We all have to get burned!

Public responses to widespread disease have remained mostly unchanged since the Black Death, in the 14th century. Over 3000 COVID related deaths a week in America has become the new normal. Blindly accepting so much death is as American as Sunday football. Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan has a seating capacity of 107,601. What better place for a maskless orgy of denial and disease? If I had any desire to see a Michigan football game I would be perfectly happy to watch on TV.

When people observe others taking risks despite the pandemic they assume those risks are acceptable. Unfortunately from the start of the pandemic, leaders have not been honest and transparent. Contradictory messages are the norm.

Human beings are inherently social, not solitary, creatures. Making that a reality can be accomplished while masking and having some physical distance. Physical distancing is different than social distancing. The human need for connection with other people is probably what fuels a lot of disease transmission. Most people however have abandoned all protective measures. They actively seek to infect others  as they ignore reality and go about life like it was 1999.

Social distancing does not have to equal social isolation. Those are two very different concepts and virtual interaction can make a big difference.

 

Viral History and Human Behavior

People have always responded the same way to plagues and pandemics. When faced by the tragic forces of nature most people stand by and watch. With an earthquake or hurricane maybe 10% of the people do the right thing and help. Another proponent do the opposite they actively impede recovery. Most people however wait to be told what to do. They are the frog in the slowly boiling pot of water. Rather than panic or gear into recovery mode, they mellow out and pretend nothing is happening.

When the twin towers were hit, most people didn’t immediately run to the stairwells. They sat back down and waited to be told what to do. Many who waited died. Today we are still experiencing a 9/11 worth of death every week from COVID and most have mellowed out, pretending nothing is happening. Those who wear masks and social distance are treated with suspicion. They break the illusion promoted by top officials that the pandemic is over.

During the Black Death of the 1830s, the rich stole from the poor and vulnerable and scapegoated people of other socioeconomic classes, along with the sick and disabled. Families abandoned the dead. In general hatred of “others” took hold. Those with money believed themselves to be safe from infection. Leadership in general denied the reality of what was happening. In Europe. the Jews were blamed for purposefully infecting Christians. Doctors advised patients that “the best way to protect against disease, causing bad air, was to expose oneself to more bad air.” Rumors and misinformation flourished.

The 1889 Russian Flu was known for a post-acute stage that caused “nervous disorders” including depression that lasted years. In 1893, Edvard Munch, still suffering post-flu, painted The Scream.

Austrian artist Egon Schiele died October 31, 1918 from the Spanish Flu. His wife, Edith Schiele who was 6 months pregnant died two days earlier.

As bodies piles up in 1918 officials insisted there was no cause for alarm. Propaganda fueled by the WW I war effort had little regard for a statements truth or falsehood. Citizens were considered the mental equivalent of children. The president at the time, Woodrow Wilson never made a statement about the virus.Woodrow Wilson had a bad bout of the Spanish Flu and later suffered a stroke which parallelized his left side and caused brain fog. His inability to focus kept him from promoting his peace treaty at Versailles.

By ignoring the unfolding tragedy terror settled into the populace. As the director of public health in Chicago said, “It is our job to keep people from fear. Worry kills more than the disease.” A war drive parade was held in Chicago despite warnings and there was a huge surge of 8,000 deaths that followed. Mass graves had to be dug. San Francisco on the other hand promoted the use of masks and the weathered the influenza outbreak much better with 1,857 deaths.