My husband rebels against any form of nagging. So, on Friday when he mentioned how it seemed strange to him to hear that elbow bumping was the recommended greeting over shaking hands, I immediately countered with an angry, “What part of social distancing allows for elbow bumping?” While I stay home, my husband is out there golfing and taking every opportunity to go to Costco or the grocery store. Each time, I remind him to wear his mask and keep his distance and to use the hand sanitizer. Each time, he counters angrily that he knows. But I was with him on a neighborhood walk when I stepped off the curb or crossed the street to avoid close contact with people coming towards us and he didn’t. We arrived home angry with each other and haven’t walked since.
And herein lies the problem. With so many mixed messages out there, people of good will are either making their own rules and are not taking the situation seriously enough. It shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us that under these conditions, COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire throughout our country. People are congregating, people are refusing to wear masks, people are being lax. As a result, people are getting infected and inadvertently infecting others. And some of those infected will die.
The biggest perpetrator of misinformation, mixed messages and confusion is the president of the United States, Donald Trump. He refuses to wear masks as an example to the nation. He lies that 99% of people will be okay after contracting the virus. He uses his megaphone to promote wishful, magical thinking as if his predictions outweigh science. He lies about the availability of testing and now wants to stop the testing altogether because it makes the him look bad. He lies about just about everything related to this virus. On top of that he villainizes Asians, the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and Dr. Fauci, whom he now claims has made many mistakes. America leads the world in infections and deaths and I lay this tragedy at the doorstep of President Trump who continues to mishandle or ignore the pandemic that is destroying the fabric of our health and economic lives. And now, in the middle of this pandemic, he is ordering K-12 schools to re-open in the fall and making policies that make it difficult for higher education to continue distance learning. I had to ask myself why he would do these things.
My answer was scary. I looked at who was dying from the disease and saw that the highest percentages were among black and brown people. We are people he devalues. We are not his base. We are not people who would vote for him. We are not the America his administration nor his supporters consider in his “Make America Great Again” strategy. We are the object of his distain and blatant racism. So, it seems that spreading the disease works as an indirect method of ethnic cleansing given our comparative lack of financial resources, poverty-related pre-existing health conditions, and reduced access to healthcare. True, white people will also get infected and some will also die, but not in the proportion as blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. So, to help spread the notion among the general public that it’s okay to convene in large numbers without social distancing and masks, he will gladly sacrifice his ignorant supporters by holding a big rally here and there. His push to re-open public schools is a push to spread the disease even more. The others whom he will gladly rid the nation of are intellectuals and the elderly. So, open Universities and he’ll get rid of those pesky intellectual professors, the staff, and the parents of those students who likely oppose him. Keep the virus spreading and he will reduce the cost of Social Security and Medicare by letting the virus kill off retirees in great numbers. Is there another explanation for ignoring public health officials? I couldn’t find one. And even if I did, the outcome would be the same: greater numbers who oppose him or who are a “burden” to the economy will die.
It is sad and disgusting to suggest that COVID-19 has become a biological weapon in the hands of Trump and his administration, but it appears that it may very well be that. Whether it is true or not, this nation cannot afford to give this dangerous and utterly corrupt person another term in office. To do so would be at our collective peril.
I take all Covid mitigation measures very seriously. This President knows not, how to read, use a washing machine, or buy milk in a market, due in part to upbringing, in part, unwillingness to learn. His ability to manipulate people is what he has honed, to pull off brazenly immoral plans that otherwise solid, moral, people buy into. You’re not alone seeing a hidden “genocide” in his actions. There is my temptation to pray he gets it, or? I fight the thought. Instead, I pray smart(er) people ALL survive to vote him & his ilk OUT. Down ballot too. Be safe & well.