Now that the brutal daily death tolls of Covid-19 are behind us, we are all relieved to act like Covid-19 is no longer a deadly threat.   We now have vaccines, boosters and a drug that cures it in many cases.  The number of people dying of the pandemic has gone way down from its horrific peak numbers around the 2020 elections, even here in America, the world leader in Covid deaths (thanks Jared, Pence and Donald).  The sad fact this holiday season: Covid death in the US is on the rise again, a 40% rise over the last two weeks.   

The tracker on the NY Times website shows that 466 Americans died of Covid yesterday.  Multiply that number by 7 and you get 3,262.   More than the 2,996 people who died in the horrific terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.   The numbers are also up for the seasonal flu and a new threat called RSV.

Sekhnet, vaxxed and triple boosted, is often the only person wearing a mask outside.   I was the only person I saw on the E train last night wearing a mask.  Everyone is so relieved not to have that invasion on our personal autonomy, the slight difficulty drawing a breath, that every subway car, supermarket and restaurant is now a superspreader site.  Since the radical right weaponized reasonable health precautions and equated wearing masks with intolerable tyranny (totally different from forcing ten year-old rape victims to give birth!), many now see wearing or refusing to wear a mask as a political statement.  

If so, think of the statement this way: if I have asymptomatic Covid-19 and could give it to you, there is less chance of transmission if I submit to the tyranny of wearing a fucking face mask, for your sake, and the sake of everyone else who might be susceptiple to dying of this deadly disease, you ignorant, racist, misogynistic, kool-aid drinking, MAGA hat wearing, USA! USA!!!–chanting asshole.