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Yesterday, as I posted a ´very´ controversial article on Facebook about Sweden’s less-than-strict response to the virus, I knew I’d get some negative comments. What I didn’t realize is how personal some people would take my opinion, nor how serious of a backlash I’d get. In an effort to explain my dissenting opinion, I decided I owe everyone, myself including, a real explanation of the reasons for my disagreement.
My motivation for questioning the current draconian lockdown policies is not in an aim to belittle the seriousness of the situation. Nor does it suggest a defense of the economy in favor of human life. On the contrary, I started questioning these strict measures after seeing how badly they are ALREADY affecting real people around me: with hunger, domestic violence, job loss, social unrest and similar problems, that are on the rise. While in some countries, a strict lockdown might be warranted, by applying very strict measures for everyone around the world indiscriminately, we are condemning half of the world population to starvation and poverty. The lockdown is rather elitist in its nature, in my opinion. Here, in Brazil (where I currently reside), where millions live in the slums, on the streets, lockdown is not only NOT an option, but shear suicide. For those people, staying at home, literally means starving. While it may seem that we…