Opinion: Don’t Underestimate the Danger To Lives Posed by Anti-Vaxxers in Large Groups.

If Americans have learned anything since the global pandemic wreaked havoc on the world, it should be that a fair number of their fellow citizens are even more dangerous, than one imagined.

There is a relatively famous quote attributed to comedian George Carlin that perfectly explains why the country is still in the grips of a virus that should be on the decline. Carlin was raging on about the level of intelligence it takes for a majority of Americans to elect Republicans to run the nation saying:

“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”

 Of course, the quote is apropos to why Trump celebrated a four-year tenure in a place he had no right visiting, much less occupying, but even though the dirty fascist is out of the Oval Office, the endemic ignorance of his dumb followers is still devastating the nation due to their abject rejection of science borne of inherent stupidity.

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Carlin’s quote, as it applies to how the COVID-19 virus continues wreaking havoc on the stupid and innocent alike, is more apt as:

“Never underestimate the danger to the public posed by stupid people in large groups.”

 The lack of common sense really raised its ugly head last year when Trump suggested ingesting or inserting, disinfectants and ultra-violet light into the human body as a cure for COVID-19. Incredibly, there were reports that Trump dummies actually attempted the self-cure. This author’s relative reported treating three idiots who used a combination of bleach and disinfectant enema and suffered severe chemical burns of the colon within two days of Trump’s medical advice.

The latest exhibition of gross stupidity is using livestock medication to treat COVID-19 as an alternative to taking a free COVID-19 vaccination. This insane self-treatment is despite one very blunt warning via Twitter, and an official document, from the United States Food and Drug Administration:

“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” and

 “Using the Drug ivermectin to treat COVID-19 can be dangerous and even lethal. The FDA has not approved the drug for that purpose.”

And according to a report in the Tennessean:

“While poison control officials in Mississippi are warning the public about adverse reactions among residents who ingest a horse deworming medicine to treat COVID-19, some Republican legislators in Tennessee are suggesting the treatment should be normalized. Multiple Republican members expressed support for calling for a future hearing to further discuss the drugs and why doctors aren’t widely recommending them, against guidance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.“

Here is part of the Mississippi warning to “vaccine skeptics” who decided taking a livestock dewormer is more prudent than taking an FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine.

“Do not use ivermectin products made for animals. Animal drugs are highly concentrated for large animals and can be highly toxic in humans. Do NOT take drugs made for animals in any form.”

In spite of that warning not to use a livestock dewormer to treat a human virus, some Tennessee legislators are “calling for normalization” of drugs like ivermectin.

Tennessee Republican Rep. John Ragan said last week that it’s an issue deserving of consideration. He said:

“The generalities seem to indicate that therapeutics are something that need to be explored more in terms of availability to patients and information availability to patients.”

Two other Tennessee Republican representatives expressed support for Ragan’s idea of scheduling a hearing on the matter of normalizing a livestock dewormer for human use to treat a virus. 

And to further demonstrate that the danger of large groups of anti-vaxxers pose a significant danger to the public, the Tennessee Republicans are taking medical advice from some woman who only identified herself as a “research assistant.” She told the Republican lawmakers they could advocate for the use of non-FDA approved drugs. She said:

“Federal guidance is just guidance. You as the legislators in this state have the power to say we’re going to use ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine or budesonide as treatments or therapeutics in the treatment of COVID-19, which is obviously recognized as a pandemic.”

Another “noted anti-vaxxer,” an idiot doctor named Ryan Cole, addressed the lawmakers and suggested they could “compel doctors and pharmacists to dispense non-FDA-approved drugs.” So being as stupid as their constituents they intend to endanger, the Republicans intend to hold a hearing to consider his absurd proposition.

Seriously, these Tennessee yokels posing as lawmakers want the FDA to approve an animal dewormer for normal human use – and they are not alone in helping spread extremely dangerous medical advice to their stupid constituents.

Senator and alleged doctor Rand Paul believes the only reason  the Food and Drug Administration is not testing and researching a livestock dewormer as a treatment for the highly infectious virus is because of their “disapproval of former President Donald Trump.”

Speaking to a group of about 60 people at the Cold Spring City Council, Paul made this stupid and extremely dangerous remark:

 “The hatred for Trump deranged these people so much, that they’re unwilling to objectively study it. They will not study ivermectin. They will not study hydroxychloroquine without the taint of their hatred for Donald Trump.”

 Ivermectin is a medication that is used to treat parasite infestations such as worms, insects, and mites; it is not an antiviral drug. Scientists know this because they aren’t stupid and have researched the compound extensively.

 Hydroxychloroquine is a medicine used to treat or prevent malaria; a disease caused by parasites that enter the body through the bite of a mosquito. According to smart people:. “This medicine is not effective against all strains of malaria,” just like it is not effective against viruses such as COVID-19.

Despite what moron know-nothings like pretend doctor Rand Paul or a “research assistant” say, scientists know that anti–parasitical drugs do not work against a virus. They know this because they aren’t stupid and have spent no small amount of time studying and researching these compounds.

 It is bad enough that there are large groups of stupid people falling prey to fake medicine and fake doctors’ recommendations, and endangering the health and lives of other Americans because they reject real medical science. But it is a crime that there are elected officials promoting fake cures that are not only ineffective treatments for COVID-19, but they also pose a serious health risk to the idiots that embrace them.

It is reasonable for some people to say let these idiots take horse, cow, and pig dewormer and suffer the consequences. However, those idiots reject vaccines and every other mitigation effort that endangers the rest of society.

Unfortunately, there is no law or statute to punish being idiotic any more than there is a means of beating down the elected officials and fake doctors aiding the spread of a highly infectious virus like COVID-19. It is likely that today, the majority of Americans do not “underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups” because they are witnessing the effects on a daily basis.

Rmuse

Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.

Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.

Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.