I’m so old I remember watching the classic TV sit-com “M*A*S*H” back when the shows were airing for the first time. The show was a classic in too many ways to count, but part of the draw was the iconic theme song. That song, “Suicide is Painless,” has been running through my head these past few days as I watch the amazing spectacle of right-wing protesters demanding they be allowed to get the coronavirus.
I’ve witnessed a lot of stupid from the right-wing branch of American politics over the past years, but I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite approaching this level.
Current Protests
So over the past several days, as the numbers of people catching the coronavirus increase along with the body count, protests have erupted all across this great land of ours. People are not angry that the wealthiest nation in the world, the shining city on a hill, the leader of the free world, has become the global model of how not to manage a pandemic. People aren’t angry about their parents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles dying while our president dithers in the White House.
No, people are angry because they’re being told to sit in their damn houses until other people stop dying. This, apparently, is a heinous abuse of their civil liberties. This, they cry out; WILL. NOT. STAND!
So yesterday, people defied the oppression of staying the fuck inside their homes and rallied for freedom at state capitols. News media show the usual litany of right-wing protesters; lots of over-weight white dudes packing guns and screaming. They carried the usual “Trump Pence” flags, the yellow Gadsden “Don’t Tread On Me Flags”…
…and of course the customary confederate battle flag; because flying the flag of a former rebel nation built on slavery proves their total allegiance to American liberty. Their protests Incidentally blocked the roads and caused gridlocks. Which prevented ambulances and medical workers trying to save other people’s lives from getting to hospitals. Nicely played, idiots.
These flag-waving patriots also compared the governors ordering medical quarantine lock-downs to Hitler and the Nazis. Because what right-wing rally is complete without someone being accused of acting like Hitler?
There’s a lot more where these came from. Through social media, I’ve learned that a national day of protests are planned for this Sunday, April 19. The right-wingers are going to continue demanding that people be allowed to leave their homes. Yeah, this makes no sense to me also.
Suicide is Painless
Which brings me back to the old M*A*S*H TV series. The delight of these shows was their quirky humor while living through the horror of a vicious war that technically still has not ended. It was a show about life, highlighting the absurdities of trying to be normal in the midst of insanity. And, it was a show about doctors trying to do their best to save the lives of other people, and not always succeeding. All of which seems especially pertinent right now.
So, I’m ending this rant with a video clip of the song “Suicide is Painless,” with lyrics, because one can never have too many lyrics when listening to music like this. This song just seems to be appropriate for these times.
Stay Inside
It’s dangerous out there, given the rampage of mindless disease-bearing organisms permeating every nook and cranny of American life. And then we have the coronavirus beside. So folks, please, just stay the fuck inside your homes until this pandemic is settled down.
