Week of 04/27/2020

A Virus Doesn’t Care
– by David Matthews 2

In the 1999 movie “The Matrix”, Lawrence Fishburne’s character is being interrogated by a sentient computer program called “Agent Smith”.  Smith observes that humans do not behave like other mammals on the planet in that they don’t maintain a natural balance with the environment.  They continue to consume and to multiply until all the natural resources in the area are depleted and then they expand to new places and do the same thing all over again.

“There is another organism that does the same thing,” said Smith.  “A virus.”

I’m sure that if the coronavirus had a brain like ours, it would feel offended by the comparison.

But the fact of the matter is that the COVID-19 virus doesn’t have something as complex as a brain.  It may be a complex mesh of chemicals, but it is still a relatively simple organism.  It simply exists, and it has two functions: to thrive and to multiply.  As long as it can do the former, then the latter happens naturally.  It doesn’t need a matchmaker or an app or a little pill made by people who think everything involves holding hands in separate bathtubs to do it either.  It doesn’t need to engage in a complex game of courting and dating before doing the deed and making others.  It just does it on its own.

That’s something that I think certain people seem to not comprehend.  There are certain people – and you can probably guess who – that think that the COVID-19 global pandemic is some kind of war that can be fought and won.  That’s about as asinine as thinking that you could wage a war against oxygen.

Simply put... a virus like COVID-19 does not care about whether it wins or loses.  It simply exists.  It only cares about thriving and multiplying.  As long as it can do the former, it will do the latter.  It doesn’t care if you approve of it.  It doesn’t need anyone’s permission to do it.  It’s not going to give an apology for it.  It doesn’t follow the Geneva Convention.  You can’t sue it for war reparations.  It doesn’t feel remorse for what it did.

A virus doesn’t care where it goes or what it harms in the process.  It goes to wherever it can thrive, no matter if it is for five seconds or five days.  As long as it can thrive, it can multiply.

A virus doesn’t care about geographic locations.  It’s not Chinese or Japanese or Russian or French or British or Canadian or Mexican or even American.  It doesn’t need a passport or a green card.  It doesn’t care about walls or borders.  It goes wherever it wants; wherever it can thrive.

A virus doesn’t care about race or creed or nationality.  It doesn’t see skin color.  It doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, male, female, or anything in between.  It doesn’t matter what gender you are or what you were born with or what your orientation is.  Animal, vegetable, or mineral, it simply does not care!

A virus doesn’t care about politics or political leanings.  It is completely non-partisan.  It doesn’t matter if you are liberal or conservative, Democrat or Trump Party or Independent or Third Party or even a non-voter.  It doesn’t care if you watch Fox News or CNN, or what bumper sticker you have on your vehicle or what flag you waive.  It doesn’t care who you voted for or how you voted or if you voted or whether your state is red or blue or purple.

A virus doesn’t have a social media presence.  It doesn’t care how many followers you have or whether or not you’re an “influencer” or a “top fan”.  It can’t be cyber-shamed or slut-shamed or gaslighted.  It has no guilt to feel.

A virus doesn’t care how much money you have.  It doesn’t care if your business is “essential” or not.  It doesn’t care if your business is on the Forbes 100 or the Forbes 500 or the Forbes 1000 or the Forbes 1,000,000,000.  It doesn’t care how the market is doing.  It doesn’t have a credit score, nor does it need one.  It doesn’t care if you’re living in a penthouse or a trailer park.

A virus doesn’t hoard PPE and toilet paper and bleach cleaner.  It doesn’t buy all the packs of meat and chicken and all the cans of soup and all the packages of rice that it can “just because”.

A virus isn’t Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu or even an atheist.  It doesn’t care if you think you’re “special” or “chosen” or even somehow “immune” because of your faith.  It’ll take you all the same.

And perhaps, most importantly... a virus does not care if you think it is a “hoax”.  It doesn’t care if you “believe” in it or not.  It doesn’t care if you wear a mask or practice social distancing or if your arrogance and ignorance make you reject those things.  It doesn’t love you or hate you either way.  It just exists to thrive and to multiply.  And if it happens to thrive and multiply in you, then it doesn’t feel any sense of accomplishment or pride or rejection.  You’re just an environment to it, just like many of us treat the Earth.

Let’s get brutally honest here... a virus like COVID-19 doesn’t care one whit about any of these things.  Only *we* care about them.  Only we put value to these things.  And we sure as hell cannot expect something as simple as a virus to hold any kind of value to them like we do.  It has no brain and no ego to comprehend, overwhelm, or bully.

In that regard, to compare us to a virus is actually an insult to all viruses.  A virus is painfully simple.  We are far from it.

Week of 04/20/2020

“This” Must Never Be Normal
– by David Matthews 2

I’m going to make this as plain and as simple as possible so even the red-hats can understand.

