So the coronavirus was able to populate/invade our shores because the Republicans in the White House was too late in detecting the virus in Wuhan Province, China, then closed the borders way too late and to the wrong side of the world. Too many asymptomatic people were getting it and then passing it on, and the first mass casualties were the elderly living in congregate care homes. We shut everything do ... or so we thought. We became babies who couldn't hold their piss together -- "Come on, can we leave our homes now?" -- so we half-assed the shutdown, and when we opened everything up, too many dumb assholes thought it was Rumspringa and congregated in bars and parties, and it's spread everywhere again.
Already some states (the dumb red ones down South) are opening up schools, creating yet another goddamn petri dish whereby this virus can continue to live and thrive. And now, beginning this weekend, there is another place where experts agree could (I think they really want to see "will" but are too afraid to say it) become the nation's next super-spreader event: Sturgis.
There have already been many super-spreader events in this country already: The bars and nightclubs and restaurants that needed to be shut down; the parties the mayor of Los Angeles is threatening to shut down; and schools that have already sent students home because dozens have tested positive. But Sturgis is special in its own regard. People estimate that a quarter million bikers are going to converge in the city in South Dakota, which makes it an infinitely bigger event than a choir practice or a funeral. But it's also the appearance regarding the staging of the event, including the decision to stage the event itself, that makes this fucking party an emblem of how the United States has so royally fucked up its response to COVID-19. And speaking of party: Sturgis is also a distillation of Republicanism, and the twisted values of blissful ignorance and fevered arrogance that have taken hold in a disturbingly large minority of the country and, wholly, in a political party that has cheated its way into control of this nation -- which is completely why the United States has so royally fucked up its response to COVID-19.
This (behind a paywall) is one of several pieces by the New York Times on the start of Sturgis. I didn't read the story because I'm too cheap and have yet to feel comfortable enough to sign away information to the NYT. But the quote in the headline pretty much gives me all I need to know about how the motorcyclists who are attending the week-plus-long event feel about the coronavirus: "If we get it, we chose to be here." What the fuck does that even mean? I mean, just take that sentence and pull it apart. There's a condition, but this stupid worker (she works at a biker apparel shop) says that if that condition is true ... she states where she is located? Huh?
The next person in this article came into town from Rapid City, S. D. He, like I'm pretty sure 99% of the bikers there, are maskless. Why? "I haven't seen anyone out here wear a mask so it kind of feels like it defeats the purpose." Shit. OK, I understand that wearing a mask protects people from the wearer more than the other way around. But even if other people choose not to protect you from them, does it really make sense to say "Fuck it!" and not wear a mask yourself? This dumbass might have the virus and not know it. And maybe, just maybe, wearing a mask will help block the virus from this prick's nose and mouth. Not worth a shot?
Let me go back to the MAGA imbecile working in the shop. This is the classic reason why so many people are showing up to Sturgis, I know it: "We are allowed to make our own choices." Sure, you are. We don't have the choice of catching corona if you get near us, but watching out for your fellow American isn't top of mind to these people -- or to Republicans. See, that statement is, to many, freedom and freedom in America in its purest, ideal form. Never mind that we all want to live; the assumption that we all have that in common, or at least feeling we all have a responsibility to each other to keep each other alive, may be the most frightening revelation about Republicans wielding power under Trump that we have not yet noticed. There is a lot of stupidity and obliviousness going around, but the cyclists there have to know that there is a very scary disease for which there is no cure spreading in the country, and that it is known to kill people. But taking steps to stop that, so people don't die, is a fundamental breach of their God-given rights. 'Murica!
Individual rights that have curdled into blind selfishness is a hallmark of current Republicanism. And everyone who is connected to the event going forward -- the bikers attending, the locals and the strippers who come to town to make money, the governor who decided to allow the event to happen with no restrictions -- exhibit in action and probably state in words that they are exercising what the Republican party has repeated in a psychotic loop for at least 40 years. They can do whatever they want because they have the power to control their own lives. Well, bless your hearts, assholes.
Oh, one other thing that pisses me off about the RNC at Sturgis. If infections start to happen, people who endorsed Sturgis going forward this year will say something to the effect of, "This could have been a lot worse. You see, many of our events were outside, so you should give us credit for not stuffing these riders in bars where the virus really could have spread!" That would be a real fucking stupid thing to say, and I would bet, oh, ten bucks someone would say that. My point is that people at Sturgis, and Republicans, will move the goalposts a country mile in order to justify doing what they do even if the shit hits the fan. Close down Sturgis for the year -- "No! South Dakota can hold events this big without spreading corona, and the state needs the money, and it's just the flu, and FREEDOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!" But then the Sturgis Emergency Room will start to fill with people in leather vests who can't breathe and have fevers and those same people will go, "Hey, it could have been worse -- we planned on holding our lingerie fights in the bar! And we were spread out, sorta, because we were outside! And look at the money we made!" They spin every bad thing in a way that makes them look good. They can't lose. They can't ever lose. And they are never, never wrong, no matter if circumstances make normal people reconsider their choices. That is Republicanism in a nutshell.
I am shocked that Trump hasn't announced he'll go to Sturgis this week. He'll be hailed by motorcyclists as a conquering hero, even though he has done jack shit about stopping the coronavirus, or anything, for that matter. Leni Riefenstahl, where the fuck are you? (Dead.)
And yes, this makes me regret all those times I've sat in a restaurant for a couple hours.
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