This has been one hell of a week. We veered from 1918 to 1968 with a dash of 1881 thrown in for good measure. At this point, I am so disgusted with my own country. I cannot stand it.
The country needs a 9.9 scale earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of South Carolina that generates a tsunami of biblical proportions. Either that – or coronavirus needs to up its game.
There are times that I think the US truly deserves to experience a massive second wave of COVID infections/consequences. Clearly, a particular segment of our population did not get the message the first time.
I just read a lengthy discussion between supposed “men of honor” ( read: disgruntled old Citadel graduates) comparing notes on how to avoid wearing masks -and by implication shaming those who take the health precautions seriously as “sheep.” Quoting a misinterpreted statistic on COVID death rates- and trotting out the usual excuses of why it’s wrong to work for the common good.
It is just not that big a deal to wear a mask, and I am tired of people acting like it is. Japan has a population 1/3 that of the US, but it only has a case/death rate that is 1% that of the United States. They wear masks without complaint for the most part. They also have taken a lot more proactive steps than the United States seems able to do. Are masks the only reason they have such a low rate? No. But I will submit, the Japanese have a better commitment to the common good than Americans seem to have. The Japanese have a higher population density and more interaction with China than we have. But their case rate is much, much, lower.
In two months we have lost 26% of the numbers we lost in World War II over four years. Twice as much as we lost in Vietnam for over 15 years. And everything I have read says that if you do get sick with this disease, overcoming it is not a pleasant experience. The economic upheaval has been severe – I fully understand that. It has affected me in significant ways. But we have lost three equivalents of the Somme, and no one seems to be really outraged about it. It’s been stunning to me that we have had as much death as we’ve had with as little attention to all those deaths. I expected more from a supposedly “exceptional nation.”
And what is really sad is how many of those deaths were just avoidable and needless.
Fact two: America’s 100,000 deaths are almost entirely needless. Yes, really: entirely needless. They never needed to happen.
Let me prove it to you with some simple math that even a schoolchild can handle. New Zealand has a population of 5 million. Those 21 people that died in New Zealand are .00042% of that population. So what’s the proportional number for America? America’s population is 330 million. What’s .00042% of 330 million? Go ahead and take a guess. 10,000? 15,000? 20,000?
It’s 1500.
If America had acted like New Zealand, just fifteen hundred people could have died. Instead, 100,000 people have died. Think about that for a moment.
Now, that’s a back of the envelope calculation. Actually the number is closer to 1400, but you get my point. Sure, you can say that America’s got denser cities or worse healthcare or a hundred other complicating factors. The point is this. Fifteen hundred versus a hundred thousand is not a reasonable difference. You can quintuple New Zealand’s numbers to be generous towards America — and end up at only 6,000 deaths. You’re still…two orders of magnitude…as in whole decimal places…away from 100,000.
That’s shocking. It’s surreal.
Even worse, in my mind, was the fact that our Psychopath in Chief decided now was the time to throw premium gasoline on an already smoldering fire
I’m pretty certain you are familiar with this story, so we probably don’t need to belabor it. Except to point out that a CNN crew was arrested before a murdering policeman was.
It’s also worth noting that the event in Minneapolis is not an isolated event – just a more visible one. As my experience with the worthless slime who inhabit this corner of the internet has taught me, many police departments are seeded with similar type individuals who early on picked up a taste for bullying and other forms of thuggery, and so decided to make it their life’s work.
There are literally a 100 such events that happen every year and never get reported. I now fully understand how innocent people get shot and accused falsely.
All with the blessing of Shitbag One:
And finally, then there is this:
(CNN)-A person who partied in the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, area on Memorial Day weekend has tested positive for coronavirus — and was possibly infectious over the holiday weekend. The Boone County resident visited multiple bars on May 24 and 25, according to the Camden County Health Department. They “developed illness” on Sunday and were possibly infectious before then. Video from that weekend shows partiers crowded together in a pool at Backwater Jacks Bar and Grill in Osage Beach on Saturday, according to Scott Pasmore, an anchor for CNN affiliate KTVK, who shot the footage.
Karma she is a harsh mistress. You were warned.
Amen, brother! Not too much more I can add today. xo