This is ridiculous
It took over one year and hundreds of thousands of lives for former “president” Donald Trump to admit that Covid exists. Most of us never took Trump seriously anyway, but now his favored people do not take him seriously. In fact, according to Jezebel, they booed him at his latest super spreader rally in Alabama. Who can blame them? He spent most of the latter part of his “administration” downplaying the virus, and when he got it himself, he told his followers that it “wasn’t so bad.” He neglected to tell them that none of them would ever have access to the treatments he received, but they believe everything he says no matter how ridiculous. Now, when they need to believe and do what he suggested, they “boo” him. Go figure. We always knew they were not too bright.
Trump created the very atmosphere in which he found himself. As a result of his reckless words, an August Fox poll revealed that 32% of Trump voters have no plans to get the vaccine. The same poll showed that while 86% of Biden voters have already been vaccinated, only 54% of Trump voters have followed suit. No wonder the variant is running wild. These people just do not get it. Unless and until we are all vaccinated, it will be difficult if not impossible to control this virus. Who wants to live under threat of Covid for the rest of their lives? Some of them are just too daft to know the difference between freedom and safety.
Many of these same people believe that requiring masks for students and teachers encroaches on their personal freedoms. AP and the NORC Center of Public Affairs Research conducted a poll to test temperatures on the issue of mask mandates in schools. Not surprisingly, the views are split along political lines. Those who remain against masks obviously do not believe the numbers that have come out since school restarted. According to AP, 3 in 10 Republicans favor mask mandates in schools while 8 in 10 Democrats believe it is the right thing to do. Again, the numbers do not lie. The cases are skyrocketing among young people. AP spoke with Budhiono Riyanto, who lives in Queens, NY. Because that district has mandated masks, he feels that he can safely send his son back to school. Riyanto told AP: “I understand personal choice, I understand personal freedom. But when it comes to public health, we should all be looking out for each other.” What a novel idea.
Trump really wreaked havoc on this country. All this nonsense about personal freedom being violated by doing something as simple as wearing a mask has been burned into the brains of those who follow him. Even when he tried to change his narrative, those beliefs are now so deeply imbedded that they laughed at him. Hope for our country returning to normal looks like a remote possibility. We can thank the lies and outrageous behavior of a man who never belonged in national office in the first place.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years