"You can't gaslight a pandemic, Donald"...John Pavlovitz 2-27-2020

[Heartstrings]

You look scared, Donald.

You should be.

A pandemic is problematic for you.

You can’t gaslight a pandemic.

You can’t bully it into compliance.

You can’t lie to it and hope it won’t run a fact check.

You can’t pay for its silence or promise immunity.

You can’t threaten its reelection bid if it breaks ranks.

You can’t fire it when it dissents from your ramblings.

You can’t impugn its character with baseless attacks.

You can’t fool it with talk about God.

You can’t bury it with FoxNews fluff pieces.

You can’t drown it in nationalism.

You can’t dismiss it with cries of fake news.

You can’t pardon it after it completes its assaults.

You can’t give it a demeaning nickname and hope to deflate it.

You can’t rage-Tweet it into exhaustion.

You can’t avoid it by appointing corrupt judges to do your bidding.

You can’t give it free tickets in order to fill vain arena celebrations of your ego.

You can’t frighten it with fairy tales about migrant boogeymen and transgender monsters.

You can’t hope it will blow over while you golf once again.

You can’t mischaracterize it with racial stereotypes.

You can’t pretend you can pray it away.

You can’t blame it on Barack Obama or windmills or the Gay Agenda or Hillary’s emails.

You can’t bullsh*t a pandemic—so nothing you know how to do will help you here.

A pandemic is not an election or a Supreme Court seat or Franklin Graham or Lindsey Graham or the Republican Party—so it cannot be bought.

A pandemic is not an uneducated voting block so it will not be swept up in the emotional fervor of dog and pony patriotism, or duped by ceremonial religiosity.

A pandemic is a reckless, brutal, unruly, violent thing, and none of your sideshow huckster repartee or your cheap parlor tricks or your legal gymnastics will save you or anyone else.

Only intelligent, qualified, reasonable, compassionate people who trust science and want to protect human beings can help at times like these—which is why you are completely useless.

Worse than that, it’s why you will make things much worse.

Pandemics thrive on fear, and fear is your only commodity. It is the one weapon at your disposal—and it only helps the sickness.

In the raking light of an actual emergency, you are being revealed as a fraudulent, callous, completely unprepared and outmatched imposter.

History is recording how ill-equipped you are for the serious, grievous, and terrible things real leaders are required to engage and confront.

You’re being exposed in these days for what you are: a public health crisis endangering millions of people; a reckless, brutal, unruly, violent thing that is spreading sickness.

The only hope we have for a cure comes in November.

You look scared, Donald.

We are too.

[world wide wally]

1. Almost makes me want to cheer for the virus

[Woodycall]

2. A couple of days ago...

Jim Cramer (#1 a-hole) accidentally told the truth. He said: "my fear is that this will expose the underlying weakness in the markets, and the economy as a whole" How telling is that?

[NBachers]

3. Perfect - This is the epitaph of Donald Trump and the Republicans. Carve it into their tombstones.

[Warpy]

4. It is exquisitely painful to watch him try

while the virus continues to spread rapidly outside China, where new cases do seem to be leveling off a bit.

I hope his fan club is being panicked by sensationalized news. That's about all that can save us.

[mnhtnbb]

5. That almost makes me want to send it

to my MD PhD Trump supporting brother.

Years ago, I tried to appeal to his scientific side to get him to turn away from Bush and vote for Kerry. It didn't work. He only cared about his tax bill.

He's probably ecstatic over the slide in the stock market, salivating over the buying opportunities when it bottoms out.

Republicans just don't Fu*king care.

[malaise]

6. This nails it

Rec

[FailureToCommunicate]

7. Wow! Thanks for posting this scary, but heartwarming piece!