Facebook user who thought covid is a hoax & threw small party is sorry after family died

tonygreen1
We’re hearing so many stories of people who downplayed or dismissed coronavirus, only to get sick and wise up. We’re seeing this play out predictably with the rapist in charge, who is using his diagnosis and the fact that he was pumped full of medications only given to people on the brink of death to claim that covid is overblown. He’s insulting so many people who have lost loved ones while continuing to sow death and misery. The death cult Republicans want people to die so less people vote and oppose their draconian regime.

Texan Trump voter Tony Green held a family party in June with just six people. Everyone at that party got sick with coronavirus, and some of them spread it to their families, with 14 cases total. Tony was hospitalized when the virus attacked his nervous system but he’s since recovered. His father-in-law and his father-in-law’s mother died, both alone, in the hospital. Tony wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in which he he feels guilty for pushing his family to hang out, especially when a couple of people died. Tony is gay with a same sex partner and he’s also a heavy Facebook user who cut cable because he thought the news was going too hard on Trump. It doesn’t make sense, but he sort of gets it now. The thing that struck me about his essay was how much he referenced Facebook.

Some people in my family didn’t necessarily share all of my views, but I pushed it. I’ve always been out front with my opinions. I’m gay and I’m conservative, so either way I’m used to going against the grain. I stopped trusting the media for my information when it went hard against Trump in 2016. I got rid of my cable. It’s all opinion anyway, so I’d rather come up with my own. I find a little bit of truth here and a little there, and I pile it together to see what it makes. I have about 4,000 people in my personal network, and not one of them had gotten sick. Not one. You start to hear jokes about, you know, a skydiver jumps out of a plane without a parachute and dies of covid-19. You start to think: “Something’s really fishy here.” You start dismissing and denying.

I told my family: “Come on. Enough already. Let’s get together and enjoy life for once.”

They all came for the weekend. We agreed not to do any of the distancing or worry much about it. I mean, I haven’t seen my mother in months, and I’m not supposed to go up and hug her? Come on…

I woke up Sunday morning feeling a little iffy. I have a lot of issues with sleeping, and I thought that’s probably what it was. I let everyone know: “I don’t feel right, but I’m guessing it might be exhaustion.” I was kind of achy. There was a weird vibration inside. I had a bug-eye feeling.

A few hours later, my partner was feeling a little bad, too. Then my parents. Then my father-in-law got sick the next day, after he’d already left and gone to Austin to witness the birth of his first grandchild. I have no idea which one of us brought the virus into the house, but all six of us left with it. It kept spreading from there…

I break down sometimes, but mostly I’m empty. Am I glad to be alive? I don’t know. I don’t know how to answer that.

There’s no relief. This virus, I can’t escape it. It’s torn up our family. It’s all over my Facebook. It’s the election. It’s Trump. It’s what I keep thinking about. How many people would have gotten sick if I’d never hosted that weekend? One? Maybe two? The grief comes in waves, but that guilt just sits.

[From The Washington Post]

If you haven’t seen the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, try to watch it. The way all social networks and even Google but Facebook in particular, amplify and spread misinformation is absolutely criminal. Millions of dollars are spent trying to influence people and it’s working. People are consuming only what they want to believe and they’re being exposed to fringe ideas just so they’re engaged on the platforms. It’s led to the rise of domestic terrorism, to conspiracy groups like QAnon and to over 210,000 deaths from covid (that we know about, surely there are more) in the US.

In an interview with Anderson Cooper, Anderson tried to press Tony about whether he thought Trump was handling the crisis right. Tony didn’t condemn Trump or say he wasn’t voting for him again. He just said “I’m looking at the totality of this Presidency, some of the things that he’s done which are very special, very important. This is a major blunder and I’m saying that with full sincerity. It was a big failure. This should have been taken more seriously by the administration.” He said that the coronavirus panel should have handled this better and that if Trump told everyone to wear a mask he would have done it. Facebook needs to be shut down. You know how I feel about this horrible administration.

While this guy deserves some credit for going public with this, could he not figure out how to get a decent angle before he did a major TV interview?

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137 Responses to “Facebook user who thought covid is a hoax & threw small party is sorry after family died”

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  1. HoofRat says:

    I saw the interview with Anderson Cooper, and all I could think was “After all this tragedy, I bet he’ll vote for Trump again”. I very much hope I’m wrong.

    • Mich says:

      He is gay and married. I’m betting there are more “I was such a fool” mea culpas in his future.

      • Lula says:

        The mind, it boggles.

      • ATLMathMom says:

        SCOTUS with new justice Amy Barrett will be coming for his gay marriage rights. The cognitive dissonance of so many Trump supporters is truly mind boggling.

      • aang says:

        Why are gay trump supporters always cis white men? I mean I know why, but still.

