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The simplest explanation is that arguing lab leak makes one (EDIT: look more like) a principled free thinker, which is usually a coveted niche. Once the MAGA movement gave lab leak a bit of status, it worked as a tribal signal, too.
I think this dynamic applies because the lab leak discourse mostly occurred via social media. It wasn’t like the Rogers Commission or a criminal trial. Even the people who insisted that it merits war with China had no expectation of getting that outcome. Thus the debates revolved around status games.
Where do I go to cash in these "principled free thinker" points or claim my elevated status in said status games? Because all I got in real life was accusations of being a conspiracy theorist. And I'm sure if I brought it up now, I'd be greeted with classic Hillary-style "What difference, at this point, does it make?" responses, just like people are doing in this thread.
Because it seems like all I got for being a principled free thinker was having to quit my job and move states to avoid a vaccine mandate. Somewhere the elevated status and MAGA babes got lost, and Peter Thiel won't send me a check or return my calls (granted, I'm probably too old and hairy for him).
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