Don't make decisions from a place of anger.
Many of us have done that. I've hidden friends from my feed because of political division and missed their posts about family members hurting or even dying...all because I didn't want to see another post about seemingly hating me.
So I hope not too many will miss this post, because it was a wake-up call for me about something I know we all are tired of hearing about: Covid-19.
I know a lot of people don't have a lot of faith in Dr. Anthony Fauci. He's one of the smartest and most experienced infectious disease experts in the world, but when he criticized Donald Trump a year ago for his handling of the pandemic, Trump called him a "disaster", causing many of Trump's loyalists to "cancel" him. The equivalent of me getting angry with my doctor for telling me I need to lose weight, and so I ignore everything she tells me from then on, including things that might save my life.
Dr. Fauci was discussing pandemics the other day on NPR. He had been asked about his experience back in the 80's regarding HIV and the AIDS virus. He said the first step was figuring out how it was transmitted, and where it originated. The latter was ultimately impossible, but the former would be revealed through research. Dr. Fauci knew it was sexually transmitted, but it seemed to relegated largely to (at the time) gay males. He visited the bathhouses that populated the forced underbelly of that group at the time, and saw unchecked sexual activity with no precautions being taken against infections. Since condoms were primarily used to prevent pregnancy, that form of protection was not being used. Partners were regularly swapped, even in the same night, creating a hotbed for an STI to spread unchecked.
When Dr. Fauci and other experts reported their findings, people fell into several categories in how they viewed this pandemic:
"I don't believe HIV is real. It's a hoax."
"I don't believe it's that serious, and certainly not deadly."
"Only the sick need to worry about HIV killing them."
"I'm not gay, so I won't get it."
"I am gay, and you can't tell me what to do."
"The risk of infection is low, so I'm gonna live my life."
"Screw you, Fauci."
"La-La-La-La-La-LAAAAAA...not listening!"
Because of these attitudes, HIV became a real problem. To date, over 35 million have died from AIDS. It took years for people to actually be convinced that HIV was spread through sexual activity, and wasn't just a "gay issue". A recent survey among young people between the ages of 17 and 25 showed that only around 60% of women insist on condom usage once they have developed trust with their partner. Males, on the other hand, were at a dismal 15%. In fact, 89% of males said they actively discourage the use of condoms with their partner, even if their partner has brought one, because of "lack of sensation".** Many women relent on this to show their love for their partner, and men often see the lack of condom usage and it's subsequent end result as "claiming" their partner, reinforcing the idea that masculinity is defined by risk.
Now we are faced with Covid-19; another pandemic that is receiving the same kinds of criticism.
"I don't believe Covid is real. It's a hoax."
"I don't believe it's that serious, and certainly not deadly."
"Only the sick need to worry about Covid killing them."
"I'm being careful, so I won't get it."
"I'm an American, and you can't tell me what to do."
"The risk of infection is low, so I'm gonna live my life."
"Screw you, Fauci."
"La-La-La-La-La-LAAAAAA...not listening!"
In the 80's, HIV was often dismissed by many people as something that would go away on it's own. Or that it was killing such a small number of people that to take notice of it and take precautions against it was overreacting. The new variants of Covid that are popping up all over the world as the virus mutates are revealing a grim possibility: That being, Covid will probably not just disappear. In fact, like HIV, Covid may be here for good, and will require you to take precautions against it...forever. This may mean wearing a mask whenever you go somewhere with a large group of people, like a concert or a super bowl party. It may mean you getting an updated vaccine every year. It may mean (God forbid) you actually have someone die close to you that had attended an event you condoned as being "I'm gonna live my life and hang out with my friends/family on Thanksgiving, regardless."
Dr. Fauci was asked if people had taken the AIDS virus seriously when it was discovered, would the death toll have been so great. He said "I can't be certain of numbers, but I know the reduction would have been significant. Possibly by as much as 90%. We would still have HIV among us, but the transmission rates would be so small in number due to precautions being taken that cases would be minimal."
I'm wondering: What if we had listened?
**NPR News [Radio broadcast]. (2021, February 4). Dr. Anthony Fauci Interview.
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