      • Oy_Hey says:

        This.
        Minority conservatives live with permanent surprised pikachu face. I have southern family that are both black and jewish and they are voting for Cheetolini. For the second time. I fear my little nieces and nephews are going to end up like Jake Rice, hating themselves, hating everyone else, and not understanding why the folks they hang out with still hate them.

      • missskitttin says:

        Yes. Wait until SCOTUS starts taking away our rights and freedoms one by one.

    • bluemoonhorse says:

      Yep he’ll vote Trump because Trump is strong! Grabs p*ssy, r*pes women, mocks the disabled, and bankrupts America. American or White Americans is this guys mandate.

    • rainbowkitty says:

      He will. Trumpers don’t learn because they don’t care.

    • emu says:

      he did do some “very special” things [???]

      • Hoot says:

        Yeah, ikr? The only thing I can think of is he knows how to put a few different spins on each of the lies he spews. That’s pretty special.

  2. Angela says:

    The fact that he thinks it’s the covid panel is astounding. If trump didn’t disband obama protections and his pandemic response team half the s*** wouldn’t happened

    • Mac says:

      If Kushner hadn’t scrapped the plan to send every American a mask, think of how different things would be.

    • Betsy says:

      ABSOLUTELY. If the orange traitor hadn’t scrapped Obama’s plans, there’s a chance this bug might never have become an epidemic in China, let alone gotten out and become a pandemic. It’s an enormous, enormous failure of leadership and I would say it’s criminal.

      • Lady2Lazy says:

        It should be considered illegal as to the actions of Agent Orange. As for Tony Turdhead, he must not feel that guilty since he only goes as far as stating that 2 people were sickened, but no mention of 2 deaths, which is final, not a temporary status. Anyone who refuses to listen to the scientist and the CDC for guidelines should be held legally liable should a death occur. I am so angry and tired of the blatant stupidity of this country and the lack of personal responsibility. Grow up all of you who refuse science and the truth, though I am not speaking to the CB group. And FB must take a stronger stance against allowing these groups to commingle and further spread lies, label these groups as fabricated facts, or just blatant lies. I live in Texas and I only go out if it is an actual need to go. I have stopped people who are not wearing masks and ask them where their mask is, I don’t care that I am infringing on their delusional rights, but I have my rights too and I am against them placing me in danger. One guy told me God would keep him well, I told him God doesn’t save against the coronavirus. Though, I have to mention I am seeing more Biden/Harris signs than I did 4 years ago.

  3. MangoAngelesque says:

    Maybe that IS his good angle…slime balls rarely look better in soft lighting.

  4. Darla says:

    There’s a real mental health crisis in this country. Trump could never have become President if there weren’t.

    • Lemons says:

      It’s not a mental health issue. It’s a privilege issue. So many white people are invested in Trump’s America. Remember, if Trump wins, most of them will be OK as they always have been. That’s why it’s rude to talk politics and to take a stand.

      This man identifies as white first, then gay or conservative. He can hide being gay. He can be secret-married. He doesn’t need to hide being white so will take all the privilege and advantages that come with being white which will always be greater than the privileges associated with being gay. Being conservative is now synonymous with being white.

      So many think like him. They may have turned their brains to mush with all of the cognitive dissonance, but they are perfectly aware of what they are doing and the choice they made. The proof? They snap right out of it when they are personally affected.

      • Mimi says:

        I wish I could copy and paste this everywhere.

      • Emm says:

        I definitely agree with it being white america being so invested in him because of the protections it gives them. I live in maga country and I look at these people and honestly, being white is all they got. That’s the only thing that makes them special to them. They aren’t intelligent, their lives are pretty lame and going nowhere special, they don’t have any aspirations really and they sure as heck don’t see a need to try and make the world a better place, and climate change? Ha! All they want to do is to be able to continue to use their privilege to buy their guns, be able to say and do as they please without repercussions, be racist, and not wear a mask. If you take away that being white is special from these people then they have nothing. I’m speaking about the ones that I know and live amongst because I know there are plenty of intelligent wealthy people that will be voting for this man but they don’t have the same zeal for him I don’t think as these people do. These people have placed him above god as far as I’m concerned.

      • Lemons says:

        @Emm, I thought about touching upon this, but I just don’t have the energy. Thank you for voicing this as well! For many swathes of the country, their “race” is all they have. So they are going to invest 100% into that and the man that is supposed to increase the value of that currency again.

      • Meg says:

        @emm
        ‘ I live in maga country and I look at these people and honestly, being white is all they got. That’s the only thing that makes them special to them.’
        I think youve got something there. I grew up in Minnesota and outside the twin cities it is trump county. Im so disappointed in the people i grew up with and what theyre willing to tolerate.

