Forsaken

As we approach 190,000 deaths resulting largely from the bungling, callous response to the pandemic by narcissistic moron Donald "COVID Donnie" Trump, the recently concluded Republican National Convention circus provided a vivid portrait of this party of sociopaths and their Dear Leader.  Whether by their not speaking of the coronavirus and its toll on America, by engaging in an outrageously false narrative that COVID Donnie saved lives, or by their ostentatious flouting of basic public health measures, the message came through loud and clear.

Kyle Whitmire reminds us what others have forsaken while these privileged, self- centered yahoos try to convince themselves that the pandemic is behind us:

Trump’s speech was a meandering greatest-hits of the extemporized rants we’ve heard from him for the last four years, both audacious and simultaneously forgettable.

What shouldn’t be forgettable is the message that event sent the country: Everyone of those folks just showed they don’t care what anyone else in this country has forsaken to beat this disease.

The seniors in long term care centers who have been isolated from their loved ones and don’t understand why.

The grandparents denied their favorite people’s hugs and kisses.

Grieving families who’ve forgone funerals.

Couples who’ve delayed weddings.

The frontline workers in our hospitals and care centers who must isolate themselves from their loved ones to protect them at the same time they put their own lives at risk.

Teachers, administrators and support staff learning to work with mitigation measures so their schools don’t turn into hotspots.

The grocery workers behind those plexiglass dividers at the checkout counter.

It's maddening what the best among us have forsaken and sacrificed for the common good, and that even the most innocuous measures to save lives and stop the spread are ignored and derided by the louts and fools.  When the poll came out showing that 57 percent of Republicans thought the coronavirus death toll was "acceptable", we can't say we were surprised (in fact, we thought the percentage of these "pro- life" hypocrites would be higher).  But when a party adheres to an alternate, non- scientific, fact- free reality in service to a malignant buffoon, a rising death toll becomes "it is what it is."

Sixty- five days until November 3.

(Photo:  Mask-less yahoos on the South Lawn cheering COVID Donnie; Alex Brandon/AP)