This is what it must have felt like for Americans after 9/11. Not like a once-off disaster, but like a new threat that is certain to escalate. Like a new cancer that will spread until it cripples society and kills a large chunk of it.

If you imagine that they thought 9/11 was the beginning of some bigger struggle, their reaction becomes a lot more understandable. It's relatable to many people's reaction this spring, seeing case-rate curves that look like exponentials.

On the surface, to everyone who doesn't independently study it, both cases really look like a threat to our civilisation that justifies lockdowns, internment, illegal surveillance, etc.

Makes sense now.