I think you're conflating very different kinds of harm. For a government action to deprive someone of their liberty or livelihood for no good reason is in a whole different sphere than for a private citizen to deprive someone of social opportunities for no good reason. There are people around here who think that anyone who behaves/d differently from them in any way - examples, getting vaccinated or wearing a mask at property owners' request - has committed some sort of crime against something and deserves punishment! It's therefore essential to draw lines and recognize that some actions are criminal in nature but others, even if hurtful, are not.
In the U.S., it is extremely hard to punish government employees via the courts for anything they do in the performance of their duties. Our courts have said a police officer can't even be sued for letting his dog savage the face of an innocent random homeless person because no historic court ruling had said that precise act was unconstitutional! So while it would be nice if the bureaucrats who *forced* hospitals to fire people for being unvaxxed could serve prison time for their role in wrecking American health care, it's very unlikely to happen - unless corruption can be proven, or unless we end up with a star chamber where whatever the judges say becomes law.
As for people getting fired by private employers for not getting vaxxed, in the U.S. you can get fired for almost any reason. Do I remember correctly that you are in Germany? Your employer probably cannot throw you out to starve at the drop of a hat, so it seems shocking to you. Here, that happens all the time.
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branchandroot
Re: Emily Oster says 'Let's forgive and forget'
Date: 2022-11-03 05:54 pm (UTC)In the U.S., it is extremely hard to punish government employees via the courts for anything they do in the performance of their duties. Our courts have said a police officer can't even be sued for letting his dog savage the face of an innocent random homeless person because no historic court ruling had said that precise act was unconstitutional! So while it would be nice if the bureaucrats who *forced* hospitals to fire people for being unvaxxed could serve prison time for their role in wrecking American health care, it's very unlikely to happen - unless corruption can be proven, or unless we end up with a star chamber where whatever the judges say becomes law.
As for people getting fired by private employers for not getting vaxxed, in the U.S. you can get fired for almost any reason. Do I remember correctly that you are in Germany? Your employer probably cannot throw you out to starve at the drop of a hat, so it seems shocking to you. Here, that happens all the time.