When Will They Ever Learn???

Posted on by under education, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

I am appalled by the anti-mask, anti-vax bunch and the lengths they will go to in order to ensure that we never come out from under the Covid thumb!  To ensure that their own children have an equal opportunity to die at a young age.  For PETE’S SAKE PEOPLE!!!  Wake the hell up!

There is yet another new variant of Covid just beginning to make the rounds and it is thought to be largely resistant to the vaccines we have today.  It is called the Lambda variant, that started in Peru but is quickly popping up all over the globe.  And so … how are people ensuring that we all keep safe?  By breathing on us, by refusing to wear a mask or to allow their children to wear one.  Damn fools!

On the first day back to school in California this week, a parent assaulted a teacher when he saw his son come out of school with a mask on.  The teacher was not seriously injured, having only some bruises, lacerations, and a knot on his head, but this is horrifying!  The man would, apparently, rather see his son dead than wearing a mask!  I wonder if, when the son is in the hospital on life support, the father will assault the doctors and nurses for putting an oxygen mask on his face?

The anti-life group is now attacking restaurants, as well, even restaurants they have never eaten in.  They are leaving 1-star reviews on sites such as YELP, a restaurant reviewing site, simply because those restaurants require proof of vaccination.  The owners of some restaurants requiring proof of vaccination are being called ‘Nazis’ and ‘communists’ and more.  WTF???

To a large extent, I blame the nation’s Republican politicians for this, as well as the right-wing Fox ‘News’, for far too many of them have often done and said things that the uneducated and the willfully ignorant take to heart.  But let me be perfectly clear here:  lack of education and purposeful ignorance are NOT an excuse for risking the lives of others!  People who claim their ‘rights’ must also accept their responsibility to their own family and to the rest of the world.  No, you do NOT have the right to risk my life or even the lives of your own children.  They are not possessions that you can either care for or toss in the rubbish!

This nonsense has gone beyond ridiculous and those who choose to infect the rest of us may well end up being responsible for the extinction of the human species!  Maybe that’s for the best, since we humans seem to have zero respect for the planet or other species.  Perhaps humans were the worse example of a bad experiment.

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has written a column for The Atlantic titled “Don’t Be a Schmuck. Put on a Mask.”  I strongly urge you to read it, but here are a few snippets from his piece:

Earlier this week, I delivered a simple message: There is a virus here. It kills people. The only way you can prevent it is to get vaccinated, wear masks, and do social distancing.

Some people are complaining, “Well, my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.” Well, I told them, “Screw your freedom.” You have the freedom to wear no mask. But if you exercise that freedom, you’re a schmuck—because you’re supposed to protect your fellow Americans.

But some of the responses really worried me. Many people told me that the Constitution gives them rights, but not responsibilities. They feel no duty to protect their fellow citizens.

That’s when I realized we all need a civics lesson. I can’t help but wonder how much better off we’d be if Americans took a step back from politics and spent a minute thinking about how lucky we are to call this country home. Instead of tweeting, we could think about what we owe to the patriots who came before us and those who will follow us.

The Constitution aimed to “promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.” It’s right there in our founding document. We need to think beyond our selfish interests.

Our country began with a willingness to make personal sacrifices for the collective good. It’s right there in the closing line of the Declaration of Independence: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Almost two centuries later, John F. Kennedy posed his famous challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Our country became great because every generation before us knew that liberty and duty go hand in hand. I am worried that many of my fellow Americans have now lost sight of that.

Wake up, people.  Were it in my power, I would issue a nationwide mask mandate and have police arrest anybody found in a public venue not wearing a mask.  Alas, nobody asked my opinion.  So, I’ll likely continue to opine here, as the new lambda variant creates surges in hospitalizations and raises the death tolls once again.  Meanwhile, just get vaccinated and wear a damn mask!

81 thoughts on “When Will They Ever Learn???”

  1. The tragedy Jill being this has now become ‘Political’ and subject to profiling. Thus if you are a Republican you must be against vaccination and wearing masks and support Trump, whereas if you wear a mask and have had a vaccination you must be a Democrat (or socialist).
    More of a threat than Covid itself.
    And a sign the Nation’s not healthy.
    Tragedy.

