They Mocked COVID-19 Now They’re Dead Or Dying. One’s Last Words, ‘I thought this was a hoax. It’s not.’

COVID-19 is a many-faceted tragedy. The fact that a certain portion of the population in America simply refuses to acknowledge that we are in a global pandemic and follow sensible guidelines, is a sad commentary all on its own. The stupid will always be with us, but this is he first time I’ve ever seen a major political party court them as a voting faction.

In any event, many MAGAts, following the lead of recklessly foolish Republican lawmakers, yes, Ron DeSantis, we’re talking about you, have foregone safety precautions such as social distancing and mask wearing and some have paid the ultimate price for their folly. That is the focus of the next few anecdotes, what happens when the foolish find their bluff called by the Grim Reaper himself.

When you meet someone who shouts that they have the God-given right not to wear a mask at the dentist or on the bus or wherever, feel free to tell them about this chap

(Yes, I have checked the relevant fb timeline & funeral home obituary. This is real. His funeral was Wednesday) pic.twitter.com/rfGMImBYWb

— Seamus Ryan (@meanderingtripe) July 10, 2020

One last post, and then the obituary. And he was a young man, too, Army veteran, in his thirties. He just chose to listen to right-wing media and take a devil may care attitude towards COVID-19. And he found out that the devil does care. And now he’s gone. A friend of his posted this, as a cautionary tale.

This really needs to bounce all around wingnuttia — defined as red states or MAGAts in any state, because they don’t want to listen to truth, they want to live in Trumpian fantasy and denial. These are the cold hard facts. May they somehow get this information and wake up.

Here’s another story, along the same lines, from San Antonio, Texas. News4SA:

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (WOAI/KABB) – A patient in their 30s died from the coronavirus after attending what’s being called a “COVID party,” according to a San Antonio health official.

Chief Medical Officer of Methodist Healthcare Dr. Jane Appleby said the idea of these parties is to see if the virus is real.

“This is a party held by somebody diagnosed by the COVID virus and the thought is to see if the virus is real and to see if anyone gets infected,” Dr. Appleby said. […]

“Just before the patient died, they looked at their nurse and said ‘I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not,'” Appleby said.

Appleby made this case public as the spike in cases for Bexar County continues. She wants everyone, especially those in the younger demographic, to realize they are not invincible.

And Texas is not the only place the COVID parties are going on. They were recently reported on in Alabama. ABC News:

Students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have been attending parties in the city and surrounding area as part of what is being described as a disturbing contest to see who can catch the virus first, a city council member told ABC News on Wednesday.

Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry said students have been organizing “COVID parties” as a game to intentionally infect each other with the contagion that has killed more than 127,000 people in the United States. She said she recently learned of the behavior and informed the city council of the parties occurring in the city.

She said the organizers of the parties are purposely inviting guests who have COVID-19.

“They put money in a pot and they try to get COVID. Whoever gets COVID first gets the pot. It makes no sense,” McKinstry said. “They’re intentionally doing it.”

It’s like bingo, you get the prize. Tragically, you won’t be around long enough to spend it, most likely, or you will be around but have permanent organ damage, but what’s that, if you’re young and stupid and got a chance to be defiant one night, and stick it to the libs,  right? This is epic stupidity. Here’s another one, same thing. Except this guy is a county commissioner who voted against wearing masks. News4Jax:

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The daughter of St. Johns County Commissioner Paul Waldron posted Thursday on social media that her father was hospitalized with COVID-19 and in critical condition.

Waldron represents District 3, which covers the southern half of the county.

Ashley Waldron Zapata posted on Facebook that her father went into septic shock and many of his organs are struggling. […]

Waldron is one of three commissioners who voted against a county-wide mask mandate for the county last week, but said he was not necessarily opposed to the requirement. He wanted the county administrators to answer questions about what kinds of masks are best and if the county had enough for all employees and citizens who come into government buildings.

Who cares what kind of mask? Some mask, or even a scarf wrapped around the face, is better than no protection at all against an airborne virus. But that’s not the point. The point here is that the coronavirus has not been dealt with in the stark terms in which it needs to be addressed, because of an idiot in the White House and his propaganda arm in right-wing media, trivializing the worst pandemic to hit these shores in 100 years and making it into a culture war spat.

Donald Trump only recently wore a mask to a photo op at Walter Reed. He doesn’t like to wear a mask, it smears his makeup. When you want to understand Trump’s motivation for doing or not doing something, look for the most petty, self-centered answer possible and you will not go too far wrong.

Along those lines,Trump is at odds with Anthony Fauci, because Dr. Fauci tells the truth and Trump can’t afford that right now. He wants Fauci to be a yes-man and part of his team, and tell people what Trump wants them to believe, the facts be damned. Fauci has too much integrity for that. Trump and cadre are furious with Fauci for not wanting to reopen the country and kill everybody. Here’s what communications director Dan Scovino put on Facebook, funny ha ha.

This is what Fauci is up against and the way he’s being smeared for doing what is professional and honorable. Trump wants to put the coronavirus in the rear view mirror and go back to campaigning no matter what the reality of the situation is. He wants Fauci to lie for him and Fauci won’t, so Trump’s minions disparage the man. This is a national disgrace.

You’ve read four stories from Ohio, Florida, Texas and Florida, all about deaths or suffering from COVID-19, which could have been prevented. The source of the dilemma which is causing all these unnecessary deaths and suffering is total lack of leadership from Washington. The politicization of COVID-19 is shameless. It’s not about personal choice or partisan issues. It is a medical crisis, plain and simple, and has not been treated that way, because to do so is inconvenient to Trump’s personal ambition. That’s why people are dead. That’s why more will die.

Some people who have done foolish things, like go to COVID parties or pool parties or the beach, are now dead, touting their “freedom to choose” and other jingoistic slogans that don’t do you much good in the ICU or the grave.

Hopefully these stories will get enough air play to wake up the foolish and the willfully stupid. Call me cynical, but I’m not holding my breath. Maybe this is America’s Darwin moment. Donald Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize, please, somebody, give him the award for which he is richly qualified. Give him the Darwin Award, which “recognizes individuals who have contributed to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool via death or sterility by their own stupidity.” And he can share the honor posthumously with his supporters who literally followed his idiocy into the gates of death.