When it comes to the restrictions being imposed on us all because of the COVID-19 global pandemic... to the social distancing, the required facemasks, the over-sanitization, the germophobic washing of hands, the closing of businesses and public places and the cancellation of social events...

All of this... must never be “normal”.

I understand the importance and the need for these measures; I am not one of those red-hat idiots that ignore the rules because they think it is all just a hoax or that they’re somehow “special”.  I know these things must be done to shorten the curve, even if it means prolonging the exposure.  I can read that bell-curve chart just like everyone else.  I have some very important reasons for me to follow those guidelines that I call my family.

At the same time, though, I cannot and will not accept the idea that all of this should be – in any sense of the term – “normal”.

This COVID-19 global pandemic strikes at the very core of human civilization.  It severs our sense of connection, our sense of intimacy, our measures of interaction, the very things that keep us together as families and as communities.  It forces us to be apart, to be distrustful of others, and to be overly paranoid.

It is one thing to keep ourselves apart for a limited time in the face of this pandemic.  To make this temporary sacrifice so that we will again be with our loved ones after this is over.  But, in order to do that, there must be a time when all of this has to end.  That can never happen if we consider this to be “normal”.

To consider this to be “normal” is to say that this will never end.  That the restrictions that are placed on ourselves and on the bonds of social interaction and social connection and personal trust are now permanent, like that stain on your shirt that you can never get out no matter how many times you wash it.  They will never go away, no matter how healthy we are.  That is what “normal” means.

Think of all of the businesses that would forever be shuttered if we consider this to be “normal”!  To call this “normal” means that we can never again have conventions and concerts.  We can never again have large rallies and parades and marathons.  We can never have movie theaters, day care centers, church gatherings, and community events.  Restaurants and bars will forever be closed except as some clandestine gatherings like under the old Prohibition days. 

I’m sorry, but I cannot accept that kind of a future beyond this momentary crisis. 

I will not accept that kind of a long-term future.

I cannot and will not consider any of this to be “normal”!

I scream obscenities at TV personalities that refer to this as “the new normal”.  I scream obscenities at the germophobes in the White House who suggest that things like handshakes will be a thing of the past.  I reject those who re-post memes suggesting that we should never get back to “normal” and to embrace this as “the new normal”.  I cannot accept this as “the new normal” any more than I would the aftermath of a train wreck or the devastation following a tornado.

Because let’s get brutally honest here... that is what this whole COVID-19 global pandemic really is.  It is a time of crisis.  Just like a train wreck.  Just like a tornado.  Only this devastation is invisible, widespread, and lasts far longer.  But it is still just a time of crisis, with a beginning and an end.

And that is what we need to know.  We need to know that it *will* end.  Maybe not as soon as we’d like.  Certainly not as soon as some of us hoped.  But we certainly we all need to know that it will end.

I can understand the frustration of a lot of people who want this to be over with already.  Or at least the ones that aren’t in it because of partisan extremism.  It doesn’t help that there is a date set for normalcy to resume, and then it’s pushed back, and then it’s pushed back again.  I think a lot of us – or at least the normal people who aren’t following said partisan extremism – would be willing to endure the hardships and restrictions if we knew there will be an end.  That there will be a time when the restrictions and hardships will end.  Not “might end”, but “will end”.

And I don’t mean this suicide cry to reopen everything now, which is nothing more than manufactured hyperpartisan conflict at the behest of a certain orange-skinned narcissist and his gang of extremist dark money interests targeting states under Democratic leadership.  History has showed what happens when you make that kind of stupid move.  The pandemic of 1918 had a two-stage attack because certain idiots decided that it was over before it really was, and it needlessly cost more lives.  And that stupidity wasn’t done for political points.

No, we need to know when this crisis is actually containable, like a wildfire.  We need mass-testing.  We need numbers.  We need these because then we can say when this will end.  Not “if”, but “when”.

Twenty years ago, America was caught in a perpetual state of fear.  We were attacked, we were scared, and then we were left in continual trauma mode for political gains, and that drained us as a nation.  The crisis that we are facing today is a hundred times worse than terrorism, because the “enemy” is within us.  Many of us don’t have jobs to focus on because of the shutdowns.  We don’t have the social connections we used to have because of the pandemic.  The bonds of society are temporarily severed and our global economy is in the toilet.  We cannot live this way forever!

This may be the new “reality” for now, but it cannot be “the new normal” and it must never be considered “the new normal”.  There must be an end to it.  A time when we can go to stores and restaurants and go to concerts and conventions.  A time when we can shake hands and hold hands and not live like germophobic prisoners, conducting our affairs between panes of glass and masks and gloves.  It doesn’t have to happen tomorrow, but it does have to happen.

This must *never*, *ever*, be normal!

