I do appreciate your willingness to talk data, Vance.
The population density of Northern Virginia is approximately the same as that of Milwaukee County, but the population is over 3x greater. The urban density in Virginia is higher than that of Wisconsin, which is why the COVID-19 incidence has been higher.
Moreover, Northern Virginia is part of a much larger and even denser population center, Washington, DC, which has had a much higher COVID-19 incidence than almost anywhere else in the country.
The reason I am talking about northern VA is that it is far and away the predominant geographical concentration of COVID-19 in the state, much as NYC is the geographical concentration of COVID-19 in NY state.
So, no, you picked an apples and oranges comparison. Virginia is not a suitable “control” group for Wisconsin, not by a long shot.
You are not an anarchist, since you have acknowledged the legitimacy of many state regulations.
You have been invited many times to give a rationale for why you support governmental regulation by nudity laws, which have a negligible effect on economic activity and mortality, and why you oppose mask regulations, which have a strong positive effect on economic activity and reduced mortality.
Now that you have backed off the slavery comparison, you have been proclaiming that you don’t like masks because they are regulation. But you have never explained why you strongly support governmental regulation of public sartorial state–a regulation that has no effect on economic activity and mortality–but you oppose mask regulations, which portend strong positive effects on economic growth and reduced mortality.
This could explain why some of your interlocutors feel frustrated, after repeated requests for a rationale. At best you have said that you feel differently about some things than others, and different people draw lines differently. While that is true, it is not a helpful statement.
And so the frustration has mounted.
Best,
Chris Falter