Everybody in America should be outraged. But first, allow me to put outrage into personal context. You, too, may know others close to you whose situations apply.
A family loved one has a kidney condition. While not imminently critical, it’s serious enough that she followed nephrologists’ recommendation to enlist herself as a transplant candidate. Two immediate family members took blood tests to determine if either might be donor candidates. One is not compatible and the other is awaiting test results. (Full disclosure: I’m ineligible due to cardiac issues and relatively advanced age.)
This was concerning enough before the COVID-19 pandemic. But as hospitals in New York, where both donor candidates live, became overwhelmed, we learned that coronavirus patients placed on ventilators often also require dialysis. This resulted in critically ill kidney patients, unaffected by the virus, going untreated in a timely manner due to shortages of dialysis devices.
Thankfully, as the peak of the crisis subsides, for now, dialysis is again available to kidney patients regardless of positive or negative coronavirus status.
It’s terrible that doctors and nurses are put in positions of playing God to decide who’s most in need of dialysis and/or ventilators. But here’s the outrage, obscene in its flaunting: The simple courtesy of wearing a mask in public spaces while we’re all potential pandemic spreaders is beyond Trump’s warped sense of human decency. Because he literally and figuratively thumbs his bare nose at his own White House guidelines for “mitigation” that probably saved tens of thousands of lives—even as we approach 100,000 deaths due to this virus—Trump encourages fellow Americans, by his wishfully delusional example, to be reckless as we begin relaxing stay-at-home advisories. The president’s in-your-face arrogance led to an outbreak in his own home as both his valet and a vice-presidential aide tested positive.
To my unofficial account, the president has made only two truthful statements regarding the COVID-19 disaster—other than those scripted for him: “I’m not a doctor.” True. “I’m not going to wear a mask.” True, so far.
Trump believes wearing a mask signals weakness. In other words, he’s a wimp. That’s why before the White House outbreak, almost no one near the Oval Office wore masks. That his valet who serves him meals contracted the virus may account, in part, for Trump’s defiant proclamation that he’s now taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative COVID medication. (Despite zero empirical evidence and against his own FDA recommendations.) Some believe he was telling the truth because until a few weeks ago he relentlessly promoted the medication approved for malaria and lupus. But I suspect his primary motivation had everything to do with the “60 Minutes” interview with Dr. Rick Bright the night before. Bright was until recently the point man in developing vaccines or treatments for COVID. But he was demoted to a less consequential position within the National Institutes for Health due to his reluctance to endorse Trump’s infatuation with this COVID-irrelevant drug.
Bright subsequently filed a whistleblower complaint.
I’ve previously speculated that Trump has a financial interest in hydroxychloroquine. But in this case, his interest in claiming to take the drug as a virus prophylactic seems overtly political. The president spends far too much time watching TV. Besides tweeting about this devastating expert eyewitness account of his incompetent handling of the greatest health crisis of the 21st century, Trump outed himself as a presidential guinea pig just to refute Bright.
We know what he thinks of whistleblowers and inspectors general. We doubt that First Fat-Boy would take medications to prove them wrong. My brief history of covering Donald, the real estate delinquent, suggests he hasn’t the courage even to fire apprentices who aren’t hired for the role of losers.
But my outrage is still focused on the mask issue. People demanding reopening of the economy are not wrong to be impatient. I can’t wait to go to my next baseball game or Broadway musical. We’re not close to that yet.
One protester near my old Long Island neighborhood shouted to a TV reporter, “You stopped covering the president’s briefings” in favor of interviewing Dr. Anthony Fauci, as if he were the enemy. Truth is, Trump stopped the briefings because advisers told him it wasn’t working for him.
At his next press conference, maybe Trump will say he’s taking Lysol to prevent COVID-19. He’ll blame the virus on Obama, Biden, Hillary, Comey, Mueller—the usual suspects. If you believe him, after all these death-baiting lies, shame on you. Because of the president’s careless disregard for safety in his remarks, focusing on what he calls a political hoax against his re-election, Americans may stop paying attention to necessary precautions.
