Another one on the embarrassing debacle that the GOP perpetrated on Dr Anthony Fauci. The Republicans are trying so hard to please Trump they might just destroy anyone who gets in their way, or might just destroy the country. And we thought they were the party of "law and order." That's now a cruel, cruel joke.
This one is from yet another American that's had enough and is standing up and speaking out. We need many more like Robert Harrington, who by the way has a Substack now.
I noticed with more than a little amusement a significant uptick in MAGA trolls on the Facebook copy of my most recent Substack article [“The Failed Republican Attempt to Crucify Dr Fauci,” 31 July]. I responded to a few but there were so many in the end — hundreds really — that I decided to respond to them all here and now.
Ordinarily such an effort would not be possible. Individual comments almost always merit individual responses when they are worthy of a reply at all. But these trolls are distinguished less by individuality and more by what they share in common.
First of all, their spelling and grammar are almost always appalling. I hasten to point out that poor spelling and bad grammar are not always the final arbiter of poor education or stupidity. There are many very bright people who can’t express themselves in writing worth a damn for a variety of valid reasons beyond willful ignorance.
But when absurdly awful self-expression applies sweepingly to an entire class of people, you can bet your bottom dollar that poor education and low brain wattage play a significant role.
In fact, I would consider it axiomatic that whenever you encounter a controversy about which you know absolutely nothing, all you need do is look at the spelling and grammar of the opposing groups. If there is a wide disparity between the two and you place your chips on the better educated side, you will walk away from that particular gaming table a very rich person indeed.
In other words, idiots like MAGA losers are always on the losing side. I’m frequently impressed at how many mistakes they can cram into a single sentence.
Second, virtually to a man (and less commonly woman) they seem to believe that tropes and memes and Republican talking points and claims that I suffer from TDS actually carry real weight. Some of them even make the ironic point that I am guilty of believing everything I am told without any reference to what they know and who told them. As if I’m the one who was deceived and what they know they received from a source too lofty, perfect and sacred to even mention.
That’s ridiculous on its face of course. For my part, I get my information from published clinical trials and peer reviewed papers in distinguished scientific journals. Not always directly, I freely admit. But what is responsibly reported in the news concerning the work of Dr Anthony Fauci is supported by those studies and journals and are frequently footnoted in articles. In any case I have done the legwork and traced those footnotes to their sources. That’s my job, after all.
But where do these MAGA trolls get their points of view? As near as I can tell (and by all means feel free to confirm my findings, sisters and brothers) many of the talking points used against Dr Fauci originated from a handful of social media influencers that found their badly informed voices during the pandemic.
I give you an abbreviated list here. They include Doug Kuzma of FROG News podcast, Marc Bernier or “Mr Anti-Vax,” Phil Valentine a conservative radio host, Bob Enyart of Christian radio, Dick Farrell of Newsmax, Jimmy DeYoung Sr a Christian broadcaster, and Christopher Foley an online physician and blogger. There are about half a dozen more, but that group is fairly representative of the whole.
Needless to say, I would love to interview those gentlemen and find out what they think now. Unfortunately, they are all dead.
Each and every one of them died miserably from COVID-19. In hospitals. Pitifully, gasping for breath. Wretchedly hooked up to mechanical ventilators, CPAP machines, oxygen concentrators and ECMO machines.
The family of Phil Valentine said he regretted discouraging vaccination and wanted his listeners to get vaccinated. Friends of Dick Farrell said he texted them from the hospital urging them to “Get the shot,” and “This virus is no joke — I wish I had gotten [vaccinated].”
Meanwhile, even as the glassy-eyed talking headcases at Fox “News” were supporting some of these online bullshitters, they were scrupulously following the network mandate to wear masks, observe social distancing and get vaccinated. It wasn’t just a request from the network, either, it was a full-throated commandment. Failure to follow those dictates to the letter could result in instant termination.
After the vaccine was widely distributed, tens of thousands of Americans died from COVID anyway. But the vast majority of those deaths occurred either to persons who were unvaccinated, or elderly people who had the misfortune of personally knowing some unvaccinated MAGA fucking douchebag.
Finally, a lot of these MAGA trolls are imbued with a kind of testosterone heavy machismo. As if there’s something manly about not getting vaccinated. I find it especially amusing that most of these assholes cosplay John Wayne from behind pseudonyms. It doesn’t take much imagination to know what they are really like: cringing little racist nobodies looking to Trump for an identity because they don’t have one of their own.
Well, I have exactly two words for them. “Fuck” and “you.”
Robert Harrington
