Those of us who care about our country must accept the possibility that too many Americans are selfish or stupid for us to ever control COVID-19. That means we're headed to the "uncontrolled" scenario experts warned of—2.5 million dead. Prepare yourself mentally for that outcome.
PS/ We should also understand that when we see videos of crowds partying it further confirms that the pandemic will last longer in America than anywhere else in the world. That means that our lives as we know them are over for *years*—not just a matter of months. Thanks, America.
PS2/ None of this means those of us who care about America shouldn't keep doing all we can to try to slow the spread of the virus and educate those who'd go to the types of parties we're seeing in videos online—but we should be clearly acknowledging how much we screwed ourselves.
PS3/ Maybe if America was more candidly and universally discussing the outcome we're rapidly rushing toward there'd be a chance of reaching some of the stupidest, most selfish, and least responsible Americans—or at least getting their friends and neighbors to start to shame them.
PS4/ I understand those saying the 2.5 million assessment came at the start of the pandemic, when circumstances were different in many respects. But we've no idea when/if a vaccine will be developed; daily infections are 5x now what they were then; hospital capacity is being hit.
PS5/ And positive test % is through the roof. So yes—even with enough PPE and ventilators for those who'll be able to get into hospitals after they've reached capacity, we may see ourselves in the "uncontrolled" scenario I described if social distancing remains a political issue.
PS6/ We just set a *global record* for new daily infections, and did so in *summer*. And after we set the record, giant parties and lack of social distancing continued. Hospitals across many states are a week from full capacity. What do folks think happens once flu season starts?
PS7/ Has anyone considered that the reason the Trump White House is about to unveil a "Live With It" campaign—which is basically genocide as a political slogan—is because most of America has already accepted that millions will die, as Trump long ago (reporting reveals) accepted?
PS8/ Trump's "Live With It" campaign is just a "Die With It" campaign; I hope the left will meme the hell out of that genocidal slogan accordingly. But if 40% of America accepts the slogan—as it appears it will—I don't know what the other 60% of us can do except try to stay safe.
PS9/ I try to choose my words carefully—so when I say "prepare yourself mentally" I don't mean "resign yourself as a matter of your words and actions." We *must* keep fighting (and voting)—but we should do so as though 2.5 million dead is a real possibility, simply because it is.
