More and more, it feels like dog-paddling against a tsunami.
Last edited Sat Apr 4, 2020, 11:59 PM - Edit history (1)
We have no central leadership. None. Crucial weeks, even months, were wasted by actively ignoring the wave that so many experts told us would soon hit our shores. The most astute scientists and other professionals were belittled and mocked for trying to raise the alarm.
Our central government lied endlessly in an attempt to mislead the American people for political and economic profit. That mendacity has cost many, many lives already, and will be the reason that many, many more will die.
Once the very first drops of the mile-high tsunami began dampening the sands, they foreshadowed the unstoppable and unyielding viral disaster that was destined to hit this country with a vengeance. Still our states were encouraged to maintain "business as usual", and thus became teeming petri dishes that subsequently proceeded to spill into areas not yet touched by the monster wave. Still they lied.
Governor Andrew Cuomo is absolutely outstanding. His leadership, professionalism, transparency, and compassion have comforted an entire nation of frightened, shocked, and confused citizens, not just the inhabitants of New York. Even his own brother Chris, whom he has described as his best friend, has been stricken. Still he soldiers on, valiantly fighting for the citizens whom he took an oath to serve. Gov. Cuomo has been pleading for help for weeks, and continues exhorting someone, anyone, to help. These are and have been critical weeks to try not only to save New York and New Yorkers, but the entire country - because as NY is going, so shall many other cities in the very near future. That future is measured in days. Not weeks, not months, but days.
The state of California, also on the front lines, has been forced to depend on local leadership to handle the disaster. Of course, Gov. Gavin Newsom already knew how useless any federal response would be after being blamed for not raking California forests in order to prevent devastating wildfires. His rapid response to the pandemic has invariably saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives, and he is working hard to continue to mitigate the sheer power of the wave. What he has put in place to try to protect the homeless is unprecedented.
Washington State, where our first known cases began, reacted quickly in an attempt to minimize the spread. Gov. Jay Inslee, the "failed candidate", was mercilessly mocked by our administration, which claimed he was overstating the threat of contagion. He tried his best to give early warning that the tsunami was here; he was ignored.
Gee, I almost forgot about "that woman, you know who she is" in Michigan. Well, that woman, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, has done an exemplary job trying to handle this crisis. Same old story - nowhere near the ammunition needed to effectively go into a losing battle.
Now, states that were too afraid of losing money by preventing masses of people congregating and spreading Covid (I'm talking to you, Florida and Louisiana), are getting hit hard. It wasn't enough to send all these carriers back to the rest of the US, and indeed the world, but then they still didn't shut it down. Many more will die that did not have to die.
Yet and still, far too many people continue to ignore the threat. Minimizing the dangers of Covid-19 leads far too many of the general public to ignore protective restrictions meant to keep them from continuing to spread this menace. Large gatherings were all but encouraged, and universities, churches, and businesses refused to comply - it wasn't their problem.
Well, now it is, dammit! It's everybody's fucking problem. It's your problem and it's my problem. It's Aunt Sally and Uncle Joe and Grandma and Grandpa. It's your neighbors and your children's teachers, your bus drivers and hairdressers and housekeepers. It's the truckers and the stocking crews and the cashiers who are endlessly hammered by your hoarding panic, trying desperately to keep up with your demands.
Nobody has sacrificed more than the doctors and nurses and first responders of all sorts, who know simply going to work could be a suicide mission. Losses mount as these warriors continue to try to save their charges, only to lose battles they are sorely unequipped to fight. The losses are also mounting within the medical community itself, as personnel succumb who may have survived had they only been equipped with proper supplies and protection. Some of our best and brightest are gone, doing what they were drawn to do, relieve human suffering wherever they found it. Requiescat in pace, heroes.
The tsunami is here, people. Let's try not to drown in ignorance as we swim for our collective lives.
= new reply since forum marked as read