      • Darla says:

        I suppose that’s true. I can’t fathom a gay person voting for this guy when he is dead set on overturning all their rights, it makes no sense. It seems to me like you’d have to be mentally ill. Prioritizing his race over his orientation, okay. I guess that’s it. I don’t know. I feel the same way about white women, or whenever I see a black person who supports him. I just can’t. I don’t think I have enough knowledge to figure out everything in play. Maybe it’s not a mental issue, I don’t know.

      • SilentStar says:

        It could also be something as simple as an education issue. Critical thinking can easily be taught. Media literacy can readily be taught. It’s no coincidence that education funding keeps getting cut.

      • Margles says:

        @Emm This is also why they tend to love their conspiracy theories. It turns their boring, pointless lives into something exciting without them actually having to exert real effort.

    • Esmom says:

      I don’t disagree that there’s a mental health crisis but I think the bigger issue here is the right wing media ecosystem and Fox News, which was/is amplified by social media. I just listened to an interesting interview with President Obama on Crooked Media and he talked about how Trump recognized what Fox was doing and decided he would do it himself, without even the thinnest veneer of truth. He used climate change and the pandemic as two examples where facts are so disregarded that you cannot have a normal discussion because one side just isn’t on the same plane of reality as those of us who “believe” in facts. This guy sounds like he just got caught up in that dangerous echo chamber.

    • Golly Gee says:

      Good point! And any mental health issues would be amplified and solidified by repeated messaging from social media, fringe conspiracy groups and to some extent the media in general. It’s all quick sensational “one note” bites, provoking and without context. Well-rounded, nuanced news is rarer, and I think a lot of people no longer have the attention span to go this route opting instead for the quick bites. All of these quick bites accumulate in one’s mind and build one’s opinions. We instinctively and unconsciously trust the media whose views reflect our own. We should be questioning this, maintain some skepticism and investigate the media outlets whom we trust. Like the New York Times exposing Harvey Weinstein, but hushing up their own sexual harassment charges against reporters. I don’t watch the news anymore, but I remember for the first time watching PBS world news ( do they use BBC? I can’t remember ) after years of following the national news in my own country, and feeling for the first time like I had a more even view of the world. Events around the world were covered differently then by my national news.

      • Lady D says:

        There is a newspaper for the military called Stars and Stripes. If you put the paper’s name in a search engine along with a country, you get their version of S&S. You can get a different point of view about other countries reading that paper.
        I read the classified ads in Stars and Stripes Iran, and it almost broke my heart. Most of the soldiers using the classifieds were stationed in Germany and almost 200 of the ads were military personal looking for someone to adopt their dog because they were being shipped home.
        There are or were S&S Arabia, Afghanistan, Japan or pretty much anywhere US forces are stationed. It has been a few years since I perused one, like I said all those soldiers desperate for someone to adopt their pet really was heartbreaking.

      • emu says:

        yes. the ‘news’ is so smarmy most of the time. it is so refreshing to watch other country’s news.

    • Kate says:

      I was pondering this in the shower yesterday and I really think it’s mostly that a lot of people (1) never developed critical reasoning skills and (2) live in an emotionally reactive state. It has happened throughout history – target the working class, prey on their basic fear for survival and their disappointment with their social position, make a strawman for their problems to prey on fear, propose conspiracies to stoke confusion and discord. Those who lack critical reasoning skills will be fooled and they’ll feel more powerful by feeling angry at whatever strawman is being dangled in front of them.

      • Lizzieb says:

        Thank you A. This guy is still a tool. It didn’t matter when it happened to others….but now that it’s happened to him ITS THE BIGGEST THING EVER. Some people only have to switches. Not my problem/apathy vs freaking out. Common sense is out the window. People need to learn how to intelligently question things….that did not happen here.

      • Moo says:

        Kate, this deeply resonates. You are brilliant! I would love to hear more of what your mind comes up with — in your blog or books!

      • Chelle says:

        Also, reinforce it with imagery and with tales about “the other”.

    • Yup, Me says:

      I don’t really like the idea of calling it a mental health crisis (I think that takes the responsibility off of the person engaging in the behavior and paints them as a victim).

      This DOES make me think of studies that have shown that white people show less empathy for others than any other ethnic group in the US. That white people are the most ethnically isolated group in the US and that a lot of the issues we are are seeing as a nation trace back to a foundation of white supremacy and the ways that white folks’ toxic and harmful behaviors have been coddled and tolerated for entirely too damn long.

      The arrogance of this fool thinking he could just cobble together his own informed opinion from f*cking Facebook….

      • Ummm says:

        Few people are as universally loathed as self-hating whites.

      • Hoot says:

        Exactly this. All of the people I know who are Trumpists get their news off Facebook and it blows my mind. I have refused to engage on it, even though I originally made an account to sign into another website.

        All it took was one visit to see what nuts these relatives/acquaintances were, and how often they posted personal info., to know it wasn’t for me. (Plus, when a longtime friend, whose brother worked for the FBI, told me many years ago how the agency used Facebook to gain data on ppl and groups, that was all I needed to hear. No. Thank. You.) I don’t care how much Facebook keeps someone up-to-date on friends or family. If they’re so important to you, pick up the d*mn phone and have a conversation. Get your news from reliable sources and fact check!

