Last night, a college friend of mine posted a negative comment about Donald Trump. He is not a Trump supporter at all, but he has a couple of female friends who love the orange turd. These women, for whatever reason, think Trump is a fuckin’ genius. And they had this to say…
I don’t get it. I really don’t. I posed a question on my own Facebook last night because after reading this exchange, I was just flabbergasted by the nonsense spouted here. People who don’t support Trump don’t deserve government stimulus money that is paid for by their taxes? And GOD sent Donald Trump to us? I’m puzzled. This is a man who lies, cheats, steals, and rapes… and proudly brags about harassing and molesting women. He was sent by God? That just does not compute.
Of course, lots of charismatic leaders hoodwink people into believing in them and following their counsel. God knows, Mormonism is full of such leaders… people like Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, who married multiple teenagers. I could definitely fall down the rabbit hole of writing about corrupt religious leaders. They’re all coming out of the woodwork right now, anyway, telling cash strapped Americans that they should donate their “Band-Aid” stimulus money to their churches. The funny thing is, from what I’ve read, it looks like the Mormons are being somewhat sensible right now. It’s the fundie Christians who are really doing crazy things. And sadly, a lot of those fools are also politicians, saying things like “there are more important things than living…” which Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick says. Here he is, a pro-life politician, saying that people should risk their lives and health so that the economy doesn’t collapse. What good is a thriving economy to the dead? So much for being pro-life.
This morning, I read another boilerplate status passed around the states by people protesting the lockdowns. Once again, I was left shaking my head at the stupidity…
Once again… the above rant is entirely about money. Sure, the author has thrown in references to church and how important worship is (to those who believe, anyway). And yes, there’s a reference to how evil abortion is, even though the virus is incredibly contagious and has killed hundreds of thousands of people who were already born. Frankly, I would definitely not want to be pregnant right now. It’s too dangerous. But even if I were happily pregnant, there could be an emergency medical situation arising in which having an abortion would be essential. It could certainly be more essential than eating out in a restaurant or buying liquor.
There are many references to “social distancing” in the above post, although if everyone does what the author suggests, social distancing would be a lot harder to accomplish. If everyone goes out and does what the author suggests, there would be a lot of people mingling. And NO, the wait staff wearing masks isn’t helpful in a restaurant. Any human can shed the virus, so even if your waiter or waitress wears a mask, if you’re not wearing one, you can still unwittingly shed the virus to them and make them sick. In fact, you can still spread the virus even if you are wearing a mask. And you wouldn’t be able to eat or drink while you’re wearing one, anyway.
Personally, I think the mask requirement is more about optics than anything else. Viruses are extremely tiny, and they can infect people by accessing their eyes or other open parts of the body that are uncovered. Properly worn masks might help by stopping viruses that are attached to droplets of saliva and mucous, but not all of the virus particles will be. It really takes very little exposure to the virus before a person will get sick, and the viruses can hang in the air for awhile. Many people will not wear the masks properly or keep them clean. What’s more, the homemade masks are made with a variety of different materials, and by people who don’t routinely make them and don’t know what would make them useful. And they will be worn by people who don’t routinely wear them. A lot of those people will be touching the masks, moving them so they can speak, eat, or smoke, and reusing them repeatedly so they can shop without harassment. They won’t wash their hands, either.
I know what the Centers for Disease Control is now saying, even though just a couple of weeks ago, they weren’t encouraging mask usage. I prefer to go by what the World Health Organization says, anyway. That’s an organization that isn’t ultimately led by Donald Trump. I will use a face mask if I have to go in public, which thankfully, I don’t have to do very much at all. But I don’t have much faith that the masks will actually do much to help curtail the spread of disease. They’re more about people looking like they’re taking precautions and avoiding fines and harassment, since a lot of people will not wear, launder, or dispose of them properly. The masks will be inconvenient, unsanitary, and uncomfortable, particularly as the weather gets warmer. And I just don’t think they’re going to do much good, because human nature will win out over common sense.
I think the best thing to do is to stay home as much as possible and practice scrupulous hygiene… but even taking those measures, many of us will probably eventually be exposed, and a lot of people will become disabled or die, whether or not they wear masks. I have to go on our local military reservation soon, because I need to get a vision test and have passport photos taken. Masks are now required on post. I suspect I’ll have to remove the mask, at least for the photos. Then I’m going to come home and resume holing up in the house. It’s boring and depressing, and I don’t want to live my life this way for much longer.
I do realize how lucky Bill and I are. He’s able to do a lot of his work from home. In many ways, it’s been kind of nice having him around. We’re fortunate in that we haven’t experienced financial hardship yet, and we still get along very well. It’s lucky that he isn’t still married to his first wife. And it’s lucky that I don’t have to work with the public anymore to make a living.
Anyway… I guess I’ll go do some housework… maybe walk the dog. At least we have nice weather today.