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.