What I wish for the next presidential event at which masks are required for everyone else is that Trump be required to wear one. If not, Mr. President, you can retire to a virtual appearance off premises. Period.
You never got it, Mr. President. This is NOT and NEVER WAS, about YOU. Almost everyone else gets it. I see it among my neighbors and I’m grateful for their respect to others. When they stop getting it, many more of us will die unnecessarily. It will be on you, Mr. President. Everyone knows you’ve been exposed to the virus. Everyone knows you don’t trust tests or understand anything about a positive or negative one day to the next. You wouldn’t know a vaccine from a vasectomy. Given your massive ignorance and incompetence, wear a damn mask or sequester yourself in front of your TV screens and tweet yourself into virtual oblivion, where you belong..
Steve Parks is a retired New York journalist now living in Easton.
James Deerin says
Excellent. I could not agree more.
Royce Ball says
Right on Steve!
Mike Huffstetler says
Mr Parks:
As always you liberals are focusing on the wrong topic!
I was hoping your article was going to be about the many individuals in the Obama Administration who had “unmasked” Michael Flynn’s name, among them President Obama’s Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough, VP Joe Biden, FBI Director James Comey, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, and US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Powers.
This is the biggest political scandal in the history of the United States, in which the departing Obama Administration officials were not only spying on the campaign of the opposition party, but were also coordinating an “insurance plan” to force Michael Flynn out of office (because he knew too much about the improper spying), and, most importantly, to use Christopher Steele’s fake Russian Dossier that had been paid for by Hillary Clinton & the DNC to start the entire fake Trump-Russian collusion theory, and the ridiculous Robert Mueller investigation that followed, all in an effort to remove a duly elected President!
Instead of talking about whether or not President Trump is wearing a mask for a Covid-19 event, please provide some reasonable alternative explanations for the Obama Administration’s spying on Michael Flynn and other individuals working in the Trump campaign, while they all swore under oath before the US Congress that they were not aware of any Trump collusion with Russia to impact the 2016 Presidential election?
Tom Alspach says
Excuse me Mike, but just a few facts from the real world:
Mike Flynn was not “forced out of office” by Obama et al. He was fired by Donald Trump for lying to Pence about his calls with Kislyak.
Flynn twice pled guilty for his lies, and it is undisputed that he lied. Trump’s personal attorney, Bill Barr, moved to dismiss the charges not by claiming he did not lie, but by claiming that the admitted lies were not “material” to the investigation.
Trump’s attorney Barr has just admitted he will not be pursuing Obama and Biden in connection with the phony “Obamagate” story concocted by Trump, who cannot even articulate what the “crime” was supposed to be.
The Republican controlled Senate Intelligence Committee found that there was ample reason, having nothing to do with the “dossier,” to investigate and reach the conclusion that Putin interfered in the 2016 election for the benefit of Trump.
I could go on but will not, since I am sure that facts such as these cannot compete with information provided by Sean Hannity, such as that in your comment above.
Mike Huffstetler says
Mr. Alspach:
You’re missing the point!
The entire reason the Obama Administration starting its illegal spying of, and ultimately illegal indictment against, Michael Flynn was to try to catch him in a lie and force President Trump to fire him because he knew too much as Obama’s DNI!
There is huge evidence that the entire Trump/Russian collusion theory was a hoax.
At some point, when John Durham’s investigation is complete and many individuals are indicted (although likely and unjustifiably not President Obama & VP Biden), the left leaning main stream media will no longer be able to cover up and hide the truth for the Democratic Deep State!
Mike Huffstetler says
Mr. Alspach:
You, and most of the liberals on this chain, are missing the point!
It’s not important who fired Michael Flynn.
The point is that Michael Flynn was illegally spied upon by the Obama Administration and then illegally indicted for lying to the FBI!
Why? To force President Trump to fire him because he knew too much as Obama’s former DNI.
There is tons of evidence that the entire Trump/Russian collusion allegation was a hoax. When John Durham completes his investigation of the process and multiple Obama Administration individuals are indicted (unfortunately and unjustifiably not the three at the top of the scheme – President Obama, VP Biden, and Secretary of State Clinton), the main stream media and Deep State Democrats will no longer be able to cover up and hide the truth.
