The coronavirus doesn’t give a fuck.
And that’s what makes it so scary.
White people can’t ignore it. Rich people can’t buy an antidote. And those that haven’t been infected can’t even find a leader to comfort them. The U.S. has become the new home of COVID-19, as our country has more confirmed cases than anywhere else on the planet, over 111,000 and climbing.
It will get worse before it gets better. But it didn’t have to be this way. It’s important to understand that we were sold out by our own president, again, all because he willingly chose to disband the pandemic team that the Obama administration put in place.
Historically, racism has made people do strange things.
And during this pandemic, in which Americans of all races, colors, and creeds have almost nowhere to turn for help, the President of the United States decided Alex Rodriguez was the best person to call.
Yes. Alex. Fucking. Rodriguez.
It’s been reported that the President reached out to A-Rod in a “pleasant” conversation to access his thoughts on the coronavirus response. Trump responded, as usual, by running to Twitter to tweet about it all being “fake news,” which is how we know the conversation, with most certainty, took place.
Governors can’t get a call from Trump unless they kiss his ass, but A-Rod? No problem.
To Trump, the advice of Dr. Anthony Fauci — and the rest of the world’s top infectious disease experts — pales in comparison to the wisdom of a member of the 40-40 Steroid Club.
This is the part where I remind you that in the past, Trump has repeatedly attacked Rodriguez and referred to him as a “druggie” due to his past PED use. I also want to remind you that Jennifer Lopez, Rodriguez’s fiancée, was also on the call and is Puerto Rican. You know, the U.S. territory that was mocked and ignored by Trump when they suffered two devastating natural disasters.
But here we are – less than eight months away from a scheduled sidential election – frightened, panicked, and dying, all the while being forced to deal with a petulant toddler that occupies the Oval Office. And the people who voted for him are now realizing why so many of us were trying our best to not let him get elected in the first place. For those who went to the ballot box in 2016 and voted for a man whose purpose was to re-energize white supremacy, it must be a special type of cruel retribution to hear that he turned to a baseball player who is the son of Dominican immigrants for advice as this virus tears through your communities.
It’s like the gun going off in your own hand.
Racism was always going to be your ruin, we just didn’t know how.
However, while Trump has become the focal point of the all the absurdity and cruelty that has taken place while he’s been in office, the real issue is with what he represents. He’s the bad fruit that’s been harvested from an infected orchard. And no matter how appalling a rotten apple may be, unless the infected tree and soil where the fruit was created is dealt with, additional spoiled produce is inevitable.
In case you forgot, those “very fine people” that Trump referred to who showed up eager to spread hate in Charlottesville, were young. And they view themselves as the future of this country.
In February, the month after NBA CommissionerAdam Silver started putting plans into place to protect his league from COVID-19, and the month before the coronavirus took the county by storm, our government had a chance to remove Trump from office.
Having already been impeached, our elected officials were given an opportunity to put humanity before political affiliation. But as we know, Republicans gon’ Republican, and Mitt Romney, of all people, became the lone voice in the GOP-controlled Senate to vote for what should have been an obvious conviction of Trump.
Instead, here we are. All of us. Trapped in our homes hoping not to die.
It is not an exaggeration to say that we are in a moment that could determine the future of this country. This is the definition of a “learning experience,” and what comes from this will either be a continuity of our wildly dysfunctional norm or a catalyst for change.
America’s pastime has been put on hold.
America’s most popular league, the NFL, has no idea if it will play games this fall.
March Madness has been canceled, while the NBA’s hopes for return are hanging by a thread.
Hospitals across the country are struggling to care for swelling numbers of patients suffering from coronavirus.
At this point, it’s impossible to ignore that a president who represents what America has always been at its core, is the same one whose willful missteps have put us all in jeopardy.
This has been said before by many people over the past year, but COVID-19 has only brought the truth of it into dire perspective:
Trump’s removal from office has surpassed a desire and become a necessity.
The lives of Democrats, Republicans and Independents all are riding on it.
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