  5. janey jane says:

    Sounds about white.

    • waitwhat says:

      HAHAHA!! I’m white, but that’s an astute and funny comment. I am in Arizona and I took a walk around our neighborhood last night fully expecting to see Trump signs. I saw one. And I saw at least a half-dozen Biden signs. It made me feel good for a minute.

  6. superashes says:

    Sorry, but if I were his partner I’d be considering divorce.

    • Darla says:

      Doesn’t have to bother. Trump’s hand picked supreme court will overturn Obergefell and his marriage will be null and void.

    • Carobell says:

      Right? I mean the difference between this and an accident is intent. He wasn’t driving a car and got side swipped, he drove the car straight into the pillion because he believed nothing would happen and killed people. I can’t imagine the grief, the guilt but it doesn’t look like he actually learned anything. I’m not sure I would be able to stay in the relationship.

      • superashes says:

        Me either. It is arrogance, fundamentally. He fell in love with a political candidate, thought he knew better than doctors, nurses, etc., ostensibly pressured this family into a small gathering with no distancing or masks, and then tragedy occurred. He made a valuation that his desire to see his family without any distancing was worth the risk of possible death. Then he goes on to give an interview to Anderson Cooper and publish an Op-Ed in the Washington Post as a mea culpa (but not a complete one). Sure, it is great he did that for the world at large, but was his family even on board with it? He wasn’t invited to the father-in-law’s funeral, none of the family members are actually taking part in the article, and if they weren’t on board he has now (without their consent) opened them up to all this online attention as well. How can you stay married to someone that takes those kinds of risks with you and the people you love most?

      • Lemons says:

        @superashes His statement about being able to create his own opinion stood out to me. He believes his own opinion is more reliable than the facts given by doctors, nurses and scientists. Instead, he’s okay with listening to an orange Cheeto. How?

      • Golly Gee says:

        @lemons, he’s hearing these doctors, nurses and scientists on the media which he doesn’t trust. So I’m guessing he just thinks it’s fake news — that these professionals are conspiring in some way with the left-wing media. Like I said above, I think people gravitate to mediums which will reflect their own opinions.

    • NixD says:

      Did his partner not participate? I’m confused.

    • Moo says:

      His partner agreed to the party. I cannot imagine how intolerably bad it would feel to think that my actions or decisions killed my parent and grandparent.

  7. grabbyhands says:

    Thoughts and prayers, asshole.

    The bottom line is that you were comfortable with 200,000 other people dying until it happened to you. It sounds like he’s still copping for 45 otherwise – he’s doing his best to blame him him in a way that still makes it sound like he made a mistake rather than he has been lying to the public for the last 7 months.

    I hope the guilt haunts him until his dying day.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      SAME. Let the guilt weigh on him forever and ever. He risked so many lives for his selfishness.

    • Wiglet Watcher says:

      “Thoughts and prayers asshole”
      This

    • Tanguerita says:

      Every single word of it. Every single word. I have no compassion to spare for these deplorable stupid arrogant assholes. Burn in the hell of your own making.

    • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

      SAME. I have ZERO sympathy for these MAGAt @$$wipes that are all good and fine with EVERYTHING….until it hits THEM (illness, pocketbook, etc). My EXTREME sympathies to all of the innocent people/families these *&#! came into contact with and who will get sick, in varying degrees, now and the rest of their lives, with new “pre-existing conditions “ that their dear Herr Leader is trying to strip them of.

      Will NEVER understand how people go along with these megalomaniacs, against their own best interests!

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      My exact sentiment, too.

    • Lizzie says:

      He was back on CNN one morning this week. He said he feels a lot like a drunk driver who killed someone. I do not disagree.

      • Dee Kay says:

        Except he’s more like a sober driver who killed someone. He was in full possession of his faculties when he decided to host that party.

    • lucy2 says:

      This.
      There were doctors and nurses begging and pleading people to stay home, who were fighting for their own lives trying to care for patients , with insufficient PPE, and idiots like this guy ignored them.

  8. Kat says:

    As far as the COVID is concerned I feel sympathy for him. They all agreed to get together and assumed the risk. I live in NY and our rates are very low and have been. He lives in Texas, there rates were so high in the summer. I often got together with just my immediate family throughout the summer. I monitored myself and my children daily. I know we could’ve gotten the virus but we took the precautions we could. Anyway, I’m glad we did it bc over Labor Day weekend my father passed away suddenly(no relation to COVID) and if we spent the summer away from each other we would’ve lost months of memories. Also when talking about contracting the virus and staying away from his grandkids, my dad would say “when it’s your time, it’s your time”

    • Merricat says:

      This so full of nonsense, I don’t know where to begin, so I won’t. Good grief.

