COVID Collision Course
Conservative anti-science messaging has driven a merger of anti-mask/anti-vaccine conspiracy cultures. What happens next?
Fascinating that even a majority of Republicans (58%) now believe in mask mandates to control novel coronavirus. Hardcore Trump supporters and fringe libertarians (the two groups often overlap) remain the holdouts.
Years of bellicose anti-science ravings by right-wing media loudmouths, politicians and our current president have consequences for our environment, and, of course, for our inability as a nation to get a handle on a virus that is killing 1,000+ of our fellow citizens daily.
The refusal of Trump and his administration sycophants to present a national strategy to control the outbreak — something every other developed nation in the world has done — is, quite literally, killing us and continuing to kill our economy.
But the most destructive and painful irony in this ignorant, anti-science jihad is yet to come. Many of these virulent anti-maskers are also becoming anti-vaxxers. Anti-vaxxers have always been a fringe mix of far-left and far-right conspiracy kooks. But the anti-science seeds sown by the right have matured into dense, dark forests that nary a shaft of sunlight can penetrate. What will Trump’s most ardent, ignorant backers do when Don tries to rush out his (scientifically dubious) “October surprise” in the form of a vaccine?
The insane conspiracy theories on possible vaccines have been around for some time, many of which revolve around Bill Gates plotting to spread the virus and then corner the market on vaccines. So will the anti-science, conspiracy-driven, anti-vax MAGA crowd come to believe that Jared Kushner, Trump’s mastermind behind the vaccine search dubbed “Operation Warp Speed,” is part of the vast Bill Gates-led virus conspiracy?
It will be truly head-spinning to watch all of this lunacy unfold. Trump will announce a “miracle” vaccine in the “fastest time anyone has ever seen” that “even the doctors couldn’t believe could be done” and yada, yada, yada, and then what? His ignorant, anti-science MAGA true believers do what, exactly? Shout that Kushner is in kahoots with Bill Gates? That they will not take a vaccine that their hero is touting? That somehow, this is all part of Trump’s ruse to expose the “deep state?”
The insanity is just getting started. Meanwhile, we will continue to needlessly lose more than a thousand moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers and friends… Every. Single. Day.
Ignorance runs deep deep in our country. And the never-ending conservative war on public education — from pre-school through our public universities — has brought this nation to its knees. Get out the vote. Support public education. Our future depends on it.
