Think of the Children

A child was denied entry to school for not following the mask mandate.  The parents are arguing that they should have a religious exemption.  This sickens me.  The same kind of people who say, "Think of the children!" whenever two men kiss on TV, now say "Screw the children!" where COVID is concerned.  These people will literally sacrifice their children's lives for their religion.

It's just like the people who refuse to take their kids to doctors for treatable diseases, because their faith tells them to pray for the child instead.  Except this may be worse, because the maskless kid could infect others, and lead to multiple deaths.  How very Christian of you.  If we give religious exemptions to mask wearing, where does that end?  What other laws can I ignore?  

I've always felt, believe what you want, worship how you want, as long as it doesn't hurt other people.  But this hurts other people.  The virus doesn't magically avoid your child just because you pray for it not to.  If all it took to survive was faith, the COVID death rates would be a lot lower.  Plenty of those who have died from the disease were religious.

"Why didn't you protect me from the virus, God?"  

"What do you mean?  I sent you protective masks and a vaccine!"

PEOPLE. ARE. DYING.

My aunt and uncle recently went to hospital with COVID.  My aunt is currently recovering, but my uncle has sadly passed on.

I didn't actually know my uncle very well.  In fact, even calling him my uncle feels weird.  I was already an adult when my aunt married him, and I've only met him a few times.  But he seemed like a good guy, and my heart goes out to those who knew him.

My aunt and I don't see eye-to-eye on a great many things.  I haven't fought with her directly, but we definitely have different ideals and beliefs.  Just a few months ago she was posting on Facebook, talking about why she doesn't wear a mask when she goes out.  And no, she did not get the vaccine.

I'm not going to bash her for her beliefs right now.  This is not the time for "I told you so" or getting preachy about karma.  I'm not going to spend this blog acting holier-than-thou.  Not only would doing so be in bad taste, but also, I just don't want to.  

Because I don't see my aunt as a villain, I see her as a victim.  My ire isn't directed at her, but at a certain news program, a former president, and a political party that decided disease prevention was too big a strain on their freedom.  

I grew up in a Republican household.  I know how enticing their beliefs can be.  Much like the Devil himself, Republicans can twist scripture until evil sounds holy.  Once you're raised with that mindset, it can be difficult to break free.  

As my aunt's condition improves, people keep responding to her status updates, praising God for her recovery.  Her doctors and nurses haven't had a full night's sleep in over a year, but sure, give God all the credit.  The same God who allowed her husband to succumb to the disease.

Back in the 80s, many Republicans declared that AIDS was sent by God to punish gay people.  Now we have a disease that mostly kills Republicans.  I wonder what they make of that.

Even though my uncle died of a preventable disease, and my aunt has gone through hell the past couple of weeks, I still have other family members who refuse to get vaccinated.  Because they think the Fox News hosts know more about science than the people who have devoted their lives to studying medicine.  Meanwhile an even more contagious variant is sweeping the country.  To quote John Connor, "We're not gonna make it, are we?"

I probably shouldn't post blogs when I'm sad and angry, especially when family is involved.  I don't want to type anything I'll regret later.  So, to those of you who refused to wear a mask for political reasons, and who continue to avoid the vaccine...  Today you get a free pass.  I'll save my angry rants and insults for a later date.  At least until my uncle is buried, and my aunt is out of the hospital.  

But for the love of God, please get the vaccine.

An Old Joke

I don't know if the photo above is real or if it's been shopped.  I do know of the church in the picture, and they are certainly crazy enough to make such a sign.  But it doesn't really matter if it's real, I've seen the same sentiment in many other places on the internet, sometimes from my own family.

It reminds me of an old joke.  You've probably heard it, but it seems very fitting right now.

There is a huge rainstorm.  Neighborhoods are evacuated due to flooding.  A man sits on the roof of his house, watching the floodwaters rise.  The water is now halfway up the roof.  Another man rows up in a boat.  "Quick!  Get in!"  

But the homeowner shakes his head.  "I have faith in God, and He will provide."  The man in the boat shrugs his shoulders, but rows away, looking for other survivors.  An hour later, the water is higher than the roof.  The homeowner has to stand up, gripping his chimney for support.  The water is up to his calves.  