      • Kat says:

        My feelings are truly hurt that my personal experience during the pandemic is considered nonsense by a faceless stranger. 🙄

      • superashes says:

        Come sit with me Merricat. Don’t worry about protecting others either, the next time you see someone in distress, or even a child walking into traffic, you can just go on about your day, because “when its your time, its your time”.

      • Merricat says:

        Yes, I don’t have time for science-deniers. I’ve had COVID. I cannot roll my eyes hard enough at people who take the attitude that luck and ignorance is all they need.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        There’s so little value in “monitoring” or “screening” people daily – this goes for school and store entry, close contact, etc. – because of the many days when anyone – children and adults – can spread the virus before they show symptoms (and some may be contagious but never ‘get sick.’) Checking for fevers has little to no protective value, too. It provides a false sense of security.

        If someone has an obvious fever, it reduces the odds they are even going to go to parties, school, work etc. but that’s where we need paid sick leave and paid time off for care giving.

        When someone says they got together, we don’t know whether it was within an agreed-on social bubble, with masks/distancing, etc.

        Sorry whenever anyone loses someone they love during this period, whether from COVID or any other cause.

        Older people do say things like, “When it’s my time, it’s my time,” not necessarily because they are in denial of the science of this virus, but because it’s something they think about generally. Older people tend to express their acceptance of their approaching if still unknown deaths. The difference with the virus is that they could infect the medical people helping them, as well as others with whom they come into close contact. That wouldn’t happen with most other mortal events. So, normal thought for the age, but incomplete without acknowledging what it might mean to others, including the family. Let’s hope they were in a safe little bubble.

      • Miranda says:

        “When it’s your time, it’s your time”, with the unspoken sentiment of “to hell with everybody else”, is kinda the Boomer* philosophy in a nutshell, isn’t it?

        *I mean Capital-B Boomers. I know that there are plenty of people in that age bracket who have acted responsibly and conscientiously throughout this whole ordeal, or at least feared getting infected themselves and did the right thing purely out of self-preservation.

      • superashes says:

        @Miranda Totally agree. To me, the fundamental question presented by Covid isn’t whether you are fine with risking getting infected with the virus. It is whether you are fine with infecting someone else. That is the fundamental problem with the “if its your time” nonsense. It absolves the individual of responsibility for their neighbor, in conjunction with a virus where distancing and masks by the infected is what is necessary to stop the spread.

      • Lula says:

        I just don’t get how “infectious disease” seems like such hard concept to grasp. This isn’t “I’m done with chemo, I want to enjoy the rest of my days with my family, when it’s my time, it’s my time.” This is, “if it’s my time, it’s my time, and if that means it’s the time of a bunch a people around me, cool.”

    • whatWHAT? says:

      “As far as the COVID is concerned I feel sympathy for him. They all agreed to get together and assumed the risk.”

      why do you have sympathy for them? as noted, they assumed the risk.

      have sympathy for the unknown number of people who got infected because OTHER PEOPLE” assumed the risk” while they tried to stay safe.

    • Lemons says:

      Before others say this is okay, please know that there are guidelines about visiting others. You can still see your loved ones, but wear a mask and distance. Keep soap/hand sanitizer close by and for the love of all that is good, keep your distance.

      I’m glad that you got to see your father before he passed, but please stop putting your life and your children’s lives at risk. This story should be a warning to you. It’s not just you and your family’s lives that are at risk.

    • meepy says:

      Goodness Kat, not sure why people are being so aggressive towards you. It sounds like your family was just spending time with each other, therefore not passing risk on to anyone else. That is absolutely your choice and doesn’t negatively affect others.

      It’s startling the difference between mindsets regarding corona in Europe vs the US. Most europeans would find the idea of not seeing family completely laughable. Life is decently normal in Europe right now (but I think they are going to pay for it, rates are skyrocketing).

      • Lemons says:

        @meepy, I’m in France now. At the viruses’ worst, people were still advised to take precautions when seeing family that did not live in the home. There’s a reason many countries are seeing increases in infections, because your mindset isn’t right in approaching this virus.

        When I visit others, we elbow-bumped instead of kissing on the cheek. We kept a safe distance and when out, we wear masks. Doesn’t sound like any of this happened at this party. And we’re in a small village with almost no infections. If I was in Paris or the US, I wouldn’t be seeing anyone. If I want to see family, I’m quarantining with them which will happen when I visit my folks in Georgia for 1 month.

        We’re all quick to tip our hats to NZ, but they are working for it.