    Liked by 3 people

  3. Jill, the one thing that this modern world is full of is idiots who put their ‘ideals and freedoms’ before common sense.
    Personally every time I read about another anti-vaxer dying of Covid, it makes me smile.
    The only problem after that is how to convince the other anti-vaxers to follow in that fools footsteps.

    Liked by 2 people

      • I’m thinking Darwin’s natural selection is at play here. Nature needs to thin the herd every so often. If MAGA supporters pass on, that’ll be the end of their movement. 🙂
        Perhaps after the conclusion of this pandemic, liberals can truly get to work in Congress and finally pass much needed legislation to combat climate change, gun laws, Q-Anon etc.

        Liked by 2 people

        • Well, if that were the way it worked, it would be well and fine and I’d say “Bring it on!” However, I don’t think the ravages of climate change and the pandemic pay particular attention to whether their victims are maga people, Republicans, Democrats, liberals, Black or white, Christians or atheists. I think we’re all equally vulnerable.

          Liked by 2 people

              • Dear Jill,

                Over many parts and regions of the world, climate change has already both directly and indirectly caused countless millions of cases of health issues, deaths, injuries, property damage, socioeconomic disruptions, shortage, depletion and/or decimation of natural resources, various kinds of conflicts, the spread of diseases, mass migrations, sociopolitical upheavals, regime changes, and so on, and the most affected have been low socioeconomic and/or marginalized people. All of these have been getting (much) worse, especially during the last two or three decades.

                Yours sincerely,
                SoundEagle

                Liked by 1 person

  6. It’s a fairly simple equation. I think the Corona Virus kills , you do not. But, if you wear a mask you make me feel safer and it costs you nothing. If you take the vaccine, it costs you nothing, But if I’m right and this virus can kill you and your family, all the precautions I’m taking with vaccines, masks and spacing. I could have saved your life so far and will try to for the foreseeable future.. Just think why so many Republican Politicians and so many presenters on Fox have changed their mind, and recommend protection.
    Cwtch

    Liked by 3 people

    • Yep, that just about sums it up. I think that it is more the fact that they just don’t like being told to do something than the actual wearing of a mask. I think that if you told some of these bozos to do something that they were already planning to do, they’d then refuse to do it just to prove that they don’t have to listen to or obey any rules. They are shooting themselves in the foot with their sheer stubbornness, but are too stupid to see that.
      Cwtch

      Liked by 2 people

  7. I could never be a citizen of a country where you were in charge because I’d probably be in jail, nothing insulting meant about that, it’s just the reality of how differently we see this situation.
    A couple of questions to entertain.
    1. If coronavirus was and is such a threat, why did officials institute curfews on the citizens in certain parts of the country and the world? If someone is contagious, doesn’t it stand to reason that such an individual would be able to spread the disease regardless of what time it was? This never made any sense to me and was the first indicator that this was all about controlling the people and not keeping them safe.
    2. Why were big stores and global corporations like walmart and amazon allowed to stay open but small businesses were forced to close their doors? If someone needs food, surely they can get it from a local mom and pop shop as easily as an online entity and if those business owners had been “allowed” to stay in business, I’m sure they would have happily adapted to the needs of the customers by instituting curb side pick up or home delivery and would have even been able to develop apps to facilitate such transactions.
    Again, this was not a decision based on the health and well-being of the population.
    3. If masks keep us safe, why is it that you’re required to put one on to enter a restaurant but once you’re seated at your table, you can take it off. The last time I checked, a virus didn’t know the difference between an entry way and a seating area.
    5. If 6 feet is required for everyone, why are people still flying on planes, even with masks on?
    6. If hospitals are overrun by people with disease, why are some of them firing their nurses?
    7. If the vaccines keep you safe, why did camalm harris encourage people not to get them in the beginning? You can look that up for yourself.
    Now, for the record, the idiot who assaulted a teacher because his kid was wearing a mask at the end of the day should be held accountable for that, there is no excuse for such ridiculous behavior but there is also no good reason to keep those of us who are relatively healthy under lock and key because of a disease that kills less people than other diseases for which such extreme measures were never taken in times gone by, remember the swine flue of 2009 as an example.
    How can you not see the inconsistancies and caprecious applications of these rules to some people and not others?
    Obama had a whole room full of people at his birthday party and none of them were wearing masks.
    I know that you and I will never, ever agree on this, just like we don’t agree on guns, the rich, and most other things but I think at least some of my questions aren’t the rantings of a madman and are at least worth considering.
    I hope you’re doing well my friend. hugs.

