We are, without a doubt, the most petulant of societies. If countries were ranked by the maturity levels of their populaces, we would place at the level of toddler-denied-a-handful-of-Goldfish-so-shits-its-pants-during-tantrum.
We always knew the idiot contingent existed in this country - racists, white supremacists, anti-vaxxers, anti-sciencers, flat earthers, climate change deniers, equality mockers, religious zealots, and just plain dumbfucks - we knew that. But they stayed largely constrained by the knowledge that they and their bullshit were not tolerated in the light. Then the Tangerine Toddler came along, opened their shit stained playpen and out they poured.
7 years since he slid down his tacky escalator, vilified all Hispanics, and declared himself a candidate for the presidency, we are still on our knees trying in vain to clean up the never ending stream of mental feces he unleased.
Oh yeah, I'm in a mood, so either hit the "X" and eject or buckle the fuck up.
Over the past month I have had to travel to check in on relatives. I usually look forward to heading to the airport and winging off to a different destination. Whether domestic or international - I love to travel. But in the time of COVID - and make no mistake, we are still IN the time of COVID - travel is a dicey business at best.
Step one foot inside an airport and you would never know we are still averaging over 1,000 deaths per day to this pandemic. They are packed. People are on the move, business, leisure, home, abroad. The only things keeping the pandemic in mind are the current mask mandates for both airports and airplanes. But even those are largely flouted by so many who wear their masks like Britney Spears used to wear her pants - below the hard deck, Maverick - you know what I mean.
In total, I was on four different flights during my trip and on each one, invariably, flight attendants were having to tell people to put their masks on or to wear them properly. And as soon as the FA's back was turned, down the mask would go. Petulant, bratty, no thought or consideration for anyone but themselves.
Then the CDC came out and essentially said, "Masks? We don't need no stinkin' masks anymore." Dropping the recommendation for fully vaxxed and boosted people to wear them indoors, riding that merry-go-round pony of naivete' on which unvaxxed people have any semblance of responsibility or concern for the general public.
WAKE THE EVER LOVING FUCK UP.
1. COVID - NOT GONE.
I do not care how tired you are of hearing about it, it did not just up and vanish like a fart in the wind. The latest variant, BA-2, is on the move in this world, and in three weeks time, we will again be drowning in the wave. Only this time it will be worse because so few are wearing masks.
2. ANTI-VAXXERS DO NOT CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES
There is no reasoning with these people. There is no bartering, begging, or FACT enema we can utilize to make them care. They have made their choice to embrace the Dr. Karen Q Facebooks of the world and believe all manner of insane bullshit over science, doctors, death counts. They are selfish. They are self absorbed. They are so far up their own asses that, quite frankly, they should fear e coli more than COVID at this point.
The degree to which they cannot be reasoned with is actually staggering. One cannot even appeal to basic human decency because they are walking humanity famines. Immunocompromised? Good luck. Undergoing chemo? These voids of compassion actually stake out chemo facilities to taunt patients as they go in and out. It is galling. People going through their worst nightmare, fighting for their lives, knowing their immune systems are being wiped out, and they have to contend with a large swath of society who think its ok to try to make them sicker than they already are.
Show us on the doll where someone hurt you and stole your empathy.
One walk into a grocery store and it would be easy to believe it's over, gone, POOF. My husband and I were in the tiniest of percentages of people still wearing a mask this past weekend. And the open hostility came off the maskless in waves. As if my choosing to wear a mask means fuck all in their world. I have news for them - my sister is still immunocompromised and I have zero intention of walking maskless among you fetid, mouth breathing meat sacks and chancing getting her sick.
Today the move is on to endorse a second booster shot for those 65 and over and/or immunocompromised. I am all for it. In fact, like the first booster I got, I will go in and request one at age 55 because I want to be able to be around my sister and do anything I can to protect her and myself. It's pretty simple.
Yesterday I watched a debate rage on Twitter regarding booster shots. The poster's aggressive idiocy asked just how many people were willing to get and how safe or even effective could it possibly be to get more than one shot since it doesn't eradicate the virus. I loved the replies pointing out how we get flu shots yearly, how people inject insulin daily, how we take aspirin every time we have a headache, how we eat but keep getting hungry so food obviously doesn't work, and on and on. That the world is full of medications that are not one-and-dones, yet people have no problem taking them in order to stay live, stave off illness, or even discomfort.
The OC's response?
