Selfish Fools
I am going to try my best to refrain from swearing too much in this post. No promises though because I am pretty enraged about this topic. Today, I want to talk about the anti-mask, anti-vax people and why they are some of the most selfish, foolish, misled people on Earth. Let’s start with some facts.
Fact One: Many Deaths Were Preventable
The COVID-19 pandemic is the most deadly thing to ever happen on American soil. I am excluding the smallpox epidemics that erased nearly 95% of Native populations pre-18th century because the numbers are a little less firm. Not even the Civil War can compare.
This was entirely preventable. While some people would have died, estimates have placed the number of needlessly dead at 40% that number, so almost half a million people. That number isn’t coming from some liberal-commie think tank. It’s from the British medical journal Lancet. They found that during the first year of the pandemic, crucial missteps by the Trump administration led to much worse death numbers.
Facts, OK?
That’s half a million of our fellow citizens dead. Those are mothers, fathers, grandparents, and even some children. They are aunts and uncles who will not be coming to Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. We can only speculate as to why the administration in power in 2020 didn’t do more. Was it baldly political? Naked egotism? I think it’s clear.
Fact Two: It Didn’t Have To Be Like This
Aside from the loss of life, our fight against COVID didn’t need to be so politicized. Both sides have a share in the blame for this but I am going to assign 10% to the BLUE TEAM and 90% to the RED TEAM. Early on, Fauci and the “people who know things” were not totally honest. I remember him saying that the public shouldn’t wear masks. They did this so there wouldn’t be a run on supplies (like we saw with toilet paper and other goods). It makes sense that they did that but the cost of preserving the supply was their credibility. Some people, adults, can understand this and forgive it. Others, not so much.
There was also a bit of hypocrisy from the BLUE TEAM. Remember Nancy Pelosi telling everyone to come to Chinatown? And her hair appointment? Small matters, to be sure, but it made a difference. That’s why they have SOME share of the blame.
So that’s the 10% for the BLUE TEAM. Let’s talk about the 90% blame for the RED TEAM.
From the start of the pandemic, it seemed as if Republicans were fighting every single measure tooth and nail. Closures, mask mandates, social distancing. It was as if there was nothing happening. Remember when Trump and others were holding all those rallies without masks or distancing? I do. Herman Cain doesn’t because he got COVID at one of those rallies and died.
Honestly, there are too many examples of Herman Cain-like hubris to get into in one post. COVID doesn’t care if you believe in it or not. It’ll getcha either way! This is only the tip of the iceberg of COVID denialism. It was bad enough to deal with these people not wearing masks before there was a vaccine. But once the vaccine came out it was shocking how long it took for people to actually take it.
Fact Three: The Vaccine Is Remarkably Safe
It’s obviously a very complicated and complex bit of medicine to end up with a vaccine like this in such a short time. It’s not a miracle though— it’s due to the hard work of scientists and researchers over decades. There are a few different kinds of vaccines. Here’s how they all work.
Complicated, right? But so, so cool. Most people got a version of the mRNA vaccine. Here’s a beautiful animation on how that one works. It might be a little overkill with the info but it’s such a cool video (and short) that it’s worth watching.
Science is so cool.
That’s how they work. But many people want to know how safe they are. Here are some stats:
Souce: mil.gov
Again, these aren’t alternative facts from a liberal source. It’s the freaking military. Soldier up, everyone. Time to get your shots!
Fact Four: Masks Work, Vaccines Are Free
I’m not sure why you need a scientific explainer to understand that masks work. It seems like common sense to me. If you have a germ-spewing hole in your face then covering it will stop the germs. But there you have it. Again, this is from Sky News — you know, the one that used to be owned by the same people who run Fox News. No liberal nonsense. Just the facts.
And hey, who doesn’t like getting something for free? The vaccines haven’t cost me or anyone else I know a dime out-of-pocket. Granted, they are being funded with tax money, which we technically pay. So, if you want to be pedantic about it, they aren’t free. But let’s face it, they don’t cost you anything. And OK, let’s say you’re a stickler and insist they aren’t free because we paid for them with tax money. Alright then, why not get what you already paid for? Seems like a chump move to leave money on the table.
Fact Five: Vaccine and Mask Mandates Are Not The Holocaust
This is perhaps the most bizarre and inappropriate of all the analogies I have encountered. The Holocaust was a systemic, government-led program that rounded up all non-Aryans and sent them to either “work camps” or death camps (which were largely the same). Jews were thrown into walled-off ghettos to starve and die from disease. Their property was taken. They were beaten in the streets. Being asked to either get a vaccine, a daily/weekly COVID test or wear a mask is none of these things. Not even close. To make any comparison is a disgrace to what survivors of the Holocaust lived through.
But those who make the comparison only accomplish one goal: letting us all know how truly foolish and selfish they are. Imagine being so privileged and having a life so free of trauma that you think getting a vaccine (which many people around the world are clamoring for) is the same as being sent en masse to death camps? I mean, look at the goobers:
You’ll notice these aren’t really isolated incidents. They’ve happened all over the country from New York to Kansas to Nashville and beyond. This is the perfect picture of white privilege. You did notice they were all white people, right? But hey let’s not talk about what’s wrong with the white community. We only do that for people of color.
From day one of this pandemic, there has been a sizable portion of our population that have selfishly considered only themselves. It started with Trump when he wouldn’t let that cruise ship dock because he didn’t want the numbers going up. Remember that?
This set the tone for everything that followed. The attitude of “it’s not my fault, nothing to see here” permeated throughout the administration. And his followers happily drank the irresponsible, COVID-tainted Kool-Aid. Things could have gone so much differently. And yet, they did not.
This isn’t about blame. We know who’s at fault for a lot of this. Not the virus, of course, that’s probably on China to some degree. But our collective response to it. Instead of a leader who took ownership of (once more) the most deadly thing to ever happen on US soil, we got a fragile, weak, egomaniac who (let’s not forget) GOT COVID HIMSELF! Instead of a leader who talked sense to his people, we got a big, wind-sucking bag of lies whose best idea was injecting bleach.
He didn’t care about the people he was elected to lead. He only cared about himself. He is the King of Fools, Lord of Selfishness, and his followers have led us to this point. He is the orange Pied Piper of COVID. And sure, he’s probably been vaccinated and still has access to world-class healthcare that his followers can only dream of. Again, this is all about selfishness. He and those like him have misled a quarter of our country into a death spiral that’s lasted almost 2 years.
In the school I work at I can see the long-term damage COVID has done to the kids. They haven’t socialized properly in 18 months. They don’t seem to remember how to even be IN school. The masks are a constant source of frustration for students and staff alike. Things this year just seem a lot harder. I can see it on my co-workers’ faces. I can only imagine how hard it has been to work at a hospital or medical clinic.
And for what? Nearly 800,000 dead, with an average of a 9/11 loss of life every other day. It’s utter madness. Masks work. Vaccines work. This isn’t about your freedom to not wear a mask. It’s about everyone else’s right to live and be free of your diseases.
Stop being a bunch of selfish pricks. Get the fucking shot. Wear a fucking mask when you’re supposed to. And stop comparing any of this to the Holocaust you fucking idiots.
Well, I almost made it without swearing. But these people… man. Fuck ‘em.