Another boat approaches, piloted by an EMT.  The would-be rescuer shouts, "Come on!  Let's get you out of here!"  But the homeowner again refuses.  "I have faith in God, and He will provide."  The EMT shakes his head sadly, but he doesn't have time to argue when there are other people to rescue.  The boat leaves.

An hour later, the water is up to the man's neck.  A helicopter flies overhead, and tosses down a rope ladder.  "Grab on!  We'll lift you to safety!"  But the man refuses yet again.  "No!  I have faith in God!  He will provide!"  The helicopter flies away, looking for more survivors.

The man drowns.  In Heaven, he gets a chance to speak to God.  "Lord," he says, "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be here with you, but I have a question.  Why didn't you try to save me?"

And God answers, "What do you mean I didn't try to save you?  I sent you two boats and a helicopter!"

Thanksgiving Quarantine

People are complaining about restrictions against family gatherings this Thanksgiving.

Don't be a child.  These restrictions are there for your own good.  You skip Thanksgiving this year, so more people are alive to attend next year.

People keep comparing it to Nazism.  Educate yourselves, jeez.  When the Nazis imposed restrictions, their goal wasn't to save lives, and their intent wasn't for it to be temporary.  If the Nazis tried to keep you from seeing your family, it was because they never wanted you to see your family again.  Temporary measures are not the same as totalitarian fiats.  

If you're looking for examples of abuse of power, look no further than Trump's current attempts to overturn a legal election.  But a government trying to save lives by postponing a holiday... that's not an abuse of power.  It's not Nazism, it's not fascism, it's not authoritarianism.  It's protection.  In fact, it's exactly the kind of protection we have governments for.

Be a grown up.  Right now, isolation saves lives.  You can visit your relatives once everyone's been vaccinated.  Until then, please play it safe.

Token Ethics

You've probably heard of "Nice Guys" when it comes to feminism.  If not, basically Nice Guys (not to be confused with actual nice guys) are guys who pretend to be a woman's friend, when they're really hoping she'll eventually become their girlfriend.

Now, there's nothing wrong with having a secret crush on a platonic friend, and being too shy to tell them.  But Nice Guys only pretend to be a friend, and only hang around their target to weasel their way into their heart.  They feel that they're owed a sexual relationship after putting so much time into being a friend.  Or as many people on the internet put it, Nice Guys treat women like vending machines.  They believe that if they put in enough Nice tokens, eventually sex will pop out.

Lately I've been thinking about the token theory as it relates to other subjects.  For example, Christians.  Many Christians seem to believe that all they have to do is pop in a few religion tokens - like going to church, wearing a cross, putting a "Honk if you love Jesus" bumper stick on their car - and then they can do whatever they want the rest of the time.

They claim to love Jesus, but they vote against helping the poor.  They think they're going to Heaven, but they're prejudiced against foreigners and GLBT people.  Christianity is supposed to be a "think of others before yourself" philosophy, but they think that if they just memorize enough Bible verses, they can just forget the part about helping the less fortunate.

Most recently I've been thinking about Patriotism tokens.  People seem to think that if they stick enough US flags on their property, that they're true Americans.  But they refuse to comply with the basic ideals of our society.  There's more to being an American than sticking a "Love it or leave it" sticker on your bumper.

Some tips:
A true American doesn't wave a Confederate flag.  That is the flag of a movement that was - by its very definition - anti-American.  Arguably, it's treason.  I can accept immigrants who still wave the flag of their old country, because it's possible to love two countries.  But you can't love the Confederacy and also love America.  That's like pledging your soul to both Satan and God.  They aren't compatible ideals.

A true American isn't xenophobic.  I hear racists talk about America losing its cultural identity if they let in too many immigrants.  But our cultural identity is supposed to be "Melting Pot".  We were founded by immigrants and refugees from many countries.  One of our greatest landmarks is the Statue of Liberty, a gift from a foreign nation, and a symbol of hope for those fleeing other countries.

"Oh, but we're overcrowded!"  Yeah, funny how whenever Liberals talk about the overpopulation, Conservatives claim you can fit the world's population in Texas.  But when Liberals talk about immigration, suddenly the US is packed to the brim.

But of course, what really prompted me to write this blog was the current pandemic.  I'm still seeing people who refuse to wear masks unless they're forced to, or wear them badly, or otherwise not taking this COVID-19 seriously.  I'm even seeing maskless people make fun of those wearing masks.

