Leonard Pitts: I will not die of stupid

[babylonsister]

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/20200426/leonard-pitts-i-will-not-die-of-stupid?fbclid=IwAR0sO7lhV0bKfreJt3lWutrRXCnrTM_xQB0cxNPZzkMb8Z06Smf_ZzQeD54


Leonard Pitts: I will not die of stupid
By Leonard Pitts, Jr.
Posted Apr 26, 2020 at 9:01 AM


Someday, I’m going to die.

This, I grudgingly accept. I have no idea how it’s going to happen. Maybe I will die of having a tree fall on me, of eating tainted shellfish, or of being struck by lightning. But this much I guarantee. I will not die of having wagered my life that TV carnival barkers, political halfwits and goobers in MAGA hats know more than experts with R.N.s, M.D.s, and Ph.D.s after their names.

In other words, I will not die of stupid.

snip//

But here’s the thing. There’s been a lot of talk over who has the power to reopen America’s economy. Well, it doesn’t belong to the president, nor to the governors. It doesn’t even belong to business owners. No, ultimately, it belongs to me. And to you. It belongs to us, as consumers.

After all, the president and the governors can issue all the orders they want, the owners can remove all the padlocks, but none of it matters if customers are too afraid to walk back through the doors. And I am. I have no idea how many consumers I represent, but I suspect it’s more than a few.

I get that businesses are suffering. But I refuse to eat in a crowded restaurant, sit in a packed movie house or fly on a full flight again until I feel I can do so safely. And I am emphatically not assured by TV carnival barkers, political halfwits and goobers in MAGA hats.

No, I need to hear from serious, credible people. I need to know sufficient testing has been conducted and that they feel the virus is no longer a threat. If other people want to die of stupid, I can’t stop them. But if America wants its economy back — this part of its economy, at least — it better do whatever is necessary to persuade Dr. Anthony Fauci it’s time to give the all-clear.

Look for me two weeks after that.

[CatMor]

1. I feel the same ...

this is a great article.

[FM123]

2. Leonard Pitts Jr is my favorite FL journalist - he is just amazing!

[tblue37]

6. One of my favorite columnists, too. nt

[SoonerPride]

3. I have resigned myself to this lifestyle until I'm vaccinated

And god I hope a vaccine is possible

But I’m not going to movies or full restaurants or malls or anywhere there are large crowds.

I am keeping my health above all else

[Laura PourMeADrink]

4. Me too! But I never though I would crave and miss dinner

in a great restaurant as much as I do now. Can't see it being the same for years.

This whole thing crept up on us so fast it's like we didn't have a chance to truly enjoy our favorite things.

This seems so intensely self centered, sorry. Sometimes, amid the horrors to the human race, we veer off into self. Maybe it's just to stay sane?

[ancianita]

5. +1 The only responsible, humane way to live. Faced with life or death, all else is distraction.

In the year of the coronavirus, Distraction is death.

[Corgigal]

7. This article is wonderful

This is what I tell my family, Trump and his stupid voters aren’t going to kill me. This I refuse.
I knew Trump was going to kill people when he was elected, we all probably did. We DU ers probably did as much as we could stay safe. He’s not smart enough to run a country. I heard brilliant comments like the president doesn’t do much. I thought those people are insane.
Sill do.
Be safe my DUers, we need all of you more then ever.

[TlalocW]

8. One objection - It's not fear

It's common sense and general intelligence. Even if it's fear, it's common sense and general intelligence. Fear cedes too much ground when talking to the idiots who want to open right away. It's too easily cast as something negative. Fear can be a good thing. It helps people survive, but I'm not going to waste time defending it from a scientific point of view with dipshits hanging out of SUVs with, "Land Free," signs. There's a time for good, nuanced arguments devoid of fallacies, presented logically, and there's a time when dealing with the selfish dumbasses blocking traffic to call them selfish dumbasses.

TlalocW

[2naSalit]

9. +1

[DBoon]

22. It is a desire to avoid an early death and a painful debilitating illness

Fear is a good thing sometimes. It is part of our basic instincts for self-preservation

[TlalocW]

30. I agree but...

Explaining that to these cretins does no good, and their entire argument will become, "You're a pussy." I'm not wanting to win friends and influence people or even argue logically. If you can get them on an emotional basis to keep their asses at home, it's a win.

