Welcome to the new world (dis)order
Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to interrupt your hunt for that elusive “four pack” of toilet paper. I know, I’m asking you to give those crazy hoarders a ten minute head start to keep clearing the shelves of this priceless commodity, but seriously now …
If you finally find a ton of Charmin in some idiot’s shopping cart and a wake of empty shelves behind them, you know you’re a moment away from “pickin’ up a charge.” The police will be called and the next thing you know you’ll be cuffed, read your rights and then hauled off to jail until arraigned by a magistrate for: simple assault, or maybe manslaughter.
The mere fact that you’re giving me these ten minutes takes the premeditation out of the homicide. They’ll never be able to convict you for “1” degree murder.” Reading this, took the planning out of it. It just kinda happened. “You’re welcome.”
Of course this matter of hoarding can be simply solved. All stores have to do is refuse to give refunds to those people who bring back tons of toilet paper after this panic subsides. “We, don’t care how many receipts you have. We no longer give refunds for returned toilet paper.”
Come summer, the local vegetable stands will have toilet paper stands right beside them. One-Stop Roadside Shopping to take care of things “comin’ and goin.'”
I’ve addressed the immediate “effect” of this crisis, now let’s get serious about the “cause.” Everybody else seems to have a theory about this “Chinese virus” that has caused all this mess. Our one-trick ponies in particular and democrats in general have somehow managed to blame President Trump for it. I guess that makes sense, if you’re an idiot.
Recently I listened to another press conference from the president and those charged with fixing this virus crisis. I almost fell off the couch when I heard a reporter ask President Trump if he didn’t think it was wrong to put a racist stigma on this pandemic by calling it the “Chinese virus?”
Of course my (and ya might as well get used to the fact that he’s yours, too) President didn’t “break weak” to politically correct sophistry from a MSM reporter. The president fired back that this virus “came from China.” In addition, a Chinese official (Lijian Zhao alleged: “It might be the U.S. Army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan”) is blaming the U.S. Army.
The COVID-19 virus first raised its ugly head about 600 miles north of Hong Kong in the Wuhan Province in China. If it first raised its head in Cleveland, we’d surely call it the “Ohio virus.”
Since I started playing with Facebook, I’ve seen a zillion different conspiracy theories about this thing. There’s a bunch of conspiracy theories out there. They all can’t be right, but they all can be wrong.
Democrats are freaking out and blame Trump for how he’s handling this crisis. “He handled this thing all wrong. There aren’t testing kits available for the public. There are still no testing kits at local hospitals.” Logic dictates with any new strain of some virus, you have to develop a test for it, BEFORE you can make kits available.
Partisan politicians who refuse to let any crisis go to waste, attempt to gain some political mileage by expecting the impossible. We have over 330 million American citizens. Do we overwhelm our hospitals with everyone filling hallways demanding a test? That’s asinine!
Instead, a prudent course is to self-quarantine during the incubation period of the virus.
Then those who become symptomatic can be tested and depending on their particular severity, treated with a currently available protocol and in those extreme cases; with a “right to try,” possibly experimental treatments.
This self-quarantine also helps limit the spread of this virus, buying us invaluable time.
Chinese silence/secrecy robbed us of a 3 month head start on any development. Ah, but identity politics and political correctness claim it is somehow racist to put the fault where it belongs.
As with any wound, the first thing you do is try to stop the bleeding. Trump initially stopped entry into the country from its epicenter: China. Later Europe, where it was really handled badly. Yet democrats are the same people that promote “open borders.” How’s that supposed to work?
I will tell you what I do know. It wasn’t too long ago; as a matter of fact, right before this Chinese virus materialized, that the Communist People’s Republic of China was having a double dose of the blues from Hong Kong. As usual, the communists broke their agreement with Hong Kong just like leftist-progressive socialists would do here.
Remember seeing the people of Hong Kong singing our National Anthem? Remember seeing the people in Hong Kong carrying American flags in their demonstrations against mainland China? They love President Trump and how we Made America Great Again.
I bet ya ain’t heard a peep outta Hong Kong since this Chinese virus materialized. “Chill out,” in a couple months you’ ll be able to find toilet paper everywhere.
John Lucas is a resident of Vanderbilt.