    Liked by 2 people

    • I don’t know where you are getting your information (or misinformation). You are paying too much attention to right wing propaganda.

      If coronavirus was and is such a threat, why did officials institute curfews on the citizens in certain parts of the country and the world?

      Curfews reduce the problem of large crowds spreading the virus.

      Why were big stores and global corporations like walmart and amazon allowed to stay open but small businesses were forced to close their doors?

      This is just wrong. Essential businesses were allowed to open. And mom and pop grocery stores were counted as essential businesses.

      If masks keep us safe, why is it that you’re required to put one on to enter a restaurant but once you’re seated at your table, you can take it off.

      Have you ever tried eating with a mask on?

      There was an effort to help restaurants, so that they would not be forced out of business. At first, this was mainly to require outdoor dining. But, as the pandemic intensity diminished, some indoor dining was allowed.

      If the vaccines keep you safe, why did camalm harris encourage people not to get them in the beginning? You can look that up for yourself.

      I did look it up for myself. This is distorted and taken out of context. When Trump was pushing vaccination, she was concerned whether it was being rushed without adequate testing. I had the same concerns. But once we started to get good scientific information on the vaccines, I supported them — and so did Harris.

      Liked by 6 people

    • Scott, you wrote: there is also no good reason to keep those of us who are relatively healthy under lock and key.

      First, you are NOT under “lock and key.” Your are simply being asked to consider the health of others as much as your own by taking steps to prevent the spread of a very transmissible virus.

      Unfortunately, any actions to accomplish this seem to be a THREAT to the personal independence of you and thousands of others. In many ways, it is a stark reminder of the SCHOOL AGE chant: ME FIRST! ME FIRST!

      One would like to think we’ve grown up and left such thinking behind. But alas …

      Liked by 4 people

      • school age children, that’s a great compliment. as usual, my attempts to just ask questions are met with insults. just pathetic. I really shouldn’t bother, I must be out of my mind.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Let’s leave the accusations and insults aside then.
          In a broad view ‘plagues’ or ‘epidemics’ are not unusual in Human History and are no respecters of rank, race, religion or location. The wearing of masks and isolation of communities were also a commonplace and also a still go-to-response.
          The problem which the relatively comfortable nations of the West are facing is that they’ve not had to confront this type of crisis for many, many decades; a kind of ‘It Couldn’t Happen Here’ Mentality. And it is a bit of a shock when Nature comes ‘a calling. Although it should not be too much of a surprise as the USA faces has had to face other facets of Nature’s unwelcome visits in the forms of extreme weather events and earthquakes to name but two. In short we’re not so grand.
          The knee jerk ‘I know my rights’ or ‘It must be a Conspiracy’ shared by both Left and Right wings of the political divide has struck me as one born of a nascent fear, deep, dep inside down where the instincts dwell. A sneaking feeling this is actually happening…but if we make up a defence under the guise of Rights or Conspiracies then that will still the fears and all will be well. (We have anti-vaccination here in the UK, but we’re smaller and the opposition to Covid ‘jabs’ is fractured, not along political lines)
          Then we have the issue which seems to plague the USA at every turning. Everything has a political dimension, if you are on one wing you must believe ‘this’ and if you are one the other wing you must believe ‘that’. Now whereas this is business as usual at many levels (The Brexit debate still goes on in the UK, with a passion similar to your gun control). It does not sit well when Nature comes a’ calling.
          And in the finality people may fear the effects of the vaccines, or people fear the effects of Covid, sometimes on this planet in this Life you get some hard very choices to make none of them easy.
          That’s how it goes.

