10 Things We Learned From Infectious Disease Expert Michael Osterholm On Joe Rogan Experience
5. This Is A Time To Be Straight With The Public
Osterholm wasn't here to scare anybody and constantly mentioned how the attitude towards this problem should be 'what are we going to do about it?' not 'we're all screwed!'
Rogan was commended for reaching out to Osterholm a couple of weeks ago to set up this interview and the Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences mentioned how he wanted to hammer home on this platform that it was important to be straight with the public about what was actually going on. Thus opening the door of conversation and allowing people to understand what is being done to fight the spread.
The usual response that people are expected to have to the actual truth is panic, according to the folks who Osterholm speaks to. When in reality, whenever he's opted to be transparent with a community over the genuine repercussions and what is being done to fight a disease, more often than not they react better because when those repercussions do come true they have long since accepted that they was always a risk that could happen. Therefore the shock factor is eradicated.
People deserve to be told the truth and Osterholm definitely feels that being able to let people know about the genuine risks which could be about to become a reality will help them cope with the outcome in the long run.