Remember when you were a kid, locked within that monster called a grade school, at dismissal time? You must recall how the seas just opened and the throng descended on the schoolyard… like , well… ants at a picnic. Thus, the expression becomes almost timeless. So it is with so many of our Amerikan public whenever the opportunity reveals itself for ‘joyous mayhem’ . When the home team scores an upset or anticipated championship the ‘ants’ stream out onto the field of play in massive numbers. Ditto for the streets of the city in question, and how revelry can easily transform into criminal acts of vandalism to the Nth degree. Folks, low culture is low culture, indiscriminate of race, color or creed.
We are, sadly, in the midst of something more horrific than even the hurricane that tore my roof apart in 2016.
Why? Well, the power of such a storm, as terrifying as it can be (and was) will, after an hour or two in most cases, move past us. Not so with this pandemic. Alas, it may be here to stay more than we all can even fathom. Some may get this virus and experience it as no more than a bad chest cold. Others will die from it… Period!
As with the hurricane, this pandemic does not discriminate too much… excepting for those who cannot get the proper equipment to avoid its destructive element. The well off can buckle up their homes with hurricane protection to a degree (though the one that hit my home just snapped a pine tree and sent it into our roof). The well prepared, as to this virus, can wear the protective masks, have the cleaning essentials handy, and social distance as a rule, not a whim. These actions do help to keep many safer than not… until of course….
They open up society along with the economy. And what happens, the forces that see this as just another influenza want to go back to the way things were before it hit. Logic and real science say we may never be able to go back to what was… completely. Sadly, to this writer, if more of my neighbors behave like those kids at dismissal, the boomerang may hit us all! Our genius governor here in Florida, with marching orders from his mentor in Washington, did a really foolhardy thing and allowed Spring Break to go on, with the beaches open and filled with people, like one big sardine can. Then, many of those young people went home to the various states they came down here from. Who knows how many more people became infected with this highly contagious virus? That was a few months ago. Now, we see cities throughout Amerika with bars and restaurants open, and millions of us mingling face to face, beer to beer, with no masks. In late April the really defiant ones in Michigan stormed the statehouse to demand the governor ‘Open up the state’. Some of these characters carried weapons (guns and rifles) and reminded me of the SA minions in Germany circa 1930-33, before and after their Fuhrer took power.
There are many of my neighbors who refuse to wear a facemask when shopping. They do not follow the social distancing guidelines whenever they can get away with doing so. So, what they are doing is placing we who follow these procedures at risk. Even in situations where stores had guards at the door reminding shoppers of the necessity to enter only with a mask on, violent resistance occurred. In more than one instance, death! This is what psychologists call misplaced or displaced anger. Those resistors are not just angry at the rules, they are really angry at the entire pandemic. Connecting that last sentence should be ‘Angry at the government’s reaction to the pandemic… or lack of such’. Those who are pissed off at things being shut down or slowed down should study how this president and his administration reacted from late December to mid March. That answer is simple: Nothing in way of preparing for the worst! Matter of fact, DENIAL is the better word. They called it a HOAX remember? They said it was ‘Contained’ back in February.
People who still support this ‘Genius’ and people who downplay the pandemic, some are the same, some are not. One hopes that none of their family members or loved ones gets this virus, but if that happens, and tragedy occurs, remember this:
If the imbeciles and ‘free market ‘ jackasses in the Trump administration and Republican Congress would have had enough N-95 masks, ventilators, hand sanitizers available in great quantities by February-March….
If shutdowns and social distancing were implemented in January…
If the Congress would have adopted a Universal Basic Income plan with anywhere from $1000 to $2000 per citizen (half the amount for children) per month Tax Free…
We may have been closer by now to having our country ‘Opened’ again.
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Philip A Farruggio is a contributing editor for The Greanville Post. He is also frequently posted on Global Research, Nation of Change, Countercurrents.org, and Off Guardian sites. He is the son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen and a graduate of Brooklyn College, class of 1974. Since the 2000 election debacle Philip has written over 400 columns on the Military Industrial Empire and other facets of life in an upside down America. He is also host of the ‘It’s the Empire… Stupid‘ radio show, co produced by Chuck Gregory. Philip can be reached at [email protected].