      • LP says:

        If I hit myself in the face, you might think ‘Hmm, how odd, I hope she’s ok!’ If I, hypothetically, hit *you* in the face, I’m guessing you would bloody well respond differently. The issue has always been the risk of spreading the virus to others- with no vaccine, it’s easy to do, especially if one is not displaying any symptoms, which is incredibly common with COVID-19. Hence the push to socially distance *even if you feel fine* and to wear masks, which don’t really keep droplets out but do a good job keeping droplets in. Furthermore, there are indications that many people who survive COVID-19 suffer significant long term health effects, which may mean insurance companies will label it a pre-existing condition and refuse to cover it or raise premiums in the future (nothing really stopping them except the ACA). This is all publicly available information widely spread throughout the world over the last several months. THAT IS WHY PEOPLE ARE BEING AGGRESSIVE. THANKS.

      • Hmppyy says:

        Hi lemons, I’ve been living in both ca and Europe and while you’re right that it’s not totally normal, it definitely feels like it comparatively to the US, or at least CA. You actually see people and businesses are open. It feels like the only differences are masks and not being as touchy feely. It’s an entirely different world (I can only speak for Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Poland and uk though) and the mindsets are completely different. Also the number of people wearing masks under their nose in places like Rome is ludicrous. Berlin was essentially totally open as of three weeks ago but things have changed in the last week. Parts of Switzerland still don’t require masks in stores, it’s nuts. The extreme casual attitudes here actually make me a bit nervous.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      My heart goes out to you for the loss of your father.

      I do have concerns about spreading this mantra, though:
      “when it’s your time, it’s your time”

      The problem with this is that you spread the virus to OTHER PEOPLE before you realize that you have it. If people want to be cavalier with their own risk, that would seem fine, but then you realize that it is impossible to ONLY put yourself at risk when it comes to COVID-19.

    • Sorella says:

      I guess your own family was more important than people as a whole. Yes I am glad you spent time with your Father, but I still don’t get how you went around all summer having gatherings (especially with what I assume is an older Father and one with health issues if he passed). You played the COVID lotto and so far you and your kids are OK…so far. But there is no cure for me-my-us only thinking so hope you work on that.

      And yes ALL older people say “when it is my time, it is my time” they are at the end of their journey so the outlook is not the same. But you have children whose “if it is my time” would certainly not be welcomed!!

    • Kkat says:

      It’s selfish as hell.
      I keep my kids protected by NOT exposing them.
      The rate of secondary damage from this virus is insane.
      Because you are probably thinking your kids are safer, they are not safe from the secondary.

  9. Queen Meghan's Hand says:

    Can I not care? Because I don’t care. I don’t understand why this one white man’s ignorance is being elevated to national importance. We know many people are not wearing masks because of misinformation and Trump. Because we have the data: the lost lives, the broken families, the people now permanently disabled from this coronavirus.

    I am so tired of mainstream media asking people who are outraged by this administration, who have never supported this administration, who are doing what they can in the interest of public health to feel empathy for those who are borderline sociopathic in their individualistic and ignorant behavior. Enough.

    • waitwhat says:

      (((clapping furiously))

    • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

      THANK YOU!! Well said!!

    • Nanny to the Rescue says:

      These stories are not meant for you, tho, you already know the virus is real and should be avoided.

      These stories are shared so perhaps at least some of the people who behave like him, like this is no big deal, would think twice about it.

      • Queen Meghan's Hand says:

        I don’t doubt that some producers and editors tell themselves this, but is it really true? Who is CNN’s core audience? What is the gender breakdown? Race breakdown? CNN producers and editors have this data and make editorial decisions based on it.
        I do not believe for a second that this segment was targeted at the handful of Trump supporters watching Anderson Cooper. Like The Lincoln Project’s commercials and advertisements, this was meant for us; to stir our outrage, rile our feelings of sympathy or guilt over feeling schadenfreude. I am over this. I do not care about this ignorant man.

    • BnLurkN4eva says:

      Yes. Thanks for saying it loud and I wish someone could say it as loud on the national news station, or in an oped.

    • Golly Gee says:

      I agree with nanny to the rescue. No one is meant to feel sympathy or empathy, I don’t think. I think this is aimed at the MAGAs who may actually believe this guy because he’s one of them, and change their behavior.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Mainstream media only asks White men about their regrets. Not even a pandemic can get the media to care about anyone except the poor white men. I am done too. His decision that his mediocrity was superior to facts and science caused deaths. And even after he is still firm in his belief that he should continue using his reality to vote for a maniac rather than try to protect his fellow humans (you know minorities, women, children).

  10. Burpsy says:

    I’m in Missouri, and I work at a specialist’s office. We have a patient who is a Trump supporter who talked incessantly about the “China flu hoax” in the early months of the pandemic. In July, his wife and 25 year old daughter both had COVID and were both hospitalized–his wife, who had no pre-existing conditions, was in the ICU twice due to complications. Earlier this month, his elderly parents both contracted the virus, and his mother ultimately passed away due to her issues. He came in for an appointment last week, wearing his MAGA hat and complaining about having to wear his mask.

