This Conspiracy Theory Thing is Getting Old. Some of it is Probably True. So What.
Dear my Republican friends, you know that I love you and respect your right to have an opinion but I just have to ask — how many of you actually believe that every country in the world dealing with the Covid-19 virus is faking this somehow? That’s it’s not real? If you are taking it seriously, but don’t think the virus is that deadly and we should just open up the economy willy-nilly, then think about this: in the US, what would herd immunity cost us in terms of lives if it came quickly? What about senior living places? Do you think they are faking it? Here’s an article about what’s happening in Minnesota. https://www.startribune.com/13-dead-from-covid-19-at-catholic-nursing-home-in-minneapolis-as-deadly-clusters-grow/569988882/
You know, this thing is hitting old people, black people and people with underlying health conditions (people like me!) really hard and sometimes very randomly. We need to keep this in mind as we navigate this.
Look, I know a good conspiracy theory sounds great and makes a person feel some fun outrage but I think a lot of people on both sides of the aisle have lost their minds. That isn’t to say there aren’t legitimate storylines to explore but some of this stuff is just ridiculous — not because there isn’t some truth there mind you. Some of this stuff may actually be true on some level. But there is no way to actually prove these things. Often, when you really dig deep into some of these stories, you find the facts don’t add up. Here are some of those stories:
The gov’t is spying on us because of all of this new usage of video chat. The gov’t is trying to take our rights away and destroy the economy by locking us down. The virus is not that dangerous. Bill Gates funded the virus. etc etc.
Bill Gates funded the virus. etc etc.
Don’t get me wrong — I think gov’t conspiracies exist (JFK and MLK Jr prove this), but I don’t think the existence of Covid-19 or it’s effects is one of them. I believe there was a lot of mismanagement, missteps and bad (alarmist) math in the aftermath of Covid hitting the US. I also think people in the US (surprisingly) took this thing serious and distanced way better than expected, which crushed the infection rates in most states without super dense populations. The few places in the country where populations are really dense are getting slammed, of course. A lot of this is a result of a lack of knowledge. Nobody really knew how deadly this thing is going to be. Indeed, the medical community at large was faced with the task of scaring the crap out of the public enough to get them to take it seriously. Which meant using the worst scenarios you could come up with. Basically, it’s math. (newsflash, even using a .01% number for a death rate — yes, the same as the seasonal flu — and how quickly this thing spreads with only 30% of the population getting it — well below the threshold for herd immunity — that still adds up to 1M deaths. 10 times higher than the flu. You want to take that chance?)
I have a screenwriter friend that said “You know, if we do this really right, it will seem like we over-reacted” and that, my friends is the truth. If it seems like we over-reacted, then it worked out for us. Congratulations, MN, we did a good job.
Do I think the economy should be reopened in smart, realistic ways? Absolutely. I think just about everybody gets it now and is more willing to wear a mask, safely distance and be smart about hand washing and disinfecting things. If you are not taking this seriously or you think this is some kind of big gov’t conspiracy — regardless if you are on the left or the right — you may be taking home a Darwin Award somewhere along the way when you or a close family member gets sick and dies from this thing. I personally know someone who lost four people in one week to the virus. That will wake you up, I promise.
I have often wondered — do those who think this thing is some kind of wide ranging conspiracy/scam also think the Spanish Flu was a scam? Except the problem is a good number of us had relatives who died in that epidemic, including me. These are hard facts to ignore.
Also, in a nod to the theory that there is some conspiracy surrounding death certificates, I would agree there are real issues that need to be discussed regarding the amount of money hospitals get for different diagnosis. (Who sets up a system like that? Stupidity.) However — if you died during the Spanish Flu epidemic, it probably didn’t matter if it was Spanish flu or not, you likely got labeled with it if you died during that year. Meaning the official death toll of roughly 600–700,000 in the US would have been a bit high. Bear in mind though — that flu killed 50 million people worldwide in the end. In the US, we skated and it was still a major disaster. Starting to sound familiar?
But does any of this matter? Really?
The thing you really ought to be asking yourself is why has testing taken so long to spin up? Who benefits from the public not knowing the facts? Here’s a hint: all politicians, both left and right — mostly in Washington. I think on the state levels, they are much more interested in the public safety aspect and want the testing to be happening on a wide scale. I think Washington politicians want people to be in the dark as long as possible. I haven’t quite put my finger on the reasons but one of them is likely the ability to use the lack of info to push their bases into getting angry and motivated. The last thing politicians in Washington want is for all of us to break down the walls and pull together. I think that would be a disaster for the establishment. Never waste a good crisis, they say. If you are on the right side of the aisle reading this don’t kid yourself — you have a counterpart on the left. Surprisingly, you both believe many of the same things. You just don’t realize it. This is the power of polarization.
In places like MN, I think we’ve possibly done enough to get a grip on it and for most people to go back to work, with caveats and serious rules in place. My personal belief is that enough people think this whole thing is some kind of national political scam that the infection rates will rise again and some of those very same people will be affected — then and only then — will they wake up and realize they have duped themselves into believing things that are not true.
Here are some cold, hard truths:
It doesn’t matter if it was manufactured, was a natural occurrence or the result of an open air meat market.
It doesn’t matter if there is political chicanery going on to try to take advantage of the civil unrest fomented by the virus.
It doesn’t matter what you believe or think.
This thing is here. We just have to deal with it.
