We are destined to share the planet with idiots. This is a truth as consistent as gravity. Unfortunately, some of those idiots not only walk the earth but also get elected to congress or have television shows where they can spread their stupidity across the wide area network of humanity. Worse, many of them are accomplished people who have the power to make decisions that affect all of us.

Let’s begin with the heavyweight champion of tomfoolery, AOC:

"Honestly, it sounds almost so silly to say, but there's a lot of restaurants that are feeling the pain of racism, where people are literally not patroning (sic) Chinese restaurants, they're not patroning (sic) Asian restaurants because of just straight-up racism around the coronavirus,"

That’s because it is silly to say, and not just because she’s making up words like a three-year-old in phonics class. People were avoiding Chinese restaurants at the beginning of this outbreak because the virus began in China and you are more likely to encounter people who have been to China in Chinese establishments. That isn’t racism, it’s common sense. My wife was born and raised in Shanghai and the first thing she told me when I was traveling to New York two weeks ago was to avoid places where Chinese people congregate. Is she racist against her own people? No, she’s concerned about the health of her family.

I realize that there are buffoons out there who think China deliberately started this pandemic or that being Chinese means you’re more likely to get it or have it because foolish people exist. A Chinese man was beaten by some clown angry about the virus – because covering yourself in the blood of someone you think might have a virus is a great way to avoid contracting it. This is obviously awful behavior but using people with this mentality as your targeted audience when choosing to talk about serious issues that affect all of us or speaking specifically to avoid inciting these people sinks respectable institutions to the level of the fools.

Which brings me to the media clown car faking outrage at various Republicans calling it the Wuhan or the Chinese virus. Lest you think this juvenile inanity is confined to Democrats and talk show clowns, think again:

“The WHO said it deliberately chose COVID-19 as the official name to avoid such stigmatization.”

Congratulations on your sensitivity. And since you chose such a bureaucratically antiseptic mouthful, people (like AOC) are simply calling it the coronoavirus. This is a pitch perfect example of why “intellectuals” obsessed with controlling every aspect of human behavior always fail. What’s wrong with calling it “the coronavirus” you ask? Observe: 

One of my neighbors recently articulated something online that has been repeated enough to provoke a fact check. Roughly paraphrased, her comment read: “It says ‘effective in killing coronavirus’ on my can of Lysol. This is not a new can of Lysol. Ergo, they knew about this coronavirus threat before they were telling us about it. Ergo, I’m not afraid of it. Ergo, I’m off to Walmart to lick the fresh fruit.”

Coronavirus is to Covid-19 what fish is to shark. It’s a type of virus which can have many strains. What we call the common cold, for example, can be any number of strains of coronavirus. It is not the Coronavirus as in the current strain of pandemic shaking the globe. If someone said to you “Be careful, there are fish in this water.” You might say “Big deal, ding dong. I ain’t afraid of fish.” If that person said, “Be careful, there are sharks in this water,” you might think twice before jumping into the water. If that person said, “Be careful, there are Great White Sharks in this water,” you’d probably avoid it.

The problem with all these grown up babies fighting over vacuous rhetoric and hurt feelings is that they’ve eradicated clear conversation. Wuhan Virus was just fine. It’s easy to remember, accurate as far as we know concerning the origin of the virus and specific to this strain of infection. Instead, our betters have sown confusion in the name of sensitivity. A lot more people are likely to misread coronavirus than they are to go around beating up Asian people because of a virus.

Speaking of sowing confusion, our Commander in Grief originally announced that this is all a Democrat hoax. Seriously. The effect that this incredible remark has had on his supporters is like mixing vinegar and baking soda: a bubbling cauldron of utter insanity. Some Trumpets think the sinister Deep State created this virus to “impeach” the president again. Some have parroted Trump’s careless suggestion that this is just an overblown hoax by the fake news media and it’s just the flu. Still others think China or North Korea purposely spread this virus to attack America, or something.

The worst part is that the media are absolutely hyping and exaggerating this crisis because hysteria is in the media’s DNA. Body counts, total cost of damage, mayhem and chaos have always been and will always be what they focus on. Body counts sell news. Some guy falls off his ladder boarding up his windows for a hurricane and newsroom editors stop the presses to finally change the blaring headline from Dangerous Hurricane to Deadly Hurricane. Hooray! This isn’t anti-Trump bias, it’s default media behavior.

Of course, there is also plenty of anti-Trump cheerleading going on, with even more idiots hoping the markets keep tanking so they can elect a different old, belligerent windbag to be president. What’s a few thousand deaths when the White House is at stake? Some have gone so far as to call it The Trump Virus. Trump has certainly behaved like the alpha gorilla throwing his feces at everything he dislikes but throwing it back when the situation calls for serious analysis isn’t helping anyone.

 It’s all very garish. This is exactly why conservatives exist. People are awful and as a rule, the worst among them are the ones who always wind up in charge. Hence, we stand for diffusing power across the largest number of institutions possible to reduce the impact that arbitrary decisions can have on the lives of individuals. Unfortunately, this moment calls for our politicians to act like leaders instead of professional wrestlers. Since so many of them have been Twitter beefing for so long at this point, they have no idea how to do it. All of us will suffer as a result.