Needle Work
I recently started watching a British TV show called The Indian Doctor, which tells the story of the eponymous physician who moves from Delhi with his wife to a Welsh mining town in the early Sixties.
It’s a fish-out-of-water story and, while I found the first season enjoyable enough, I thought about bailing on the show to cut down on my TV watching.
However, I changed my mind when Season Two began and our hero, Prem, played by the fabulous Sanjeev Bhaskar, had to contend with a smallpox outbreak in the village.
But he also has to battle ignorance and religious fanaticism in the form of Reverend Todd, who refuses to be vaccinated, holds group meetings despite ordinances against social distancing, and encourages his congregation to trust prayer of over science.
This series, which ran from 2010 to 2013, was intended to paint a picture of the past, but it also inadvertently predicted our present misery.
Just substitute “COVID-19” for “smallpox” and you’ll see that not only have things failed to improve in all this time, they have much gotten worse.
I have friends and family members who are anti-vaxxers, and while I love them dearly, on this issue, I’m sorry to say, we are miles apart.
I’ve had it with the anti-mask, anti-vax crowd, who blow off medical science—and the welfare of others—while bloviating about their rights, their freedom, their choice and their bodies.
People have claimed that the vaccine makes them magnetic, or glow in the dark, or, in the case of Nikki Minaj’s cousin’s best friend, caused their testicles to swell.
Vaccination and masking efforts have been compared to apartheid and Nazi Germany.
Shot in the Arm
Meanwhile, not a week goes by without news of an anti-vaxxer dying from COVID.
Like the mother of four in California, or the couple in Alabama who trashed vaccines in their YouTube videos—until they died from COVID.
Several anti-vax Republican politicians around the country have died from the disease and the list of dead right wing talk show hosts continues to grow.
The Indian Doctor also takes on the issue of racism, which is something we’re dealing with today.
Prem’s mother-in-law arrives shortly before the outbreak begins and several of people accuse her of bringing smallpox to the village, even though she had been vaccinated and her arrival does not link up with the timing of the outbreak.
Today people are putting the blame on Asian people and undocumented immigrants coming up from Mexico.
Yes, the situation at the border is serious, but how many undocumented immigrants attended the Trump super spreader events last year, or the Sturgis motorcycle rally?
My grandparents came to this country from Italy in the early 20th Century, and back then Italian immigrants were blamed for a polio outbreak, even though there was no epidemic either in Italy or at Ellis Island.
No matter. They were dark, they were foreign, so, obviously, it was all their fault.
Florida’s governor, Ron Death-Santis, is going full gangster on his anti-mask mandates by taking state funds away from schools who try to protect children by having them wear masks.
This is going on even as several studies over the past year have shown that widespread masking can significantly curb transmission from student to student.
And there’s the Tennessee Department of Health, which is planning to halt all adolescent vaccine outreach – not just for coronavirus, but all diseases.
What’s next? Burning witches?
Keep your remote handy. It looks like it’s going to be a long winter.
Comments
And that is my response to you, Rob. That is all I can say.
Love ya, buddy!
From what I’ve heard in the medical community, we are all going to get Covid eventually. I’d rather take my chances getting it as a vaccinated person. Unfortunately, I think the government mandate is going to backfire and just lead to an even greater shortage of employees. My son-in-law, who’s a nurse practitioner, says it’s a nightmare right now in hospitals, rehabs, and nursing homes because so many people are quitting.
I don’t know the answer, but a president treating us like children is not what’s needed. Any rational person can see how over the past 18 months, the messaging from the CDC has been atrocious and it’s understandable why the public is leery of everything surrounding Covid.
Hey, Bijoux, great to hear from you.
Biden is responding to a critical situation and that often takes tough measures. People are taking horse medicine and other insane "remedies" yet balking on the vaccine.
The CDC has been inconsistent but it's important to remember that COVID-19 is a novel virus, so the doctors are reacting to something unpredictable because it's brand new.
I hope I didn't come off too obnoxious in the post. You know I love ya!
Take care!
I know your stance on the vaccine, and obviously your friendship means the world to me--but I really had to get this one out of my system.
You know I love you, you crazy guy, so please stay safe and I'll get to Philly yet!
Take care, buddy!
This was a great analysis, Rob, to show the similarities between those who oppose these two vaccines.
I am unabashedly in your camp and while I do not understand the mindset of most anti-vaxxers stand, they have their rights, including the right to die. That sounds harsh, but when news accounts relate the deaths of more unvaccinated people, then not, it seems a no-brainer. That said, I won't try to convince anyone who is opposed as that's a wasted effort.
Hi, Dorothy, and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.
I am so glad that we're in the same camp on this. I don't understand the anti-vaxer mindset myself, though I suspect many of them are driven by an unbalanced desire to be different--even if it kills them.
Wasted effort, indeed.
This is indeed a no-brainer and quite frankly, the only thing I care about is halting the spread of this terrible disease.
By the way, wasn't Unforgotten fabulous? Love that show.
Take care!