If the truth is undesirable enough, our brain have a very effective coping mechanism: Just don't believe it. It's automatic.
Critical thinking is a learned skill, like math or reading. It takes a lot of practice. Some people in the grappling world (Danaher and Hall stand out notably here) just so hapen to have educational nd interest backgrounds that have given them that practice. Most, though, are average people who haven't put in the work to build those skills. The "greats" are people who specifically dedicated an inordinate amount of time to other skills, so we should expect that they won't have expertise in other areas - Including critical thinking skills.
i would agree with the first part, i think the vast majority of us went through that stage. china is reporting some deadly shit has gotten out of hand? meh, it's going to turn out like the rest of the scares we've had in the past 15 years, probably isn't going to reach us. italy's a hot spot? meh, it isn't killing more people than the flu, the media is blowing this way out of proportion.
but then italy goes into complete lockdown. italians start dying by the thousands. their doctors are begging every neighbouring country to take this seriously, because it hasn't been contained and it will fuck them as well. at that point, most of us realized that as uncomfortable as the truth is, digging our heads in sand isn't going to help.
i would argue that the initial reaction is completely natural, and the ability to apply critical thinking means the difference between realising how dire the situation is on the first day, and realising it on the 20th day. but even the dumb get it eventually.
garry and his crew have been hearing about this for months. the state they are in has imposed a lockdown. it started off with "liberal" media warning everyone over and over, with fox and the like mocking them for fear mongering. jeanine pirro changed her tune quite quickly and is staying at home. every fucking news outlet out there is saying this isn't a joke, everyone around these men is saying it isn't a joke, the governor of their state is pleading with them to take it seriously, the leading immunologist in the country is saying it's bad - and still they refuse to believe it.
saying their lack of education is the reason for their inability to think critically is being way too generous. they are spouting willfully ignorant horseshit. at this point, it isn't possible that any individual who manages to dress and feed themselves doesn't understand the severity of the situation. especially a NY resident.
i think it has more to do with their inability to admit they were wrong, so they double down. they keep doubling down, the worse the situation gets, the more absurd their arguments. it seems like a recurring theme in the US.