That is some next level stupidity right there.  I don't care if you're Democrat or Republican, because neither side has declared the crisis to be over.  Not even the  mango-in-chief has declared the virus gone, he's just shown a general preference for making money over saving lives.

So it's damned if you do, damned if you don't right now.  You can wear a mask and lessen the spread of the virus, but Trumpers will make fun of you.  That's an easy choice - I'd rather be mocked and live, than die a cool person.  Except - the masks don't really protect you, so much as they protect others from you.  So going maskless doesn't make you "tough" or whatever, it just means you don't care about other people.

To all the virus deniers out there:

If you refuse to wear a mask in public during this pandemic, you are a wimp.

I don't want to stoop that low with my insults, but it's the only language these idiots understand.

A true American doesn't shy away when America needs help.  The government has asked us, for the good of all America, to comply with quarantine rules.  This means staying home as much as possible, wearing masks in public, and avoiding crowded places.

And yet Conservatives are putting their own comfort ahead of the needs of their country.  They are the citizens who have always considered themselves the most patriotic.  They've spent years claiming that they're the only True Americans, and yet when their country actually called upon them to be heroes, they said, "No, we need haircuts."  They claim being forced to wear masks is unconstitutional, despite the fact that they've never read the Constitution past the Second Amendment.

It is time to change our perceptions of the parties.  Currently, Liberals are seen as bleeding hearts who only care about foreigners and the poor.  Conservatives are seen as patriotic Christians.  The truth is that Liberals care about the big picture.  Liberals care about the world as a whole, and recognize that what hurts anyone hurts the world as a whole.  Conservatives don't care about any issue that doesn't affect them personally.  How is that considered patriotic?

You can't just make token gestures.  You can't just shout, "America Great!" at the top of your lungs and call yourself patriotic.  Sometimes your country will ask something of you.  In this case, it's something pretty small:  Wear a mask in public, and stay home as much as possible.

Is that really so much to ask?  If you're such a pathetic wimp that you can't comply with such a small request, what's going to happen when the country needs something bigger from you?  How can you call yourself patriotic when you can't even do the little things?

Want to be a patriot?  Then take this as a challenge.  Show your American pride by actually doing something for your country.  This is the smallest thing the country could ask of you, and if you can't do it, then you're the very thing you've accused others of for years:  A traitor.

Stay home as much as you can.  Wear a mask in public.  Wash your hands.  Stay six feet apart.  Take the current crisis seriously, whether you believe in it or not.  The lives we're trying to save include your own.

Getting Fed Up

I've been watching my brother and my aunt argue on Facebook about wearing masks.  It's amazing to me.  My side links to all sorts of reputable reports about how the masks save lives, and how doctors overwhelmingly believe that mask use is the way to go.  My aunt keeps replying with nebulous comments like "plenty of doctor agree with me" and "I heard somewhere that masks can cause diseases."  She sounds a lot like Trump.

It's not up for debate.  You're either wearing a mask in public, or you're a bastard.  This pandemic has lasted too long for us to keep having this conversation.  Some of you are still stuck in April, making the same stupid arguments you had then, your fingers in your ears going "la la la la".  We already know how to end the pandemic, but Republicans just aren't willing to do it.

Trump has made us the laughing stock of the world.  We're one of the few countries left that hasn't gotten the disease under control.  If we want to know how to do the same, all we have to do is look at some of these other countries and see how they did it.  It's pretty simple - Enforce everyone to stay in their homes, except for a few essential jobs, like doctors and delivery drivers.  Anyone who does have to leave the house, has to wear a mask, no exceptions.  And of course, pay people to stay in their homes.  It would only take a couple of months for the virus to die out, if they strictly enforced this.

Instead, we're trying half-assed method after half-assed method, and cases keep rising.  You might think it's too expensive to pay people to stay home, but in the long run it would be cheaper.  Two expensive months versus what will probably be more than a year of various half-assed methods. 

If we had done this in April, we'd have it under control by now.  I know it would be hard to enforce, and here's where I get really mean.  But I would recommend total enforcement.  I'm talking totalitarian, "snipers on the roof" enforcement.  Wear a mask or go to jail.  Resist arrest and die.  Yeah, I know it's harsh, but it's only for two months.  And frankly, at this point, I think refusing to wear a mask is attempted murder.  

