In the past couple of weeks, most of us have seen a very abrupt and fundamental shift in our normal routines due to a recent outbreak of a strain of influenza called the Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19. For many, a situation of this magnitude is a new thing, and it has resulted in some very bizarre reactions - notably, hoarding toilet paper from practically every supermarket in business right now. So, how are we to respond? I can't say personally, as at this point most of us are still trying to figure out the answer to that. All I am going to do here is just offer a few observations, and you are welcome to take or leave them as you will.
First, I want to make something very clear - it is in no way "racist" to refer to this virus as a Chinese virus, as that is where it comes from. Our friends on the political Left are making a huge stink about calling it a Chinese virus, and to be honest, their reasoning is ridiculous. The virus started in China, it spread from China, and every indication is that certain factors endemic to the region of China it came from (Wuhan) is why it made such an impact, but more on that later as there are a couple of cultural issues I want to tackle. Some people, rightly seeing how ridiculous it is to accuse people of racism for stating the obvious, are having some fun with the whole thing, and I have to admit I am enjoying it too - this is displayed primarily in some of the slang names for the epidemic, such as "KungFlu", "WuFlu," "Flu-Ahh-Choo," and other creative and humorous descriptions some have come up with. I cannot fault anyone for that, as we have to make something good out of the situation, and often the realm of jocularity is a good way to do it. Plus, it ruffles the feathers of the Left, who set this double-standard of demonizing White people, or even making fun of whole regions of the country, yet they get upset when someone states the obvious fact. Political correctness can be defined, honestly, as the lack of common sense as expressed in language, and it is a bigger pandemic than Coronavirus will ever be. That being said, let's move on.
The response to this issue is something I have mixed feelings on. First, it is imperative that preventative measures be taken, which is something no one of any good mind would dispute. However, there are two areas I would like more clarification on, and they are important. First, is there a chance of overreaction? The risk of that needs to be always kept in mind, and it is easy for mass hysteria to overwhelm rational thinking. I believe the best way to take preventative action is quite simple - use common sense. Things such as washing one's hands, not sneezing or coughing on people (cover your mouth and nose, in other words), and the proper "social distancing" are all good measures. However, with "social distancing," we need to be careful there too - none of us are islands unto ourselves, and a minimal amount of human interaction is necessary for our own wellbeing too, so hopefully people won't go overboard with it. Secondly, what of government involvement? Many rightly have observed that the current lockdown measures taken by many local and state governments are a bit draconian, and the question we need to ask is one I heard conservative commentator Ben Shapiro note on his "Daily Wire" broadcast on Friday - the governments need to have a solid plan in place, and any measures that are taken in necessary context cannot be codified into permanent legislation. In other words, the government is not to be relied on to be our go-to place for all answers, as it can open the door to socialism, or worse - a crisis is an ideal incubator for totalitarianism to cultivate, so let's be mindful of that as well. Although government has a vital role to play, let's not give them more than they need as far as authority is concerned, or we will pay the price for it later (ask Germans after 1933 when Hitler came to power, or Russians in 1918 after Lenin). The responsibility to address the crisis begins first with us as individuals, and the government has the role of making it possible for us to take the appropriate action. Once the crisis is over, then the government's job is finished as far as those measures are concerned and it can then go back to doing what it needs to do. As long as we keep this in mind, I think we will be fine.
Also, for those who are bewailing this situation, let me assure you it is nothing compared to worse things that have happened. In 1985, for instance, when I was only a freshman in high school, my home state of West Virginia was hit with one of the most catastrophic floods that it had experienced in its history, and the level of damage from that flood was so severe that it altered people's lives for almost 3 years after it happened. Towns were leveled to nothing, lives and homes were lost, and the economic toll was around (if I recall it) $40 billion. At that time, I lived in one of those towns impacted heavily by the flooding, and I remember having to use water delivered in six-packs of aluminum cans donated by the Anheuser-Busch Corporation. My whole freshman year of high school was spent in a partitioned fire hall in the county seat, and many people went for weeks without running water or other amenities we take for granted. I also recall the roads - the swollen rivers devoured chunks of major highways, forcing people to detour miles just to get to work or school. The demand for toilet paper and Wonder Bread now pales in comparison to that, but many people now don't know those types of disasters. But, the good news is that many of those little mountain towns rebounded, rebuilt, and today they are vibrant communities. I wonder if many will fare as well in a situation like this which is much less severe?
