Festivus 2021: Here Is An Airing Of 10 Covid-19 Coronavirus Grievances – Forbes

Imagine how many more lives could have been saved and suffering could have been avoided had more ... [+] people followed science-backed Covid-19 precautions from the start of the pandemic. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)

Today, December 23, in addition to being National Pfeffernuse Day, is supposed to be the Festivus Holiday. Thats according to the Frank Costanza character on the super-syndicated TV showSeinfeld. And Festivus is supposed to begin with the airing of grievances. So, in the words of the elder Costanza, I got a lot of problems with some of you people and now you're gonna hear about it. Here are 10 such grievances for 2021 all focused on, surprise, surprise, the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic:

Nothing lasts forever, with the possible exception of the 1996 movie The English Patient. Back in 2020, many experts warned that this pandemic would continue for about two plus years into 2022. Such a time course would be similar to what was seen with the 1918 influenza pandemic. That flu pandemic began with a herald wave in the Spring of 1918 and went through surges in the two subsequent Winters before dissipating in the Spring of 1920. So staying vigilant and buckling for about two or so years is not the same as doing it forever.

An anti-mask protestor holds a sign during a rally outside Downing Street in London, England. (Photo ... [+] by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

Sure, you may feel that you owe it to world to share the amazing bottom half of your face with everyone. But come on folks. Its a face mask not a cinder block attached to your genitals. If wearing a face mask is the worst thing that you have to do today, your life aint bad at all.

These days youve got podcast hosts, politicians, and all sorts of other people with no real medical and scientific training and experience spouting off misinformation about Covid-19. Also, just because someone is a medical doctor or has some type of science degree doesnt mean that he or she is qualified to offer real Covid-19 advice. Would you let a podcast host defend you in a criminal court case? Or an ice hockey player quarterback your team in the Super Bowl? Or a proctologist perform heart surgery on you?

Check the sources of the information and their qualifications. Getting medical advice from an anonymous social media account would be like getting medical advice from the graffiti in a public bathroom stall.

Being asked to wear a face mask or provide proof of vaccination like everyone else when you want to watch Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway in a movie theater isnt the same as racial discrimination. And its certainly not the same as The Holocaust.

The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed a lot of the structural racism that has long existed in society. Persons of color have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. For example, Black and Latinx Americans have died at approximately twice the rate as White Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Then theres whats been happening to many Asian American. As I have covered previously for Forbes, the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has uncovered anti-Asian racism and hate that has been going on for years, long before people started popularizing terms like the kung-flu virus. The following tweet thread described some of this:

Yet, many people still refuse to acknowledge such structural racism and take concrete steps to fixing these problems.

Sure, you may be able to make money selling supplements or hydrogen peroxide nebulizers by claiming that they can somehow prevent or cure Covid-19. But for Petes and everyone elses sake, can you please stop putting profits over people? Your misinformation and disinformation may be hurting and potentially killing people.

Over 241.5 million people, which is 72.7% of the U.S. population, have already received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So how come keys, magnets, paper clips, anvils, and other metallic objects arent freaking flying around or sticking to everyone? Again, trying to discredit Covid-19 vaccines or other science-backed Covid-19 prevention measures may serve your political or business agenda. But you may be doing real harm to many, many people.

Remember this video from The Daily Show with Trevor Noahthat captured the numerous times then-U.S. President and current Mar-A-Lago resident Donald Trump claimed that the pandemic was rounding the corner in 2020:

That was a freaking huge corner. Clearly the pandemic was nowhere close to being finished in 2020. And it hasnt rounded that so-called corner in 2021. Yet, a number of politicians have continued to push for premature relaxation of Covid-19 precautions. For example, the U.S. prematurely relaxed face mask and social distancing recommendations in mid-May. And like with many things that are premature, that left a messy situation and many people rather confused. Soon thereafter, the Delta variant came along and well, in the words of Ron Burgundy, That escalated quickly. Then in the Fall and early Winter of 2021, some politicians like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said stuff like Real America is done with #COVID19, as you can see here:

To that, many people responded with what was essentially an OMG. And the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seems to have responded with Omicron.

If you think you are really free to do anything that you want, try going to your workplace completely naked or use a restaurant table as a toilet. Better yet. Try doing the same thing at the house or private country club of one of those politicians claiming that face mask requirements are infringing on your personal liberties. Rules and requirements are in place because many people are just plain selfish and wont do whats good for society. Whether or not you take Covid-19 precautions affects many people around you. For example, the protection offered by the vaccines increases as more and more people around you get vaccinated too. Thats how herd immunity works.

Welcome to 2021 when politicians trolled Big Bird after the Sesame Street character encouraged people to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Science-backed Covid-19 precautions are not political opinions. Fighting for science is not playing politics.

One things for sure. Society is not going to be the same once the pandemic is over. Thats how time and history work. Dont be one of those people always longing for a return to your high school days. High school was actually kind of awful for many people. Like it or not, the future is going to be different. So you might as well start adapting. Things could even end up being better than they were before 2020.

Visit link:

Festivus 2021: Here Is An Airing Of 10 Covid-19 Coronavirus Grievances - Forbes