Treat the maskless like the potential murderers they are.  They know they run the risk of infecting others.  If a guy started walking around Kroger firing a handgun in random directions, he'd get arrested (if he's lucky).  This really is no different.

My aunt says, "I don't believe masks help, and I'm entitled to my opinion."  But ignorance can't be an excuse when lives are on the line.  The fact that anti-maskers are incredibly fucking stupid isn't a valid legal defense.  If my hypothetical Kroger shooter said, "I don't believe bullets are dangerous," we wouldn't just say, "Bless your heart, I guess you can go."  

No more half-assed solutions.  If Trump really wants to get re-elected, he should bite the bullet and get this over with.  Lockdown.  Enforce it.  Pay the citizens.  Then he can take credit for ending the virus (despite the rest of us recommending these actions since April).  He'd finally be the hero, and the quarantine would be over just in time for the election.  

But of course he won't do any of that.  He won't do the right thing even when it benefits himself.  It's just not in his nature.

So... People Suck

Yesterday my wife had to go to Walgreens. She wore a mask, but some of the other customers weren't. The maskless man behind her in line stood just inches behind her, and acted annoyed that she wouldn't move closer to the next person in line.  He kept reaching past her to grab impulse items.

So as careful as we're trying to be, my wife (who is high risk) could still catch it due to some random asshat who probably thinks the quarantine is a Liberal hoax.

It's just, I don't care if they believe in the disease or not, why can't they just play the game in public for the benefit of others?  Gambling is fine when it's only your health, but they're gambling other people's lives.  If they break the rules and someone dies, as far as I'm concerned, that's murder.

IDIOT!!!!

I am sick and tired of being so angry all the time.  Every single day that man comes on TV and says something even stupider than the day before.  The fact that I don't even have to tell you who I'm talking about says it all.

A couple of days ago, the muppet-in-chief speculated about using disinfectants internally to cure COVID-19.  Democrats immediately started making memes claiming the president suggested we inject ourselves with bleach.  Republicans immediately rushed to the president's aid, claiming he was referring to some actual existing treatments involving UV light and medicines that use the same ingredients as disinfectant.

Of course, neither is true.  The Democrats' memes are just that - memes.  Jokes.  We know he didn't literally tell citizens to inject bleach.  We're trying to lift the mood because life is such a horrorshow right now.  The Republican defense was disproven by the president himself, who now claims his comments were just sarcasm.  Of course that's a lie in itself; nothing he said resembled sarcasm.  If that was intended to be sarcasm, that man doesn't know what sarcasm is.

The actual truth is, the president was just spitballing.  He was thinking out loud, throwing out ideas to the medical professionals present.  His questions made him sound like a five year old, asking questions that adults have known for years, revealing an absurd lack of education.  It's uncomfortable to watch, I'm actually embarrassed for him.  I've seen the video at least ten times now, and it makes my skin crawl more each time.

He's such an egomaniac that he believes he'll come up with a treatment the actual doctors haven't considered.  Actual experts - people who have studied medicine for decades - are working around the clock, all over the world right now.  But DJT thinks he's going to just blurt out a magic cure if he brainstorms enough, like some scene from the climax of a movie.

DJT: "But those things are different, like apples and oranges..."

Doctor: "Wait... what did you just say?"

DJT: "Apples and... oranges?"

Doctor: "Oranges!  You're a genius!  We haven't tried Vitamin C yet!"

But regardless of which side of the fence you're on, or why you think he said it, you have to admit that it was a remarkably stupid thing to say.  It was dangerous and naive.  There's enough stupid people in this country that some will actually try it, and guess what, those people are DJT voters.  Combine that with all the Republicans who gather in large groups to protest the quarantine, and I'll be surprised if any DJT supporters are still alive to vote this November.  I'm not actually wishing for anyone to die, I'm just amazed that the president is so cavalier about the lives of his own voters.

The man is an idiot.  You can tell this every time he opens his mouth.  If you can't see it, you're either in deep denial, or you're just as stupid.  Seriously, how can you listen to this guy speak for more than five minutes and not recognize that he has no idea what he's talking about?

Happy Easter! Now Go Wash Your Hands.

Best wishes to everyone today, whether you celebrate Easter or not.

That said, if you attend church in person today, you are not a Christian.  Yeah, yeah, I have no right to dictate the rules of your religion to you, yada yada yada... but there is no version of Christianity that would support the risks you're taking if you congregate in large groups right now.