Let's now talk about cultural practices that made coronavirus possible. It is of no consequence that some of the culinary and other habits of people in Wuhan had some part to play in the rise of this pandemic, and one culinary practice that has garnered some attention recently is a delicacy enjoyed by people in that region called bat soup. To make this stuff, a live, screaming bat is deep-fried alive in a vat of boiling sesame oil, and then is scooped up and plopped into a bowl of soup stock. While the fraculated bat is morbidly grinning at you in the bowl of broth, it is consumed whole - fur, everything! - as a meal, and the whole thing is just, well, disgusting. People who have pointed these practices out have been labeled as "racists" naturally, despite proof that the species of bat being used in this "gourmet delicacy" has been tested and confirmed to carry a strain of coronavirus. The problem here is not that people who do find this repugnant are "racist," but rather that there are factors that necessitated the Chinese people in a particular location to eat bats in the first place. Bat soup, along with other weird stuff (dog meat, roasted elephant trunk, birds-nest soup, etc.) has been a delicacy in China for thousands of years, but that is the thing - it was a delicacy. It is not traditionally normal for most people of that region to eat bats as an everyday cuisine like we do fried chicken or pot roast here, and only with an intense social engineering program which can be attributed to Mao Tse-Tung (a vicious tyrant and murderer), some 70 years ago, did it prove necessary to eat what was once considered a delicacy as an essential survival food - bats and anything else for that matter that creeps and crawls. While maybe indulging in a weird delicacy on occasion may not hurt you, a steady diet of such things heightens the risks dramatically, and hence the incubation of potential pandemics like coronavirus. It is also not something stereotypical of Chinese cuisine either - I don't think that the vast majority of Chinese people eat weird stuff, and therefore it is not necessary to avoid Chinese buffets here in the US (many of which are actually owned and operated by Koreans and Vietnamese anyway) - the likelihood of bat soup being on a menu here is negligible. As a matter of fact, I personally like Chinese cuisine and have a particular affinity for the Mongolian grills many Chinese eateries feature. So, it is OK to eat Chinese food, and that plate of sweet-and-sour chicken with fried rice will NOT give you coronavirus. That being said, another point to be made as well as this - no one is blaming the Chinese people for this (at least, not anyone with any brains), but it is the blame of the Chinese government for its handling of the situation - the Chinese people are victims of their own repressive Marxist/socialist government, and the Chinese leadership has a lot to answer for. The way the Communist Party leadership in China has handled this has been sloppy at best, and deliberately calculated at best, yet Bernie Sanders and other idiots who want socialism in the US still sing the praises of these monsters. If anything, the coronavirus is a wakeup call to us to take China more seriously for the threat it is, thanks in part to self-serving tyrannical leadership there. Another lie of the Left in relation to this is the following - by calling the coronavirus "Chinese," it will encourage "hate crimes" against Asian-Americans. Honestly, there is not a shred of evidence that this is even happening, and it is one of the stupidest arguments I have heard yet. This time in our nation's history is not one where "political correctness" and idiotic virtue-signaling are warranted, and it needs to stop. The Left needs to be red-pilled to reality, in other words, and stop trying to push agendas by taking advantage of a national issue.
A final thing I wanted to mention is this - we will get through this one way or another. Although for a season our normal flow of life may be interrupted, it would be wise for us to use that to our advantage and constructively. This is not the time for mass hysteria or craziness, and only with level heads can we ride this crisis out and it will make better people and a better nation of us all. Realizing that should bring us all hope. Thank you for allowing me to share, and will see you soon - stay safe, and also take the proper precautions to protect yourself and your family.
