A pandemic diary: Old man opens a can of whoop ass

December 16, 2021

This is a hill. I’m not over it yet.*

Along with the news about omicron and the prospect of a new surge in cases, we’ve learned another sad fact about the pandemic. As reported by the New York Times, of the 800,000 Americans who’ve left us because of Covid, 75 percent – six hundred thousand souls – were people age 65 and beyond, like I am. One of every 100 people in that group is gone.

I knew one of them, a much-loved musician who could play any song, anywhere, anytime, and accompanied her church’s choir for over fifty years. She had a lot of music and love left to give. Yet some younger people think that because of her age, she and the others had no right or reason to live any longer. Here’s a sample of the comments on the Times story.

• 1 of 100 is not very much. In fact now I’m wondering if all the trauma for our young people and the economy has been worth it. I think no.
• 18 is a more important year than 87. 6 is more important than 91. College years > nursing home years.
• Even if a few older people died a smidgin earlier because of Covid, it probably saved a more prolonged death for them (and also saved money for the health system!).
• That’s what happens to the old and infirm, they die, just exactly as they’re supposed to do.
• Welcome to Geriatric America where not everyone is young and healthy, and those that are must continue to sacrifice.

I don’t know which is worse: that these cretins have a cold-hearted disregard for life or that the Nation’s Newspaper gave them a platform. As my wife pointed out in a letter to the editor, they’d never do that, “if the objects of ridicule and derision were Black people, immigrants, LBGTQ, Latinx, or other minority groups often derided and subject to discrimination.”

A number of comments blame the dead for “letting themselves go” and becoming obese, claiming they might’ve survived the virus by, no kidding, eating a plant-based diet. Yes, many of us have underlying conditions. You get them when you hang around the planet for 60, 70, or more years, even if you take care of yourself. People with disabilities are more likely to be obese than those without, which makes the fat-shamers both ageist and ableist. My wife again: “How would they feel if someone said to them, “you’d be able to cure your spinal cord injury and walk again if you just lost weight and ate a plant-based diet?”

Last but not worst, some clown who probably thinks he’s progressive wrote, “The boomers are largely responsible for climate change. It seems fair that the planet is having the biggest effect on the boomers.”

I’ll admit my generation made mistakes. For many of us, it seems, the biggest blunder was having children. Together with their own spawn, our grandkids, they’ve mutated into a pack of brain-dead, selfish, narcissistic goons. They’re sacrificing for us?

Folks, unless y’all want to make a boomer happy, you better get vaccinated and boosted. Otherwise, I’ll have the distinct pleasure of dancing on your graves. Everybody else take care and be safe.

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*Photo by Pok Rie on Pexels.com.