A church is not a building.  A church is wherever people gather to worship, and that includes online.  There is no reason to risk spreading the disease by getting together.  You might be willing to take the risk, but it's not all about you.  Even if you don't have the virus yourself, your actions can help spread it.  Getting other people killed is not going to get you rewarded in the afterlife.

Stay home, wash your hands, and don't be an idiot.

Quick Quarantine Update 4/7/2020

So I'm writing a lot of blogs, because it's one of the few things I can do while working.  Well, more like I'm finishing old blogs, and starting more that will remain unfinished for a few months.  Seriously, you should see the "drafts" section of my Blogger account.  There are currently 110 unfinished blogs in there, some of which date back to 2009. 

Some of them are just ideas, inspiration for future rants.  Some of them are 90% finished blogs, just waiting for me to do some research I never felt like doing.  And some of them are a single incoherent phrase like "rember the red worm", that I must have written in a hurry.  My past self had a lot of faith that my present self would remember what the hell I was talking about.  Sooner or later I should start deleting the ones I'll never finish.  I mean, if you don't finish a thought after ten years, you probably aren't going to.  But you never know.

As I work, I have the TV on for background noise.  No sense hogging up the streaming bandwidth that I'm already using for work, especially if I can't even see the TV screen.  So antenna TV it is.  It's been a long time since I've watched daytime TV.  We've been cord cutters for over a year now, and I kind of missed broadcast TV.  There's something charming about the randomness of TV stations, showing you what they want to show you instead of retrieving specific videos you request.

Commercials are weird.  I'm seeing the kinds of commercials I used to see when I was younger, before I had cable.  I guess antenna is where all the cheap advertising goes now.  Lots of law firms and "As Seen on TV" products.  Some weirdly specific ones like "Were you sexually assaulted by a Catholic priest as a child?  You might be entitled to compensation."  Oh and there's a hat that shines lasers on your head, supposedly to stimulate hair growth.  It's so obviously a scam, I don't know how it's even legal to show the commercial.

There are two different commercials for devices that clean CPAP machines.  I mean, plenty of people use CPAP machines and I suppose they do need cleaning, but it still strikes me as oddly specific.  It feels like the modern version of all the denture cleaning commercials I saw as a kid.

Working from home makes me feel sort of floaty, like I'm dreaming that I'm at work.  It reminds me of a recurring dream I had back when I worked at Subway.  I was supposed to close at midnight, but I had a rush of customers at 11:50, and it took me until 1 AM to close the place.  Then I went home, and was about to get ready for bed, when there was a knock at the door.  I opened the door and there was a long line of customers.  I turned around and my living room was a Subway, and the never ending rush continued.

What really drives me nuts is that all my neighbors are using this newfound time to get things done in their yards.  I am constantly driven nuts by the sounds of lawnmowers, pressure washers, and whatever the hell the neighbor across the creek is doing.  It sounds like he has a giant motorcycle engine in his back yard, and he runs it for hours at a time.

Anyway, my job's still going fine, neither of us are sick, and we've got groceries.  I hope you're doing well too.

Quick Quarantine Update 4/1/2020

We're fine for now. 

I have a job that allows me to work from home when needed.  I rarely used this feature before this year.  I've worked from home maybe five times in previous years because of snow or whatever, but this is the first time I've had to do it on a daily basis.  It was a little uncomfortable at first, but I've since made myself a better office space, though that's an ongoing project. 

Our company was one of the first to implement mandatory work-from-home, starting on Friday the 13th.  I've only been out of the house a couple of times since then, to pick up important sundries.  Beyond that we've been really good about staying home. 

My wife was already unemployed, as of the end of last year.  She was going to start looking for work before the outbreak started, but now of course is not a good time.  This is fine, I currently make enough to where she doesn't have to work as long as we're careful with our money.  Our biggest temptation is ordering delivery when we have food to make here.  Beyond that, there's not a lot of reasons to spend money.

Even if I get the virus, my finances are pretty stable.  I have decent health insurance, and enough paid sick leave to stay out for weeks.  So don't worry about our health or our finances.  Our sanity is still up for grabs, but more on that later.

So stay safe, stay home, keep six feet apart, wash your hands, and don't touch your face.  I wish the best of health to you and your family.