Thread by @ASlavitt

COVID Update November 12: We are a nation who has mastered denial.

It’s an especially dangerous time to have to humor the babies. 1/

“Don’t worry, it’s not that bad. Doctors are faking the charts.”

150,000 new cases today. 2/

“It’s mild. It doesn’t matter if people catch it.”

Hospitalizations are at peak and growing. 3/

“We can just protect the old people.”

2000 nursing home deaths last week and accelerating fast. 4/

“It’s a Blue State problem.”

Until it isn’t. 5/

“We have natural immunity.”

Cases are up 41% over last week. Each of the last 8 weeks, even with bigger baselines we’ve seen bigger percentage increases. This is not a good sign. 6/

“All this is because we are doing more tests.”

Test positivity has increased almost every day for the last month— even with record tests. 7/

“Well we may have a lot of cases, but they’re flattening.”

We have the highest rate of case growth during the entire pandemic. 8/

“But not the sparsely populated areas.”

This week alone more than 1/100 have tested positive in North Dacovid and South Dacovid. 9/

“Well, people aren’t dying as much.”

By December we are on track for 2500 deaths/day. 10/

Let me try to put 2500 deaths/day in perspective.

If you took 2500 human lives, they would all be gone. Easy to follow? 11/

Yet so many Americans deny it, say it’s overblown or point to other costs of COVID— mental health, addiction, increases in cancer to say we shouldn’t obsess over COVID.

Do they have a point?

They have a point the way people who are full of shit often have a point. 12/

The people talking about these other costs don’t give a shit. Know how I know?

Not a single one has joined me as I have advocated for increased funding for mental health treatment, addiction, or universal coverage. In fact, they want to eliminate the ACA. 13/

These people aren’t concerned. They’re in active denial.

It’s like sitting around the White House requiring people come tell you you won the election when you got spanked. 14/

Since when did we become a country that had to humor the deniers?

I had the biggest crowd, I won by the biggest margin, I want my wall, COVID is about to end.

The entire GOPAnon party says Yes, Mr. President. 15/

Some say “we just need to give him time.”

He had all the time in the world to address the pandemic and wasted it. 6/

I talked to a former member of his cabinet yesterday. And he said the president needs time to come to grips with his loss.

No, sorry. No time. Cases are multiplying. Someone needs to get access to the data and to lead while you golf & rally. 17/

It’s the GOPAnon cowards that give the GSA permission not to start the transition.

How it must feel to them to be owned by a buffoon. Now it will feel later to have humored a fragile baby man while people died. 18/

I think this crowd would deny any fact— who won the election, that we have a pandemic— if it doesn’t give them the answer they want that, just like climate change, that they can continue to live in a fantasy land where being selfish is just fine.

It isn’t. 19/

No one wants to draw a direct line between their actions and bad events but someone needs to tell the denial machine to stop so we can get on with things. /end