TlalocW

[Hiawatha Pete]

10. Bravo, well said!

[lunatica]

11. That's my plan too

I’m determined to live past the day of Donald Trump. I want to see us move forward and building a better country than before. I’ve waited for that all my life.

[ffr]

12. I don't know who he is, but I like him.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

28. Leonard G. Pitts is a journalist for the Miami Herald.

He's been there for years. He even won the Pulitzer in 2004. He can be funny, angry, prophetic, and the voice of a nation's conscience. And he always speaks straight from his heart. He is a national treasure.

[canetoad]

31. Wasn't that a Noble

That he won?

[Haggis for Breakfast]

35. No, it was a Pulitzer.

[KT2000]

13. Goobers in MAGA hats!!!

[stage left]

14. My sentiments exactly.

I'm fortunate to be able to stay home and that's what I'm going to do. I live in the incredibly stupid state of South Carolina with the incredibly stupid Governor, Henry McMaster. And I say that as a native who misses the damned place when she leaves it. God knows why.

[Hekate]

15. "I will not die of stupid" -- exceedingly well put. Thank you. nt

[DarleenMB]

16. I like what he says BUT

"But here’s the thing. There’s been a lot of talk over who has the power to reopen America’s economy. Well, it doesn’t belong to the president, nor to the governors. It doesn’t even belong to business owners. No, ultimately, it belongs to me. And to you. It belongs to us, as consumers. "

We are CITIZENS. Calling us "consumers" turns us into powerless, mindless buyers who have no say in our government. As Citizens we are in charge, not Congress. They are (supposed) to be working for us and as long as we refer to ourselves as "consumers" they are in control. Take it back. Call yourself what you really are ... a Citizen.

[crickets]

18. +1

[dixiechiken1]

25. I understand what you're saying...

But the fact is that our entire economy is consumer-based. We have exported the bulk of our manufacturing and, along with it, the underpinnings of our once solid middle class. We have two very powerful means by which to make our voices heard: voting and if/where we choose to spend our money. We are equal parts consumers and citizens.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

17. Yup. Exactly my position.

😷

[StarryNite]

21. Yes!

And welcome to DU!

[bronxiteforever]

20. Kick and recommend.

[Old Crank]

23. Any other sources for this?

I can't get that paper herein Germany.

[babylonsister]

27. His columns are posted

in a bunch of newspapers. I don't know what you can get. He writes primarily for the Miami Herald.

https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/leonard-pitts-jr/article242239621.html

[Old Crank]

33. Thanks

Funny I can get the blog but not the paper. Trying to decide if I want to get a vpn....

[Different Drummer]

36. I found it in the Athens (GA) Banner Herald.

Google News lists it as also being in the Salt Lake Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, Bluffton (SC) Today, and the Oakland (MI) Press.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

24. M$M, Loser Donnie Bodybags, Dirty Bar, Massacre Mitch, and all GOPers can eat shit and die.

I won't be participating until we're covid-clear.

[not fooled]

32. ++++++++++++

The plan is clear: herd the peasantry back out into the town square while the lords and ladies stay safely behind the castle walls, and wait for the plague to claim a few million serfs.

No one who values their life would play along if they can avoid doing so.

[Upthevibe]

26. Excellent article....Thanks for the post...n/t

[Locrian]

29. yeah thats great...

and I certainly won't be eating out, movies, sports, etc.

But how many are retired or don't *have* to work that can make the decision to basically quite your job (and or course lose healthcare)?

Somehow I don't think business are going to be understanding if people don't show up when the "order" is lifted.

[Boomer]

34. I'm not going to the open house party for my city, state or country

I recognize that I'm in the very fortunate, privileged position of being able to sit out this pandemic at home. And that may well mean that I'll work@home until I retire in a few years.

I'm willing to run the risk of dying from COVID-19 in order to get groceries or pick up the mail. If the virus gets past my mask and gloves, well, luck of the draw and we all have to go sometime.

But I'm not running that risk to eat at a restaurant, watch a movie, relax at the spa, or even get a haircut. (If no one sees me, it won't much matter if I hack off my hair with scissors.) So Trump and the Republican governors can bluster all they want about the demands of the economy, I'm not playing their game. Instead, I'm doing my part to stay out of the ICU.