Week of 04/13/2020

COVID Pandemic Invites Supervillain Designs
– by David Matthews 2

Imagine your area faced a major disaster.  Say, for instance, a Category 5 hurricane that shows no signs of weakening and would only get stronger and stronger as it approaches your location.  Common sense would tell you to evacuate as soon as you could, or, at the very least, hunker down as much as possible and prepare for the devastation that would ensue.

Now let’s suppose that, instead of telling people to evacuate, your political, social, religious, and business leaders were telling you to just go about your lives like the storm never existed.  It’s a hoax, some of them would say.  They might say that the threatened damage is overblown, the potential loss of life is over-exaggerated, “fake news”, and it would really be important that people get back to work and back to shopping as soon as possible.

Wouldn’t you think those leaders were loony?  Off their rockers?  Would you even listen to what they would say?  Or would you be evacuating and hoping that fate deals those leaders some payback when the storm hit?

When it comes to the COVID-19 global pandemic, we are having to deal with plenty of people with just that kind of attitude.  While the prevailing mindset is to shelter-in-place and practice social distancing and wearing masks and washing hands, there are certain people – and you can guess the worst of the bunch – that seem to operate out of pure ignorance and gross incompetence.  They claim that the pandemic is “overblown”, the recommended measures are “draconian”, and that the greater emphasis needs to be on restarting the economy as soon as possible regardless of the spread of the disease.  Some people have even out-and-out said that they *want* everyone to get coronavirus!

Crazy, isn’t it?

For most people, yes. 

But as a writer and a comic book creator, I can see the method in the madness.  I can see it, because I spend my time getting into the mindset of villains and supervillains as part of my stories.  Like “The Shadow”, I know what evil lurks in the hearts of men.  (Insert ominous laugh here.)

Before we get started, let me say that this is purely speculative.  It’s not based on any kind of empirical evidence or hidden knowledge of these individuals.  It’s just a theory that happens to fit the information.

Why would someone in their right mind want everyone – or at least just the general populace – to become infected with coronavirus?  Why would they encourage people to ignore the warnings or dismiss the threat?  Why dismiss and undermine the shortage of much-needed protective gear or ventilators or hospital beds or even testing?

You would if you really want a lot of people to get sick and die.

Understand that a sociopath or a psychopath – and that includes those with narcissistic personality disorders – have no sense of empathy for others.  They don’t know or care how other people feel, even during times of crisis.  Their only concerns are themselves and to their own matters.  A sociopathic businessman does not care one bit about how many people die because of an accident at the workplace; he only cares about how it will affect the stock price.  A sociopathic politician doesn’t care about how many lives are lost in a natural disaster or how much damage it will incur; he only cares about how it will affect his re-election chances.

So already we know that these people are not “normal” people like you or I.  They don’t regard other people like we do.  They don’t think the same way we do.  They regard other people as things.  Numbers on a spreadsheet.  Words on some ledger.  That makes it easy for them to conclude that sometimes people need to die for some greater purpose.

When it comes to a global pandemic, we see in these sociopaths and psychopaths the opportunity to – as Charles Dickens once wrote – “decrease the surplus population”.

Think for a minute about what we knew when the pandemic started about who was being affected the worst: the elderly, those with diminished or compromised immune systems, and African-Americans.  Favorite targets of politicians of certain political leanings.

If these groups were to die in large numbers, especially if they were to die quickly through a pandemic, well, then, they wouldn’t need government assistance afterward.  Those are less recipients of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid and other welfare programs.  They won’t need unemployment assistance.  They won’t need medical assistance.  Fewer beds in nursing homes.  Fewer need for doctors and nurses and for health insurance payments.  No need for any of that because they would be dead, and everyone else that survives would be stronger.

With this in mind, you can see why someone would claim that the threat is “a hoax”, or to undermine the scope of the threat.  Why they would be reluctant to push for social distancing and to tell people to shelter-in-place.  Why they would peddle some quick “solutions” that may or may not work.  Why they would focus more on businesses recovering than on people surviving.  Why they would tell people to get out in large numbers for celebrations in blatant defiance of health guidelines.  It’s not because they are ignorant or incompetent.  It is because they really want large numbers of people to get sick and to die.  And to do so quickly to decrease that “surplus population”.

Now if you think that idea is disturbing; if you would be outraged to know that certain people in social, political, or religious authority would advocate that kind of notion for that precise end, then there is nothing wrong with you.  It means you are ethical and moral.  That just means that you are like the rest of us.

Let’s get brutally honest here… this is still just speculation.  A hypothetical explanation for actions and attitudes that we see in the real world right now.  It would be far easier for us to believe that the people who are doing these things are doing so from a position of ignorance and sheer incompetence in a quest to make a buck or to score some political points.  Because the alternative would require us to examine our own support of these people and whether or not they should face any kind of consequences.