Pat Gets Schooled

I'm hesitant to go down this rabbit hole as the people who REALLY need to read the following post will outright refuse to do so, like a petulant 2 year old refusing to eat their veggies.  But after I posted on a friend's social media post, a post which celebrated the Texas Governor Greg Abbott's insanely stupid idea to re-open Texas completely, a decision he announced on Tuesday, I felt as if we needed yet ANOTHER reminder of the dangers of going down this path.  My response to the original post:

"I am tired of death. I don't want anyone else to die. All the health experts say this will cause more people to die. Sorry if I don't stand up and applaud the likely unnecessary deaths."

My friend who posted the original praising of this Texas foolishness took his usual stance, one where he completely understands the sadness of the deaths, but reopening is somehow (in his opinion) a better option. I completely disagree.

But then Pat decided to chime in.  For the record, she made this comment on a social media post available for the world to see, but I'll hide her identity outside of her first name.  For the record, I don't hide mine.

Yes I have an Instagram page, but so far no TikTok. And look for an OnlyFans coming soon!

I have a lot to unpack here, but I'm going to start off by pointing out the obvious.  You guys are praising Greg Abbott, a man who two weeks ago couldn't keep the power on in his state, leaving millions to freeze, killing dozens.  Many places are still without running water, likely to be without running water FOR MONTHS.  And Abbott has endorsed the bankrupting of hundreds of thousands of his own people by his endorsement of the failed free market Texas electrical grid, a power grid that gleefully price gouged Texans.  Greg Abbott took the side of a handful of wealthy executives over the BASIC care and well being of his people.  And you want to praise him?  That's on you.

Also, he's reopening Texas because Spring Break Season is coming and, thanks to the Democrats and Joe Biden, most Americans will have a much needed stimulus check.  It's a cash grab by Abbott.  He's no different than the Mayor in Amity demanding the beaches be re-opened in the movie Jaws.  

If you do get a stimulus check, shop local.  For me, that means Minnesota.

Many health experts are indeed saying Abbott's approach is the wrong path, and while I'll get to the questioning of their credentials in a bit, we should point out the health expert's track record is batting a thousand.  

In July, when the fool Kristi Noem, the Governor of South Dakota, decided to allow the Sturgis motorcycle rally to happen, the same health experts begged her not to do so. They warned the consequences of a major gathering like Sturgis would be catastrophic.  Noem and many Republicans screamed back 'Who are these health experts? Why are we trusting them?'  They went ahead with the rally.  Contract tracing has shown Sturgis, like 2020 Mardi Gras (when we really didn't know better) WAS a massive super-spreader event.  Sturgis likely sickened 250,000 people, and that's a low ball estimate.  It killed thousands of people. It even caused an outbreak in Minnesota.  And for all those people who scream "if those people wanted to take the risk, then that's on them," THAT'S NOT HOW CORONA VIRUS WORKS!  Many of the people who got sick and died didn't go to Sturgis or live in South Dakota!  The event sent sick people back across the country, back to innocent loved ones who got sick and died due to stupidity!  And many of the people who praised Noem ended up championing her all the way to the ICU.  The health experts, were sadly, correct.

Last fall Republicans across the country, and in Minnesota, as part of the political campaign season, started demanding everything reopen in Minnesota. Health experts, who had been warning of a Fall/Winter surge since April, begged the Republicans to stop and think of the damage reopening would do, how many lives would be lost.  Republicans kept calling for a complete reopening of Minnesota, insisting the health experts 'didn't have Minnesota's best interests at heart.' 

(Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt in October thinking they can scream CoronaVirus into submission.)

What happened?  The nightmare scenario the health experts had warned about came true. Corona Virus cases skyrocketed with 5000 deaths being reported nationally, per day. The Minnesota GOP had their own super spreader event, sickening many of their leaders and likely killing one of their own Senators.  By the end of November, when it became clear the reopen strategy the GOP and their supporters had championed had  backfired, even they suddenly got quiet and got out of the way of the health experts.  It also did not help the US that Trump was doing NOTHING on the national level to deal with this crisis, only plotting an overthrow of Democracy.  When Biden's team took over, there were no vaccines, there was no distribution plan, nor was there any infrastructure in place to distribute the vaccines. 

Once again health expert's dire predictions came true.

A lot of this "Thank God for Greg Abbott" bravado is really just political.  Most people on the right filter EVERYTHING through politics so no matter what Greg Abbott does, it's wonderful, while everything DFL Minnesota Governor Tim Walz does is TYRANNY!  But you guys are really missing out at how well Governor Walz has managed this crisis when compared to the train wreck states surrounding us. 

Cases per million, North Dakota and South Dakota are the two worst states in the country, and two of the worst places on the planet, for COVID-19 (States 1 and 2 respectively).  Iowa is 5th worst, Wisconsin is 16th.  Minnesota is 32nd, even though it's surrounded by these knucklehead states.  Deaths per million, Minnesota is 35th, FAR better than the Dakotas (numbers for both from Worldometers.info).  According to this morning's (Wednesday 3/3) update from Johns Hopkins Medical (health experts), Iowa is once again the worst state in the country for new CoronaVirus cases.  Less than a month ago, their Governor, without any input from health experts, lifted the face mask requirements and limits on gathering sizes in the state, while fools applauded her, like she had done something smart.  Of course, just like Abbott did in Texas, she insisted that people should be careful, but then negated her acquiescing with her 'PARTY TIME' celebratory announcement.  Now Iowa is a mess, AGAIN!  People in Iowa are getting sick and will die because of her decision.

