The Virus that is Social Media: Scrutiny of One’s Source is the Best Defense
On the evening of March 11, 2020, President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office- a rare occasion for a president who is accustomed from doing so at a lectern, or out on the South Lawn waiting to board the Marine One helicopter. The subject of the President’s address was the coronavirus COVID-19, which the World Health Organization declared to be a “pandemic” earlier in the day. This pandemic declaration was of no surprise since the virus, which originated in the Wuhan Province of the communist People’s Republic of China (China’s government wants the rest of the world to forget this fact), has spread throughout the world causing widespread contagion in China, continental Europe and elsewhere. Many deaths are starting to number in Italy, Iran and in other locales, and despite their respective governments’ best efforts to contain the spread of this virus, the spread of this virus continues unabated.
In very measured and somber tones, the President told people what they can expect, the precautions that need to be taken, and steps the government is taking to ameliorate the spread of the virus and minimize its impact- financially as well as medically.
Noting that the members of the European Economic Community failed to halt inbound flights from China, when the President decided to do so back in January- against a chorus of charges that doing so was somehow deemed to be “racist” by those who “know better,” like globalists on both sides of the Atlantic- the President said that the EEC’s decision not to follow his lead enabled the virus to become entrenched in Europe, most particularly in Italy, where their own government has now decided to quarantine the entire country.
In an effort to further protect Americans in this country to the extent that he can, President Trump announced in his address that effective midnight, Friday March 13, all inbound flights from continental Europe would be cancelled for the next thirty days and, subject to conditions on the ground, further cancellations may take place. Last night’s announcement excluded flights from the United Kingdom, as well as cargo flights throughout the world.
So, what gets posted on Facebook and other social media?
“Trump Stops All Planes for Thirty Days”
It’s bad enough that television networks, cable news channels and newspapers regularly pump out fake news and present it as unvarnished truth. Coverage of the President’s address was no exception, as these so-called “journalists” focused in on the President’s “apparent unease” with the subject matter based on, get this, his “breathing patterns” (so now, everyone is a licensed rhinologist/behavioral psychologist). Nevertheless, anyone who watched the President’s address knew that he clearly said, “all flights from Europe…” not to Europe…not all flights…just all fights from Europe.
But never mind that. The social media providers, so anxiously concerned about misinformation and fake news being generated by individuals and campaigns alike, presumably because it affects the way people vote, continue to turn the other direction and ignore the ignorance being routinely churned out by those who don’t know a coronavirus from a computer virus.
So while we are washing our hands and wiping down our countertops with disinfecting wipes, can we all just step back and ask ourselves what level of stupidity does it take for a populace who, on an advisory concerning the spread of a respiratory illness, decides to clear the entire consumer market of toilet paper?
Well, perhaps, it is because of thinking that originates from the exact part of the human anatomy that toilet paper is designed to specifically service.
So the next time we decide to go and believe all we see on Facebook, and all we hear from our friends and colleagues and associates, about the coronavirus and, for that matter, the President, perhaps we would all do well to consider the source, first, before we pull out of our holster, and wantonly point, the finger of blame…
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings…”
Act I, Scene 2 of “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare
…and, for cryin’ out loud, calm the hell down.
-Drew Nickell, 12 March 2020
© 2020 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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