When science gets ignored, people die
The message couldn’t be any more clear. Donald Trump’s Tulsa rally will cost American lives, probably in excess of a thousand human beings. Possibly even even more. It’s important that you remember, it’s not just the people present at the rally who will get sick and die, it’s also the people they come into contact with. Many will be perfect strangers who hate Trump, they will just have the bad luck to be near someone who went to Trump’s rally. Coronavirus is no respecter of parties or persons.
There’s a lot of talk that the people who attend Trump’s rallies deserve what they get. While I understand that sentiment I don’t agree with it. I’m opposed to the death penalty, and even if it were otherwise I would hope that having an opinion — even an odious one — never becomes a capital crime in America.
If you think of people who are cavalier about coronavirus as drunk drivers instead, you will get the idea. Drunks should not be driving because they endanger us all. And yet an irresponsible person with coronavirus is far likelier to kill an innocent person than a drunk driver. So the common notion that people who choose not to wear a mask in public, practice social distancing and wash their hands, are entitled to their choice and we should stay out of it, simply doesn’t hold the water of consistency. We don’t tolerate drunks behind the wheel, we should similarly not tolerate people without masks. It’s just that simple.
This is what happens when people ignore science. When people ignore science, people die. When leaders are cavalier about science, people die. Donald Trump’s message is going to cause many more deaths. As I write this, 121,699 Americans are dead because of Donald Trump, almost twice as many as died in Vietnam, yet Trump is crowing that it’s some kind of victory. That number will increase dramatically between now and the end of the year, probably to a million or more.
That is the price Americans are paying because Donald Trump, in his arrogance, ignorance and indifference, has ignored science. Or as Jeff Tiedrich put it in a recent tweet, “Trump and his super-spreader worshipers have built a big, beautiful wall between themselves and science, and the rest of us are paying for it.”
There are a million reasons why Donald Trump needs to be removed from office. This has been another one. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.