Topic: Corona Virus Panic/Discussion Thread

@Th3solution That is my biggest concern that it fuels more of a victim thing for Trump or throws more doubt in the mix regarding the next election.

@Th3solution biggest concern for me is melania getting it. Throws into doubt social distancing as a method of coronavirus protection 😂

@R1spam lol!

My worry is he'll go completely unaffected by it which will further reinforce (to him and his supporters) that it's all much ado about nothing.

And I understand how insensitive that sounds but that's just the reality of the situation. If he gets it and lives, from then on, that'll be the only statistic that matters.

@Kidfried National polling has Trump underperforming way worse than he ever did with Clinton, and, despite the narrative the right likes to peddle, he only won the election because he narrowly clinched a few of the states he needed due to depressed voter turnout on the left. It's why Trump has been preparing for months to steal the election by crying about mail-in ballots, sabotaging the postal system, and heavily alluding to the supreme court he has shaped deciding the election when this chaos he has sewn makes results a bit murky. Many, many Republican senators are on-board with this open preparation for a coup as well.

@zupertramp I mean, it's a reasonable thing to expect, given covid denialism/downplaying covid works to his benefit, and there's precedent with the way Bolsonaro handled getting covid.

@Th3solution If he does, we'll know soon. I'm sure they re-tested him the instant this came out.

But yeah, I've been saying for months that they need to keep Biden in a bubble. The country is already at a boiling point, with open corruption from elected officials, extremist groups fighting in the streets, protests and riots still rocking major cities due to inaction on police abuses of power, and, frankly, upwards of 30%+ of people on both sides of the political spectrum condoning political violence if it helps their cause. Additionally, Trump is inciting right-wing groups to intimidate voters at polling places, Republican governors are engaging in voter suppression tactics (if you haven't, go read about what the Texas governor is doing), mail-in balloting is going to be a mess this year both due to intentional sabotage from the white house along with a massive surge from people not wanting to expose themselves at polling places, and you have the turmoil being caused by this new supreme court drama. Throw in both candidates being sick or dead, and... yeah.

This is a dangerous time for our nation.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/10/01/political-v...

I'm not a Trump fan, but as with anyone I hope he pulls through (and maybe, just maybe, takes it a bit more serious).

I will say, though I considered it and that in and of itself is disturbing, I don't think this is fake. The man loves his rallies. I don't see him hatching some kind of political machination that would derail his ability to hold those.

His ego is too big for it to be fake.

@Ralizah I think all we can do is hope that he gets better in general.

Everyone’s got actual sympathy here. I feel like a monster 😂

So, for anyone who hasn't been paying attention, the president was transported to Walter Reed hospital yesterday. Meanwhile, the cases in MAGA world continue to grow. Kellyanne Conway has it as well. And at least three more Republican senators.

@nessisonett funny, i don't. he's early 1930s Hitler and I'm supposed to feel bad he might not get the chance to go full dictator... I mean, I guess.

I should be clear: I'm not vindictive, I'm just utilitarian.

I don't believe in the death penalty for criminals. I want to see Trump in prison, not a grave.

Besides, while Trump absolutely has blood on his hands, he's more a reflection of how divorced from reality and far-right the Republican Party has swung in recent years than anything. If Trump dies, it's not like things are going back to normal. If anything, the right will become MORE paranoid, and stuff like QAnon will just morph to fit whatever the new narrative is.

And, at the end of the day, I don't think ANYTHING good comes of celebrating death.

So I do hope he makes it through this.

@Ralizah I already saw an actual politician in the US describe Trump being in hospital as an assassination attempt by China. I’ll leave it at that.

@nessisonett I've also heard conspiracies already about democrats 'giving it' to him. As if he's not the victim of a virus that he has left hundreds of thousands of America's poor to suffer from.

But yeah, there are a number of Republican politicians whose comments sound like IRL 4chan posts now.

Crazy people, all of them.

I think it's valuable to consider Max Weber's 3 types of political legitimacy here... One of them being charismatic authority. This is what Trump weilds. Not everyone can do it. You think people would follow Pence or Lindsey Graham or Jim Jordan (etc.) with this kind of blind religious devotion? I doubt it. Trump plays wrestling heel like no other Republican can.

So I wouldn't celebrate his death. I also don't believe in the death penalty. But again, it's not about punishment for me. It's about what would be the best outcome for the greatest amount of people?

This isn't exactly the trolley problem as no one is at the switch here... And I'm not sure there's anything ethically wrong with considering what would be the most optimal outcome.

@Ralizah The more I read up on QAnon, the less I understand it.

My goodness, a fair few folk from republican party gathering on Thursday are now positive. Almost like close proximity in the absence of masks is a risk factor. Have you seen those photos? I've not seen anything that looks like that since March!!

@zupertramp Trump's "charisma" is overstated. His cult isn't really about him, at the end of the day, but the terrible impulses his behavior awakened in their own hearts,, and hardened, conspiratorial fascists for whom the basic structures of a democratic government have been delegitimized aren't going to come to their senses once their orange god is dead.

This all would never have happened if the right in this country hadn't become increasingly radicalized over the last decade or so, frankly, and if Trump hadn't stepped up to fill the historical role he served, someone else eventually would have. It's not like right-wing populists are a rare commodity in America.

If Trump dies, he will be seen as a martyr, conspiracies will abound, and eventually the MAGA movement will latch onto new figureheads to carry on Trump's legacy. Unless an unprecedented crackdown occurs and everyone who has carried water for Trump's crimes is arrested and jailed, we're looking at a pretty permanent (or generational, at the very least) change to our society, I think.

@Octane QAnon makes no sense. But, as with many conspiracies, it maintains relevance because of the way it reinforces feelings, resentments, and suspicions that are already disturbingly prevalent in the general population. And that is, partially, because of the way the U.S. has systematically failed its own population.