Member-only story
Doctor Norm-Hate: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Coronavirus
By Moses Cirulis
Presented by Modest Metamodernist
1.6 million. That’s the death toll of the coronavirus around the world, as of this writing. That’s not a pretty number. But it could be much higher. The virus has been something of a trial by fire for many countries, and I’ve noticed a theme: well informed, socially responsible countries have tended to get and keep the numbers down.
I might apply a few more terms to those countries. Countries with progressive leadership. Countries who value science. Countries who didn’t lay the blame on any particular country, but just rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Ah, there we go. Here comes the conservative rhetoric.
“It’s a plan-demic! A China virus!” The conspiracy theorist shouts. “Masks are a plot to control society engineered by George Soros! And quarantining is a plot to economically destroy the Western world!” All unsubstantiated, and even if one of those points were true…
…Who cares?
What I Did on my Quarantine
When the Coronavirus hit the northwest coast of North America (starting in February but we got more cases in March), I was working at a coffee shop and reading a couple of books that Hanzi Freinacht…