Another anti-health expert regulation argument you hear is 'I want to be careful but I'm pro small business.'  It's a garbage argument.  Outside of corporate executives EVERYONE IS PRO SMALL BUSINESS!  This is the lie the Right has convinced themselves it true to portray their 'profits and convenience over human lives' stance is something noble.  Everyone wants everything to go back to normal.  I wish I could behave like it was before 2020, but I can't and I won't!  For the betterment of all people it's best we limit our exposure to each other.  The vast majority of small business owners understand this, and begrudgingly have gone along with this (thank you).  It's one of the reasons Minnesota has been better than most other states.

Side note:  I'm Catholic.  Disclaimer: you do, or don't do, whatever it is you want to, or don't want to, do.  I'm gobsmacked by the idea any Christian would think Jesus would ever side with the business in the 'save human lives v. small business' debate.  Jesus doesn't come across to me as the type of guy who would ever make the argument "sure life is sacred, but I got a 2 for 1 coupon for Applebee's!  Feeling good in the neighborhood!"

There's also the contrived patriotic arguments you hear to reopen, packaged as "liberty" and "freedom." Mind you, the people screaming liberty and freedom DO NOT CARE about the liberty and freedom of those who might die.  When you expose their liberty and freedom arguments for what they really are (selfishness), that's when you see the ugliness of their cause.  They argue their 'liberty and freedom' to get a platter of chicken wings and a pitcher of beer in a sports bar is more important than a human life.  They argue their 'liberty and freedom' to go watch a Marvel Movie in a theater is more important than a human life.  They argue their 'liberty and freedom' to go to an amusement park, to a beach, or to a nightclub is more important than a human life.  NONE of those things are more important than a human life; at least no decent human being and/or Christian should think so.

Let's go back to Pat's post.  She clearly implies she wants to reopen everything, but health experts (correctly) point out the danger of doing so.  Prior to last year, the only people who dismissed educated professionals and their seasoned advice were considered to be tin foil hat kooks.  Then came Trump.  I could list the number of times Trump downplayed the virus, but this post is already pretty long.  He promoted quack cures and implied ingesting bleach was a good idea. He had super spreader events throughout the fall which indeed did sicken his supporters and their families, and as I pointed out earlier, he was DOING NOTHING to save Americans from the worst health crisis in over 100 years, and the 3rd worst US death count in history. 

But Trump knew all he had to do was imply the health experts don't know what they are talking about, only he did, and the lemmings would follow him off the cliff.  The Right no longer cares about facts and the truth (this post is chock full of both and it infuriates them FAR MORE than it will educate them).  They only want their opinion validated, and in this case it's this: 'Trump and Republican politicians know more about CoronaVirus than the health experts.'

When Pat goes to the doctor, and they put a tongue depressor in her mouth and they ask her to go 'Ahhh,' does Pat start screaming at them?  Does she insist the Doctor is really trying to insert a tracking micro chip in her throat, so she runs screaming from the examination room?  A regular Doctor is a health expert too, but my guess is Pat has no problem with THAT health expert, only the ones who call out Republican bullcrap on Corona Virus.  To become a health expert, not only are they getting their doctorate in medicine, but they likely have another doctorate in a speciality, YEARS of research experience, and YEARS of real world experience.  They're competent and qualified; the only people you should call in a crisis like this.  But because they dare disagree with Trump and Republican doctrine, people on the Right dismiss them as some sort of cult of disinformation.  The ignorance displayed by anyone universally dismissing the health experts at this point is astounding!

Does Pat do this with every expert she comes across?  When a plumber comes to fix her pipes, does she dismiss them too?  How about architects?  Firemen?  Military professionals?  All of these people go through the same exact process as the health expert does.  They get an education, they then get real world experience, and then they become experts in their field.  I'm not in any place to discredit a person's professional expertise  just because I believe, or I've been told, something that contradicts their amassed extensive knowledge, especially when it is a massive group of professionals all pointing in the same direction.

Now comes the part where the open everything crew will scream "CANCEL CULTURE" because I dared point out the ludicrous nature of their flawed arguments.  NOPE!  No one is cancelling you.  As a matter of fact, I posted Pat's response on this post to make sure her 1st Amendment rights are fulling intact!  What the first Amendment does not guarantee is freedom from ridicule, and frankly I've had it with people who dismiss health professionals, especially after the health experts have been proven right over and over and over again.

One of the saddest things I read last year was how South Dakota nurses were pleading with dying COVID patients, begging them to call their loved ones so they could say goodbye, only to have the sick scream back at them through coughing fits "Corona Virus is a MYTH!!!"  The United States of America has 4% of the worlds population but has been responsible for 25% of the world's deaths.  The reason it's so high is collective stupid from the political Right.  I have no tolerance left for people who question health experts.  Not anymore.