          Liked by 4 people

          • Thank you, Roger, for your calm, factual response! I haven’t been able to respond to comments for a couple of days and even if I had responded, mine would not have been as well-reasoned as yours, so thank you!

            Liked by 2 people

            • Thank you in return Jill.
              I don’t want to see my ‘adopted’ country go the way of other nations. It’s come close a couple of times in your history; these last couple of decades ‘the ruins’ are rattling of strong ill-winds.
              This political divide over every issue has to stop if the USA wants to stay the USA.

              Liked by 2 people

              • Exactly! If we don’t stop hating and fighting over every single damn issue, even the ones that really don’t matter, I don’t see a good future for this nation. I see it, as you and I have discussed before, breaking into two (or more) countries. Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, but the problem is that there are no geographical boundaries that divide us, only ideological ones.

                Liked by 2 people

                    • Yeah, we’ve ‘only’ got Boris Johnson and Brexit, a sobering reflection indeed.
                      (Incidentally to get a flavour of something of one of the ‘What’s Going Down’ in the UK, on FB there is an open group ‘The Progressive Alliance’ folk dedicated to getting to Conservatives out by a coalition and consensus of opposition parties. There is of course a lot of Conservative bashing going on, with some at Corbyn, and currently much concerning Afghanistan but there are some interesting and constructive posts concerning Proportional Representation and the ‘Way Forward’ for such an anti-Tory coalition).

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Yeah, only Boris and Brexit. There was a time that would have been more than enough, but maybe not today. I don’t see any good ending for either the U.S. or the rest of the world, truth be told.

                      I did check out The Progressive Alliance and asked to join, but I doubt they’re gonna let me, for I couldn’t answer their question about which party I would vote for! An interesting forum, though, and the main reason I wanted to join is so that I could check it out from time to time, for I’m sure to forget its name by bedtime tonight!

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • I got invited in (no kiddin’) no one asked me which party.
                      (Tip- Being a Democrat in the USA and fixing yourself as ‘mainstream’ – Liberal Democrat or ‘Lib-Dem’ would be a fair approximate)

                      Like

      • Thank you for your excellent response, Nan! As I told David a bit ago, I think these people are just against anybody telling them what to do. I bet that if we forbade them to wear masks, they would run right out and buy a whole box of masks! It’s just ignorant stubbornness born out of a desire to, as you say, put themselves first, even ahead of their own families.

        Liked by 2 people

      • No need for insults, pen. Scott is actually a pretty cool guy, underneath all his right-wing blather. We have had many good conversations over the years. He has a lot of talent, and makes some pretty far out music.
        Yeah, he talks a lot of what we call bullshit, but like most of us, he is still searching for something he can truly believe in. He may not even know this about himself, but he keeps hanging around, asking questions, trying to understand. All it is going to take is one good explanation of something and his defences will collapse around him like shattered glass. He doesn’t want to be a MAGAt, not deep inside, but he is very stubborn. I predict he will come around once Trump gets his sorry ass thrown in prison for life.

        Liked by 2 people

        • You’re right; I was out of order. Frustration got the better of me, I’m sorry to say; I see the world around us going to hell, and, it seems, there’s absolutely nothing that anyone can do about it. I hope your prediction comes true, though I fear that putting ‘#45’ behind bars, where he so clearly belongs, will only serve to further enrage his cult followers.

          Liked by 4 people

          • Yes, they might be enraged, but some of them who still trust the American justice system will realize that he really was as bad as their opposition said he was. It isn’t easy to admit when someone is wrong, but it needs to be done. Putting Trump in prison will tell some of them they were wrong, and thus they may start to heal. And you will need to be there with open arms to tell them it will all be better!

            Liked by 4 people

          • Having lived with Scott’s tirades and disrespect for years now, I fully understand your initial comment, Pendantry! I often fire back at him, and frankly, though he and I are friends, I don’t understand why he continues to read my posts if they annoy him so much. I think he just likes to antagonize me or start an argument among my readers. Your comment was fine … don’t worry ’bout it.

