I’m a distinctly average run of the mill type so wouldn’t know how to begin to break those stats down ?. So I found an article that does in terms I understandGood post. I don't consider my position to be entrenched. I will read evidence from any source and make my own mind up based on what seems logical to me.
I put up a graphic showing that every year in the 90's had a bigger death toll than last year in % terms. Logic dictates that cannot possibly be true given the devastation that's been caused by the lockdowns but I cannot find any evidence to refute those stats.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/covid-19-how-mortality-rates-in-2020-compare-with-past-decades-and-centuries-12185275
As you say, it’s unfalsifiable to say that the numbers are proof we aren’t in the midst of a deadly pandemic. As we can’t compare it to what would happen if the virus was able to run riot naturally. I’d say that the lockdowns prevented a lot of deaths though. Not just by the virus but by things like influenza, pneumonia and less immediately obvious effects like fatal motor vehicle incidents.
If we had a proper grip on covid having a put in longer initial lockdown restrictions and then easing at a more cautious rate, the NHS could have coped with covid and the usual medical at the same time. As I’ve said before, I wanted the easing of restrictions to work as did everyone else. Once it became clear it wasn’t working, we were too slow to act.
I’m with you on different opinions being shut down. It’s not good for anyone. For one thing, there will always be a Socrates or Galileo. It’s corrosive to the social environment and creates deeper fissures in the middle ground for people, making it harder to come together. I’m hoping there will be a pushback, it just needs more people to stand up and not be cowed when they’re labelled ‘X ‘ and more people to stand up for them when they do. At the moment though, it’s the truly brave people who do because there are potentially severe consequences for it.