaurant, then truly, who cares? As a vaccinated person, I have been walking around without a mask outside for most of the past week. In the beginning, it was a little weird, and then, presto, it was fine. If someone had pulled a knife on me or motioned for a crowd to gather around me and yell shaming things, I would think that was a bad sign. But nobody has done that. I remain un-stabbed and un-shamed. It's all good, really it is.

We're in a transition phase between the end of the pandemic and the beginning of something else. Transition phases are strange things. But then they're over, and we're into the next phase. Maybe the Nate Silvers of the world should just relax for a bit?


Subscribe to Discourse Blog

Thousands of paid subscribers
A daily politics, media criticism, and culture newsletter from the left. Worker-owned, subscriber-supported, and free from corporate influence. Est. 2020.

Share this post

Discourse Blog
Discourse Blog
Nobody Needs to Hear From Nate Silver on This
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Bari Weiss Is Full of Shit
Her big trans panic story turned out to be nonsense, just like everything else she does.
Mar 2, 2023 â€¢ 
Katherine Krueger
304

Share this post

Discourse Blog
Discourse Blog
Bari Weiss Is Full of Shit
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
5
CNN's Disgraceful Propaganda
This segment from Dana Bash on the Palestine protest movement is one of the most shameful things I have ever seen on cable news.
May 2, 2024 â€¢ 
Jack Mirkinson
136

Share this post

Discourse Blog
Discourse Blog
CNN's Disgraceful Propaganda
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
55
No Hell Is Hot Enough for Joe Biden
I hope he’s faced with the horror he’s wrought when judgment comes to meet him.
Jan 17 â€¢ 
Katherine Krueger
84

Share this post

Discourse Blog
Discourse Blog
No Hell Is Hot Enough for Joe Biden
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
4

Ready for more?

© 2025 Discourse Blog Inc.
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Create your profile

User's avatar

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.