These vaccines are not perfect in a one-shot-guarantees-you-will-never-contract-COVID way. They have never been touted as such. What they do is keep your ass out of the hospital and from dying should you contract it. And frankly, given the number of cases of long COVID and the laundry list of lingering symptoms and traumas associated with it, I will get as many shots as the experts advise.
Because I am not an expert. I did not study epidemiology. I do not work in a science lab. I do not care for patients in a hospital as they struggle to not drown in their own fluids. Just as I rely on mechanics to fix my car, plumbers to fix my pipes, and electricians to keep my lights on - I turn to those who know what they are doing in fields in which I do not.
I do not turn to Facebook groups where people advise one another to eat mud and wash it down with their own urine. I do not laud lame ass truck drivers who circle DC protesting ... well, nothing actually as mask mandates have been largely lifted.
Here are the numbers as of today, and bear in mind, that at no time in the history of this pandemic have they been more inaccurate (meaning LOW) because so many people are not even bothering to be tested anymore when they show symptoms.
81,231,406 cases - that means a full 25% of our population have had COVID (that. we. know. of.)
991,684 deaths - nearly 1 million needless deaths. That's a million empty chairs in the kitchen. A million empty seats in schools, churches, offices, retirement communities. That's a million heartaches multiplied by every person touched by a loss. And hidden in those deaths are over 167,000 COVID orphans - children who have lost one or both parents or their primary caregiver to this pandemic. Currently, one in every four adult COVID deaths leaves a child alone in this world.
I know, I know, but Linda, masks make my face achy and take away my freedumbs! And vaccines, Soros, 5G, Bill Gates!
2,966 of every 1 million have died due to COVID. Back in September I told you that 1 of every 500 people in this country had died from it. But back in September, we had only lost 660,000 people so far. We are now near a million. You do the math. Or keep thinking the odds are ever in your favor, Katniss.
Need a better illustration as to why you should still care? Why you should have cared all along? OK. Fort Worth, Texas.
Just wipe Fort Worth, Texas clear off the map. That is how many people (+ change) have died.
Or how about two fully loaded 747s crashing daily, taking all aboard with them. That is how many people are still dying every single day in this country. And for the record, shove your George Soros-5G-magnetize-your-arm BS up your cornhole. COVID is global. 6,071,762 have died around the world - 1 of every 1,300 people. So many in places where they cannot access the vaccine or precautions. Yet you have access to free vaccines, boosters, masks being given away in drug stores, and you worthless, spoiled chodes cannot be bothered.
And there is still no hard and fast rhyme or reason to who gets it bad, who dies, who recovers and has long COVID. Sure, we know that older people or immunocompromised people are most susceptible to the more dire side of the equation, but babies, young people, healthy people are still dying, still struggling daily as the effects of COVID disrupt their bodies with no cure.
That alone should get your attention. Even the most selfish of you - self absorbed as you are, should be scared to death of what could happen. To you. Fuck everyone else - we all know you don't love thy neighbor, let alone give two shits about what befalls them, but we do know, like all last-nerve-tap-dancing brats, you love yourselves something fierce.
The only reason you have skated by so far is because there are 216,690,804 decent people in this country who have gotten vaccinated. And of those, 96,035,748 have gotten their booster. 65% of the people in this nation are better people than you. It's that simple. And if we only look at boosted folks? 29% are WAY better than you.
BA-2 is coming. Spring Break will usher it in. Stop back by here in three weeks. Unless that ventilator tube is in your way.
(Now go change those shitty pants - I can smell you from here. And no, you still cannot have more Goldfish, brat.)
The stats are sobering on many levels.
Posted by: Nikki in NYC | Monday, March 21, 2022 at 11:21 PM
Since I would probably get put in FB jail for saying this at your post there, I'll say it here. First, I feel EXACTLY the way you do, I get so GD angry, my blood boils. A guy I used to sorta like that I work with, I now HATE HIS GUTS. Only because he's so arrogant about being a non-vaxxer. He's had covid, almost died because of a blood clot in his lung and YET, he still walks around the office without a mask. And I can't do a GD thing about it. I sit in my open office desk space and he has an office (because he's an officer of the company) and I'm at his mercy. And I'm now 65 and going to get my fourth shot as soon as I can. I'm just so done with all of these fuckers. I hope this next strand wipes them off the planet. DIE YOU MUTHER FUCKERS.
Posted by: KATY | Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at 06:36 AM