Rita E. Connolly says
I have been saying since before the election, every person should learn about, and understand a narcissistic personality. It would help many of us to understand how Trump’s mind works. I am not a doctor nor am I in the medical field, once you educate yourself, it won’t take a medical education to see the obvious.
Barbara Denton says
The biggest narcissist to hold the office of President of the United States was Barach Hussein Obama. A close second was Richard Millhouse Nixon. President Trump puts America and its citizens first. President Obama put himself first on all occasions and wanted nothing to do with the average American citizen who made this Country great. Remember pour guns and our bibles were disdained by this elitist prig. Even in his last days in office he set the stage to destroy President Trump’s first term. He almost managed to do it. The truth is coming out and it is devastating for Obama and his minions. Obama was smart enough to keep his fingerprints off of what went on but you can bet your life he engineered it.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Oh. My. God.
Poor thing. Just no words.
Tom Alspach says
Well Barb, maybe you can explain exactly what the “it” is and how Obama “engineered” it. Because Trump has not been able to do explain this, and his personal attorney Bill Barr now has stated that he has no reason to investigate Obama and Biden on the phony “Obamagate” claim and will not do so. So even a diehard Trump sycophant can’t stomach this absurdity.
Maybe you can more precisely identify “what went on”? Because there is no evidence, in the reality based world, that anyone else can.
john fischer says
One regrettable result of Mr. Trump’s demeanor and behavior has been to dramatically and destructively lower the level of civility within the political class. Just as one of many distressing examples, yesterday, Ms. Pelosi diminished herself by taking time to publicly ridicule the president’s physical appearance. This from the United States Speaker of the House. Today, we have Mr. Parks, in the past, apparently, a competent journalist, sputtering tired vitriol over the “First Fat Boy’s,” his words, handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We used to be bigger than this. It seems to me so much more effective for the opposition to resist flailing around as Mr. Parks does here and instead to retain some level of personal dignity. Doing so would present such a refreshing contrast. In the end, Americans appreciate, respect and will support leaders who demonstrate mature, civil behavior, in word and deed.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Forgive me, but I have empathy for those who are so appalled at what our nation has become under Trump. Yes, how easy it must seem to be “sane and rational”. I wonder how that worked in Europe in the 1930’s. And, no, I am not being hyperbolic. When a society is faced with evil, yes, this is evil, outrage and offensive is welcome.
When we have a “News”source that spreads blatant lies that a minority, an obnoxiously loud minority, listens to as their gospel, then we need people of character to speak up in any manner they can. Until this virus of Trumpism is eradicated, people need to voice their concerns and fears in anyway they can. One looks the other way at this and our democracy pays a huge price.
Barbara Denton says
I believe Mr. Parks went overboard in his vitriol and hatred for our President Donald Trump. President Trump knows exactly what he is doing. Remember, until recently neither Dr. Fauci nor Dr. Birx wore masks at these seemingly unending press briefings. I am sorry your relative got caught up in the Corona Virus debacle in NY. If it weren’t for President Trump they would still be caught up in it.
He has blamed the virus on the source which is Wuhan, China. He locked our Country down due to false data presented to him by Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx. After this debacle he had to deal with NY which was in no position to handle what hit them. Your hatred has certainly blinded you to facts. I feel sorry for you as your Trump Derangement Syndrome has totally removed any common sense you may have had.
Alan Boisvert says
What I find mind blowing is what kind of person(and there are many) can defend the monster in the White House. How stupid do you have to be not to see through is ultra thin ego? These people walk and breath in the same space as I do? Really? I find it very scary that there are actually 40 odd percent who support the orange-baby narcissist. What happened to these people? What does this say about our country? Little I fear.
Deirdre LaMotte says
You know it comes down to racism. Trump says what these “people”think. Wether it is the uneducated or the overpaid class, they appreciate his racism. Sad for them that they are ultimately damaged souls, in every way. And, they are in the minority, which fuels this racism. Weird.
Sucks to be them, right?
Jim Duncan says
Quite a screed there, Steve. Quite a screed. Did this pass for journalism back in NY?