Virus: The selfish want to be heard

“Stop falsifying the statistics,” read a sign at the Monday protest in Harrisburg.

I have seen similar disbelief in some quarters to any stat I have posted, such as a roundup of infections by country last week. How about the count of the infected and dead from the world renown Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Do you believe it?

The infection rate by country was published on Politico, a right-leaning website, but the stats came from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and other agencies. Politico has no ability to assemble statistics, nor do most journalism outlets. All must depend on numbers from the best available sources, which may not be completely accurate. It’s fine to not believe China, for instance.

Skepticism is fine. God knows I am skeptical about much the government says. I might even be cynical, sometimes. 

Most of the pushback on the COVID-19 facts comes from the right.

Here’s what I say to them:

1- If you don’t accept the stats that have been published, present facts from a legitimate source to contradict them. (Info Wars is not a legitimate source. Ditto Rush Limbaugh.)

2- The numbers from the CDC you are contesting come from the federal government, which is under the control of President Donald J. Trump. If you do not accept the CDC numbers, and Trump says he does, doesn’t that mean he is misleading you?

The Left says that all the time. Do you agree the president is lying?

At his Monday briefing, Trump urged people to observe social distances.

A recent poll (above) says that twice as many people trust the CDC than the president, who finishes a hair above the national media. Governors also are believed far more than the president. Why do you suppose that is? Is it all Trump Derangement Syndrome? Do you have any ability to rationally analyze information?

Meanwhile, thousands of Trump supporters rallied in Harrisburg to protest Pennsylvania’s lockdown order and state social distance guidelines, which replicate the CDC’s own safety guidelines.

TV images show most of the protestors not observing the six-foot rule when near another person. Do they not believe that the coronavirus is a thing, and that it is catching? I’ll get back to that in a minute.

We can have a serious discussion about how and when states should lift their COVID-19 restrictions. In fact, we are. A recent Pew poll showed two-thirds of Americans feared ending the restrictions too soon, while only one-third feared them being lifted too slowly.

I know many people want and need to get back to work, but there is a common good to consider. It’s not all about you.

The other day I praised the president’s re-opening plan, so I am not a Trump hater. His plan called for states to evaluate their own circumstances and then lead the way. Almost in the next breath he was tweeting “Liberate!” at several states (governed by Democrats).

The protestors are largely conservative Trumpsters, with a religious overlay. One sign in Harrisburg said, “My vaccine is Jesus.” As my grandmother would have said, “Oy Gut” (yiddish for “Oh God.”) I don’t like making fun of religious people, but when the Pope takes a flu shot, you gotta wonder about those who oppose vaccinations.

If you don’t believe coronavirus is real, there is something wrong with you. If you don’t believe it is infectious, there is something wrong with us. If you think you are immune, there is something wrong with you. You can argue the best remedy, but you can’t argue the disease itself.

There is craziness on both sides. At Mayor Jim Kenney’s press conference Monday afternoon, he was asked about the Harrisburg protest, and especially the lack of health cautions.

That was “short-sighted,” that “breathing on each other” was dangerous and they had no right “to infect others.”

Another question asked what the city does in its homeless shelters if a patron refuses to wear a mask. The answer from city Managing Director Brian Abernathy was — nothing. Managers will ask them to comply, but if they don’t — shoulder shrug.

Let’s review: Harrisburg protestors have no right to infect others, while in city shelters someone who wants to infect others can do so. Rather than enforce its rules, punk-ass administrators allow those who refuse to wear a mask to put innocent lives at risk. (I did not ask the city for comment as it does not recognize me as a journalist.)

It’s not rugged individualism when you put other people at risk. It is just selfishness.