    So, yeah, this guy will probably still vote for Trump. As I’ve been saying for the last 4 years, the mental gymnastics Trump supporters are willing to engage in so that they won’t have to admit that they were/are wrong about him are just unbelievable.

    • dogmom says:

      @Burpsy I’m from Missouri originally and my dad and all my friends still live there. I talk to my dad every week and he is just livid about all the people not wearing masks, the governor being so cavalier, etc. Apparently my dad got into it with my conspiracist great-aunt who tried to claim it’s a hoax. It’s mind-boggling what people are willing to believe.

    • Golly Gee says:

      Wow. That is truly brain-washed, cult behavior.

  11. CommentingBunny says:

    He should feel guilty. Ignorance of how easily this virus spreads and how deadly it can be is wilful at this point.

    I hope he also feels guilty about all the non-family members who he and his family exposed to covid.

  12. Rose says:

    Where’s the interview from the spouse whose parent and grandparent he killed?

    • superashes says:

      I noticed that as well. I’d be furious if my husband did this to my family (he wouldn’t, he is even more cautious than I am), but to then go on and shine a national spotlight on my family in a time of grief? GTFOWTBS.

      • Jaxonmeh says:

        I wonder if his spouse isn’t talking to him and figured this might be a way to get his attention. I mean…I wouldn’t put anything past a narcissistic douchebag like this.

      • paranormalgirl says:

        I’m assuming his spouse was OK with the party. They were all OK with it. They came. They could have said “nope.”

    • Mac says:

      They cut the cable and decided to get their news from Facebook. Pretty sure the spouse thought the virus was a hoax, too.

      • Jaxonmeh says:

        Sure you can be ok with a party, but you can also feel justified in blaming others when someone close to you dies if they were the one pushing for the party. Not saying this is the case, but if the spouses family doesn’t want you at a funeral when your actions led to the death of their father and grandmother, perhaps the spouse is taking some space and reevaluating the relationship.

        I don’t know. Just bored and speculating.

  13. Mia says:

    I know someone who refused to go to a graduation party because of COVID. Their friend tried to bully them into coming but they refused. Everyone who attended got COVID. The planner was devastated. I’m like what did you expect to happen. I don’t have to put my hand in the fire to know I’ll get burnt.

    • paranormalgirl says:

      I refused to go to a graduation party too. My spawn also flat out refused. No one ended up with COVID from that party, but even knowing that, I still would not have attended.

    • lucy2 says:

      A former coworker invited my 70+ year old dad to one back in the spring! It was still really bad here then. People are so incredibly stupid and selfish.

    • Ripley says:

      My best friend for decades had an over the top birthday (downgraded from the original plan) and I didn’t attend. It was the same day as COVID Amy’s super spreader event and to this day nobody has contracted C-19, but I still think I made the right decision. It sucks, but I would have been in knots the whole time during and after…

  14. Tiffany says:

    So what.

    I am so sick of these think pieces with garbage people looking for sympathy.

    The only reason he is doing this is because he is inconvenienced. People have lost his number.

    I have not none to give.

    So. Bye.

    • A says:

      Thank you!! This man is still going to vote for trump. His pity party means fuck all. I wish people would stop entertaining these idiots. I am so tired of spotlighting Trump supporters who supposedly have “buyers remorse.” This man is likely still a racist, likely still buys anti Semitic conspiracy theories, likely still hates migrants and women and everyone else who isn’t a straight white male. And I’m supposed to feel sorry for this bitch?! I DONT.

  15. DeltaJuliet says:

    As my coworker says “play stupid games, win stupid prizes!” I feel for the people who got sick and died. I don’t have one iota of sympathy for this idiot and the many others I have encountered who call this a hoax. And there are A LOT of them. Sit there with your guilt. You deserve it.

    • Truthiness says:

      Agreed. My sympathy is with the first responders, the nurses, the doctors, the EMTs. People who spread covidiocy get Darwin awards. You get a Darwin award, and you get Darwin award! Darwin awards for anyone who thought the president was using science! Trump showed us what he was from the jump. I will be wearing masks until vaccine time.

  16. Nuks says:

    Watch the Social Dilemma as she says, and then watch The Great Hack, about Cambridge Analytica. Also on Netflix. Especially if like me you just can’t understand how so many people could be so foolish. They are “persuadables”.

    • Celebitchy says:

      My mom was telling me about The Great Hack. The Social Dilemma was a lot and I will tackle that when I feel ready for it. I know it’s going to be hard to take.

  17. Yoyoma says:

    I don’t live in America, but it was obvious that Trump and US government was doing something seriously wrong handling this pandemic from the get go. Especially about the mask thing, he did press conference telling people that they don’t need to wear masks and I remember shock-laughing as I was watching it in our 9 o’clock news.

