Professor At Liberal University Calls For ‘Pandemic Amnesty’ For Actions Taken During COVID

By
Scott McJunkin
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On Monday, controversial figure and Brown University professor Emily Oster, drew ire after publishing a piece in the Atlantic entitled “Let’s Declare A Pandemic Amnesty, We need to forgive one another for what we did and said when we were in the dark about COVID.”

The piece went on to document various harmful actions taken, mainly against children elderly and the infirm, during the pandemic. Oster goings on to admit just how bad closing of schools were on children, attributing to learning loss, mainly amongst the most economically-insecure. She documents how people were unable to screen for illnesses or receive the treatment they needed due to rigid policies that, ultimately, were reversed.

While she blames “misinformation” for contributing to negative behaviors, she asks for those who “got it right” (stood against overreaching governmental lockdowns, school closures and the like) to not “gloat.” She said pointing out how bad COVID responses were “continues to gobble up a lot of social energy and to drive the culture wars, especially on the internet.”

She then says the harm done by mainly leftist COVID policies isn’t a sign of a “moral failing.” Oster said, “In the face of so much uncertainty, getting something right had a hefty element of luck. And, similarly, getting something wrong wasn’t a moral failing. Treating pandemic choices as a scorecard on which some people racked up more points than others is preventing us from moving forward.”

The call for a type of amnesty for actions that negatively impacted huge people groups and removed certain civil liberties was met with criticism online.

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