            Liked by 2 people

      • Well, contrary to what Scott thinks, I don’t write this blog for him … I write it partly for me to let off some of the angst, and mostly for people who are humanitarians, who care about others, who care what our government is doing. Perhaps I’ll buy Scott a football of his own! 😉

        Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Scott,

      I commend you for wishing to question and explore some highly pertinent issues, judging the great length at which you have composed your comment.

      You are welcome to peruse one of my posts in great detail so as to educate yourself about matters that you have raised in your series of questions.

      You can easily find this particular post in my Home Page. It is the featured post entitled “Misquotation Pandemic and Disinformation Polemic: Mind Pollution by Viral Falsity“, which has garnered a lot of attention and discussions due to its style and content.

      The post is best viewed in situ (directly on my blog and NOT via the WordPress Reader) on a large screen of a desktop or laptop computer, since those lengthy multimedia posts and my blog could be too powerful and feature-rich for iPad, iPhone, tablet or other portable devices to handle properly or adequately.

      On the whole, the post offers a great deal more than just what pertains to the pandemic and vaccination. To give you a good sense of the intellectual terrains involved, please be informed that the purviews of the post include the following categories: Behavioural Science, Cognitive Science, Critical Thinking, Cultural Studies, Environmentalism, Epistemology, Ethics, Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Psychology, Facing the Noise & Music, History, Human Nature, Information Science, Journalism, Logic, Media Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Quotes, Science, Social Media and Social Science.

      The post also comes with a comprehensive checklist for inoculating oneself against misinformation.

      Please enjoy it to your heart’s content!

      Yours sincerely,
      SoundEagle

      Liked by 2 people

      • Thank you for your response, and invitation to Scott, SoundEagle. Please note, however, that Scott is blind and would need to use a text-to-voice program in order to ‘read’ your post. If it is too visual or lengthy, he may not be able to.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Pingback: When Will They Ever Learn??? – This, That, and The Other

  10. Thank you, Jill! I hope you are well. Sorry, i had another little delay. I am wondering about our officials dont speak about this Lambda variant, but i also had read about some weeks ago. Seems we are rewinding the whole thing, and will have a restart at Zero? ;-( Best wishes, Michael

    Liked by 3 people

      • Sorry, Michael! I took down his comments when I realized he is a scammer. He posted the exact same comment on a dozen or more of my posts, so I delved a little deeper and I don’t think he’s legitimate. xx

        Liked by 1 person

    • Not feeling too well these days, my friend, but nothing major … just some sort of minor infection, I think. So, were you hugging your pillow again this weekend? I hope you had a wonderful weekend. No, I hadn’t heard of the Lambda variant until the weekend, although I had heard there was another variant on the horizon. I think this one may prove to be even stronger than the Delta. And yes, I think we may ultimately end up going back to lockdowns, business closings and more. And here, half the country will defy the rules, claim it’s all a hoax. Sigh. xx

      Liked by 2 people

  14. Reblogged this on Coalition of the Brave and commented:
    With freedom comes responsibility. No one should be free from the consequences of despicable actions and wilful ignorance. Wear a mask if you can and get vaccinated if you can. Oh, and bear this in mind – private businesses such as shops and restaurants have *always* had rules about who they allow into their properties. This has *nothing* to do with government directives. Businesses – the good ones – also understand they have a duty of care for the welfare of their employees and ALL their customers, not just the ignorant fools who buy into conspiracy-fuelled junk.

    Liked by 4 people

  18. It’s, outrageous, to see the bad behaviors, of, those who are, too, ignorant, when others are, trying to protect their loved ones, and, this is how they treat those who are, doing their, best to, keep the children, safe, from exposures, as children under certain ages can’t even be, vaccinated yet, and their best bets to avoid contraction is, by, wearing a mask.

    Liked by 4 people

    • Yes, it is outrageous and shows a definite lack of good parenting skills. But then, all we need to do is look around to see that there is a definite dearth of good parents.

      Like

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