Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

COVID Bringing Out the Ugly in Americans

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by

James A. Bacon
in

by Kerry Dougherty

You know what America needs right now? A little less schadenfreude.

A little less rejoicing over the misfortunes of others. A little less wishing death on the unvaccinated. A little less fist pumping when an unvaccinated person gets sick.

This unattractive character trait was on display last fall when a group of mostly Republicans gathered at the White House Rose Garden to celebrate Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Headline writers sneered that this was an outdoor “super-spreader” event and applauded each report of an attendee falling ill with COVID.

There was absolute glee when former GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain fell ill with COVID and died not long after attending a Trump rally in July of 2020. The scornful mob dancing on his grave took no notice that Cain was a Stage 4 colon cancer survivor with several comorbidities.

This week a conservative radio talk show host in Tennessee who was unvaccinated and apparently proud of it, died from COVID. After Phil Valentine was hospitalized, his family urged his followers to get vaccinated.

On Twitter, it was reported this way: “Outspoken Nashville-based conservative talk radio host and vaccine skeptic Phil Valentine, who battled COVID for a month, died at 61.”

Here’s the Twitter reaction from tennis mean girl, Martina Navratilova.

“WOMP WOMP … no mercy from me for this guy.”

She’s deleted the Tweet. Unfortunately, screenshots live forever, Martina. So do your hateful words.

Last week Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who was vaccinated in December and has urged Texans to get the vaccine, tested positive for COVID. Venom spewed in his direction, mostly because he has fought to let Texas parents decide if they want masks on their school-aged children

“Dreams do come true,” is one of the few printable reactions I could find to Abbott’s news.

What has happened to us? How did we get to a place where we cheer news of our fellow Americans falling sick during a damn pandemic?

Yesterday in Palm Beach, Florida, 75 doctors walked off the job to protest an influx of unvaccinated patients.

Those who celebrate this profoundly unprofessional move should think it through.

What if doctors in cancer centers were to walk off the job to protest smokers who present with lung cancer?

What if doctors in heart hospitals refused to treat obese patients who have heart attacks?

What if doctors treating liver ailments refused to treat drinkers?

Not the slippery slope we want to slide down.

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Comments

17 responses to “COVID Bringing Out the Ugly in Americans”

  1. Matt Adams Avatar
    Matt Adams

    You’ve outlined partisan dehumanization and both sides do it.

  2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “You know what America needs right now? A little less schadenfreude.”

    Agreed… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a0e6f0fdbe6bc4a3e71fcfea22fc62253c83467ee769732125e9b8bb2f41ed8e.jpg

  3. Steve Gillispie Avatar
    Steve Gillispie

    Good luck with this sermon.

    Since Democrats have become bankrupt of any meaningful ideas for the betterment of society, they have resorted to the demagoguery of hate and demonization combined with censorship, lawfare, and prosecutorial persecution to create a mob party to annihilate their competition.

    As Kathleen apparently discovered and demonstrated here by the half a brain commenter, it’s working, as this hate is being sucked up by a gullible public and “carefully taught”, to paraphrase South Pacific, to children. About 90 years ago it was the Jews. 60 years ago it was “the colored”. Today it’s white men, Republicans, and conservatives.

  4. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Wait. Who is it that is saying enough of the rabble? geeze…

  5. Kathleen Smith Avatar
    Kathleen Smith

    You speak the truth. I had to discuss this very same with my granddaughter who didn’t want to go to school after a child with a Trump shirt showed up at her orientation. This is America and giving choice and tolerance to one also gives it to you. Freedom.

  6. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    This all started with the 2000 presidential election. The fully discredited belief that George W Bush stole the election was the basis for a “he’s not MY president” mental abortion.

    Both sides have escalated this since 2000.

    Social media (for reasons too complex to describe in a comment) has vastly catalyzed this partisan divide since that approach increases their profits. The knock on effect of social media has also been the destruction of what was once a more or less fair mainstream media.

    There is a ray of good news … younger people will now openly laugh at those using Facebook. It is perceived (more and more correctly) as a useless platform beloved by older Boomers but few others.

    Help save America – abandon Facebook. I did.

  7. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Unemployed, unedited, and as a result, “unfactual”. Little Miss Can’t-Be-Wrong must’ve not fact checked the walkout.

    It was a symbolic walkout done at the end of the shift, some double shifts, to call attention to the fact that the unvaccinated are dying in near record numbers at their hospital. It was an impromptu PSA.

    NO ONE WAS DENIED TREATMENT.

    But, that’s coming. It’s called triage , and you better believe that when the numbers show that vaccines lead to better outcomes, the unvaccinated will start dying faster. Deservedly so.

    “What happened to us?” Too bad you don’t shave. You’d see the answer daily — putting on makeup in the rear view mirror doesn’t afford the long gaze at the problem.

    1. Steve Gillispie Avatar
      Steve Gillispie

      Oh my. This earnest soul crusading for his utopia while hiding behind a false gender and woman’s name–(so much for his respect for women)–feels so compelled to push another of his ubiquitous non-sequitor postings intended to belittle and insult, he’s rushed to educate us with his “facts” on a subject totally unrelated to anything in this thread.

      Even more, he trumpets his and Liberals’ compassion and inclusiveness with the assertion that those who are unvaccinated deserve to die faster. Of course he has the same opinion about anyone he considers unliberal.

      NN continues to take despicability to ever-higher levels. What a great confirmation of my comment above this creature’s posting is.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Hey Steve. Prove you are Steve.

        1. Steve Gillispie Avatar
          Steve Gillispie

          There’s a saying something like “when you are in a deep hole, stop digging”.

          1. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/75-florida-doctors-stage-walkout-in-protest-of-unvaccinated-covid-19-patients/

            So, does that mean you’re not going to publish your address, DOB, SSN, and phone number? I want to make sure you are who you say. Oh, and two letters of recommendation.

            Since I verify identity with Experian, I’ll need a credit card number, with date of expiration, and the security code.

          2. Steve Gillispie Avatar
            Steve Gillispie

            Keep going. It’s fascinating. The brown stain just keeps growing.

          3. Steve Gillispie Avatar
            Steve Gillispie

            PS. I would be happy to meet you in person to hear your defense of the despicable role you play in these comments.

          4. Steve Gillispie Avatar
            Steve Gillispie

            I would even agree not to “out” you. You have a right to choose a life position of intolerance, belittling, skulking, trolling, sniping, snarking, ankle-biting, et al.

          5. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Well, you do have a bathroom in your office, don’t you? Or, is that something funny in your family?

      2. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        https://www.babynameshub.com/gendercompare.cfm?Name=Nancy

        1,100 since 1980, and who knows how many before that?

        😉

  8. Steve Gillispie Avatar
    Steve Gillispie

    As an coda to this thread on the hate and propaganda of the left, in this case our “…Naive”? commenter has fulminated about an MSNBC Morning Joe hoax. This character, who probably hosts the most destructive and irresponsible program on TV anywhere, was caught fabricating a supposedly spontaneous event. If you fell for it, do a little digging. For some it might cause them to put Morning Joe in the same category as Rachel Maddow whom the courts recently found no serious person would take anything she says seriously.

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