A Reminder
Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 07:42AM It is Memorial Day weekend in America. This is a time when people remember lost loved ones, especially veterans. This Memorial Day sees many families worldwide remembering those lost from COVID-19.
America is quickly closing in on 100,000 officially reported dead from the pandemic. We were supposed to hit this number in August. Now we will likely be at 150,000 dead by Independence Day.
This is a reminder why concerts and other big events are canceled this summer. Stay safe, keep your distance from people, wash your hands and look out for each other. At this point, I would say we are all on our own. The federal response was botched and slow to get started. States acted in a mismatched way. Now things are "opening" and case numbers are rising once again. In some parts of America, people threaten to kill or spit at you for wearing a mask. Keep your wits about you and protect yourself. Nothing is more important than your health. Nothing.
Reader Comments (13)
It all does bogle the mind.
- Allyson
Ragging on someone for not wearing a mask? Poor form. Criticizing someone for wearing a mask? Ditto. I am so very happy that this isn't a political issue, or at least it doesn't have to be one. Doug Burgum's news conference almost brought me to tears. Some of the events of this past weekend also brought tears to my eyes, though for different reasons. Your need for beer, queso dip, and twerking seem slight to me right now. Living life like you are bullet-proof often turns out wrong. For you? Perhaps not. For others? Maybe. And I say that from a perch that is better than some others. I say that as someone who is aching for those who have lost loved ones, jobs, and a sense that there is a path forward. I have to hope that things will turn around for people experiencing such things. I truly do. And I have tried, albeit in small ways, to be part of that process. That isn't sanctimony. It is just what I try to do when I recognize that I am in a position that others are not in. You pay it forward. You pay it back. You try, however incomplete, to help.
Regardless of your take on wearing or not wearing a mask, one thing is crystal clear to me: respect and protect others. Show an ounce of kindness. Be humble enough to know (and I mean really know) that, when it comes to this situation, no one knows how it is going to go in the long- and short-term. So, again, Allyson's calls for caution and common-sense are a welcomed tonic for a world where people want to create dividing lines where there needn't be any. It is also a warning to those that think only of themselves, care only for their personal needs, and do so while jeopardizing the lives of others.
Now that I am preaching, let me just add one last thing: metal fans are some of the most tolerant, kind, and amazing people I have ever met. We cross lines--sexual, political, religious, economic, etc.--and do so because, when it comes down to it, those lines don't really matter. Yes, we disagree. Yes, we fight. But we share an unabiding belief that music brings us together when other things tear us apart. And now, at this moment, we can be good stewards and project that vision out beyond metal and music. Mask or no mask, metal brings us together. And, even at a distance, we can show friends, family, and strangers that we care about each other. Enough said.
I copied this from John Corabi"s Facebook page. He posted this yesterday. If this is an accurate account of his interaction at the store, Wow, just wow! These are troublesome times indeed. Warning: salty language follows...
John Corabi:.
Ok....going to vent a second. I went to grocery store today wearing my mask...
Sausage.....check
Hot Dog buns.....check
On my way out the store I bought a TIME magazine dedicated to the last President Obama and his tenure...At which point a fucking opinionated, arrogant MOTHER FUCKER, took my magazine and threw it on the ground and proceeded to tell me...”I’m The Problem With America”.....I asked him what the fuck his problem was, and he commented “I’m the problem, I’m a snowflake liberal, buying into the media bullshit, wearing my mask, and buying that garbage about the idiot that ruined our country....So after his tirade, I calmly stated I’d beat his fucking ass for touching my shit and insulting me...What a fucking idiot!!!! You want me to respect your fucking choices...Then MOTHER FUCKER respect mine....Gloves off mother fucker!!! Let’s go...have a nice Memorial Day asshole...
United States - Historical Death Rate Data
Year Death Rate Growth Rate
2020 8.880 1.120%
2019 8.782 1.120%
2018 8.685 1.220%
2017 8.580 1.240%
Why on earth would you still vote for someone who is recommending his unroyal subjects inject themselves with disinfectant, flout the CDC, stop wearing masks, take hydroxychloroquine, etc., etc., and let’s not forget, “It’s all a hoax, folks!”
I would laugh but it’s no joke when statements are made that actually cause death. The irony is the idiots who voted this monster in are now allowing themselves to become infected by listening to this nut who is instructing them to not practicing the common sense the sensible ones among us have been touting.
Even further proof positive of what an idiot he is, increases in infection rates on the current map are occurring in primarily red and swing states ... He’s actually screwing himself by killing off his own people with all his misguided tweets and dog whistle statements, effectively eating his own!
Happy Memorial Day, because at this rate, he’s effectively setting himself up for a demoralizing defeat. But hey, go ahead and continue supporting him because doing so will only increase your chances that this could very well be your last Memorial Day as you blithely advance your own extinction.
Memorial Day weekend - using a day and weekend of remembrance for a completely different reason.
As for Trump, the orange buffoons (insert word for ineptitude) that easy picking trolling 101. Plenty of elected official failure at all levels. All looking up for answers instead of figuring it out themselves. Guess they all forgot that Pandemic part of the Politics 101 manual. Besides, he's got Space Force to lead to worry about a case count in Loup County, Nebraska.
Now lets get back to the music...
Soooo . . . I hope you are all doing well, respecting each other, and making plans for the future.
By the way, Gary, can I get a slow clap too? You can leave out the thumbs up. But a slow clap would be mighty nice right now.
But then, without warning, I was made to think about RID!!! Hahaha. Gary, you are truly the genius on this site.
And, by the way, isn't slow clap what Capone died from? Oh, wait. That was Sisyphus. But both involve rocks. So we are all good.