The anti-gov types, Mr. President, just stop. There is nothing you can do to. What, after two years Cambrians have been studying this, reading the scientific literature and the CDC updates and get turn now because "Omicron is different"? Hmm, no. They will defy, defy, until they die.
There are the mini-defiers. My son is one of those. He was our family's go-to source for the latest on the virus in the early going. A year later though he got fully vaxed only with family prodding. "I'm not going to get boosted," he said a few weeks ago. "Why?" "Defiance." My pharmacist is another.mini-defier. Fully vaxed, used to be masked every time I went in to his store, he told me, in full mask, "I got the booster and I felt like shit for five days. I ain't wearing a mask for anybody." This was before I had gotten the booster.
The friends of the Second Unfortunate Ex-Wife of the undersigned is another. Tradition is for this extended fam to get together each Christmas Eve for a big dinner party. I have been invited and have attended every year for several years. And I RSVP'd this year. Had every intention of going. Took a bath and had my red dress shirt and Christmas tie laid out and everything. It's a loud, affectionate group. I have no idea how many are "responsible" in the above sense, but I knew they were going to be huggy and kissy and wouldn't be masked. I talked to my son mid-afternoon that day and asked how many people he thought would be there and was reassured that his impression was it was going to be a smaller group than usual. "Okay, call or text me when you have a bead on the time of the sitdown." "Will do." When the text came I started to get dressed and then paused. Call to son: "Son, how many people are there now?" Over loud background vocals, "I don't know, fifteen." Voice indistinct as he moved phone away from mouth to survey, he rattled off some names, a couple from upstate New York, a woman from NYC. "Yeah, about fifteen." "I ain't comin'. "What's the problem? You're boosted, fully vaxed..." "Omicron. I am so invested in not getting this thing that I will loose it if I do." "I understand, that's the responsible thing to do." "Whisper this to mom. I don't want to make anybody feel guilty." "Okay."
There may be more categories. Three is just the number that is more or less compelled of pencils, professional and amateur, The point is people have decided. There is a psychic block to digesting new information and a psychic need to re-start digesting only information relevant to our pre-pandemic lives.
In 1918 Woodrow Wilson ignored the Spanish Flu. Never once addressed it publicly. Had a war to fight. He contracted it during the Peace Talks in 1919 and the consensus among historians is that his resolve on his "14 Points" was compromised. Wilson Capitulates in Paris
And he developed an "influenza psychosis." He became paranoid about furniture, cars, etc. A few months later he suffered a stroke.
Trump ignored coronavirus and I was surprised to read that as a political gambit it largely worked. I did read that, maybe it is not true, it was a surprise to me, but that was prominently in print at one point.
True or not, isn't it your sense that the only times guaranteed when coronavirus will be the "WAR IS DECLARED" lede are when President Biden speaks on it? His last was not well-received, for excellent reasons. "It is what it is" is the mind-numbing banality. "It's water under the bridge", "Nothing we can do" are the obvious conclusions. I don't see any good that Wilson, Trump, or Biden did or can do on the public health aspect of the virus (and its twin, the economy). And we don't need a reminder that he too has failed. I think he ought to let it go. Most Americans, it seems to me, have.