  18. Linda says:

    While I completely agree this guy is an idiot, those people and his husband went along with it. He didn’t lock the door and say nobody leaves! Personal responsibility applies to everyone. It is still within your right to say no to any gathering that would put you at risk.

  19. Hyrule Castle says:

    Stephen King’s “The Stand” should be required reading in what, grade 9, 10?

    Not just be of the Superflu aspect. Just, all of it.

    But also, every grade 6/7 math teacher should use covid as the real life application of how exponents really work.

  20. Mtec says:

    This guy’s an idiot. Even after all that tragedy he’s still short of getting the point. I feel sorry for his family, for their loss and for having to deal with him.

  21. NixD says:

    Lots of people think things won’t happen to them. That’s how I ended up with my son. LOL. It is great that he can acknowledge the error of his ways. That’s all I got.

  22. A says:

    Fuck him. Fuck him, fuck his stupid self, and fuck anyone who thought that his party was a good idea. I have no clue why anyone is giving this goddamn asshole a platform in the first place. What gives him the right to profit off of the fact that he practically killed all of those people??? He gets a WAPO OP-ED out of this?!? Have we not learned enough these last 4 years abt NOT REWARDING this type of disgusting white male mediocrity?!?! I can think of 10 other people who deserve that column space a lot more. Hell, Washington Post should hire ME. I’m jobless and available and I can crank out dumbshit opinions like this too!!!!! Give ME a free fucking op-Ed for acting like a dumbass!!!!

    This man saw Trump putting children in concentration camps, saw the separation of families at the border, saw the absolutely abhorrent treatment of migrants, and thought “yes, this is the man I support and these are the policies I like.” He can rot. He can go straight to hell. Fuck this man and the horse he rode in on. Fucking ugly ass pancake face motherfucker.

    • BnLurkN4eva says:

      The media will not stop giving voice to people like this. Just like if Biden wins the election and democrats take the senate suddenly there will be this push complete with platforms of people asking the democrats to work across the isle. You will start hearing phrases like two wrongs, go high, turn the other cheek, let’s work together. Yeah, I’m not surprised he’s been given a platform to express is so called guilt.

    • guilty pleasures says:

      @ A, I swear I can hear my beloved sister in your rant!! She lives in California, I live in Canada. We spend hours on the phone ranting about everything you wrote, in exactly the same vernacular.
      Rage on, sister woman!!! RAGE ON!!!

  23. Dee Kay says:

    The Social Dillemma is a bunch of white dude Google and Facebook and Pinterest former executives who look at the camera dumbly and say, “I wonder what went wrong…” It provides useful info to the viewer but I wish they had mixed up the interviewees more, since these idiots who created the problem neither fully understand it, nor understand their part in making the internet a hellscape, nor have any idea how to fix it. They should have interviewed a LOT more people who actually have ideas about all of those things, many of them women and POC scholars and analysts (Safiya Noble, Ruha Benjamin, Rebecca Lewis, danah boyd, just to name a few.).

  24. ME says:

    How can anyone with even half a brain think Covid-19 is a hoax? Who would benefit off of this? I just don’t understand. So are all those doctors and nurses just actors? Are people just pretending to die from the virus and hiding out on a secret island? Is the government just wanting to close down businesses and have people sit at home “for fun” ??? How f*cking stupid are some people ???

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      From what I see they think it’s a government conspiracy to take control and that only the independent of mind can see through this and make their own decisions. In other words, stupid macho bullshit with some adolescent rebellion thrown in.

      • ME says:

        Yeah it really makes no sense to me. Do these people not follow traffic laws, laws of society, pay their taxes ??? The government already controls a lot of our lives and there’s a good reason for that. We need law and order not f*cking chaos. Mind you, there are a lot of corrupt governments but still why on earth would any government create a fake pandemic that has cost millions of lives and billions of dollars? It’s so insane to even think anyone would believe that lol.

      • Amy Too says:

        What government though? The federal government is completely ignoring it all and trying to persuade everyone it doesn’t exist, it’s not that bad, and it’s a hoax. They are the current leaders of American government and they are against all of the precautions and the science. So how can the “government” be trying to take over by perpetuating this fake hoax when the government is telling everyone it’s a fake hoax? Is it something that a few Dems, who are not in power right now, came up with? How would that work though if they’re not actually in power? Why would they do it now when the federal government is full of people who will not help them perpetuate their hoax and who will expose it? Why didn’t they do it when they were in power? And what about the rest of the world? Is every other country in world just playing along as stooges of the currently not even in power American “government”? Why would they do that? The Dems who are not in power wouldn’t be able to impose sanctions or punishments on them if they didn’t play along because they’re not in power. It makes no sense to me. I believe you when you say this is what they believe. But how?

    • Sid says:

      This is one of the many reasons Trump’s presidency has been so damaging. He has emboldened people like that, so instead of just staying on the fringes and spreading their conspiracy nonsense among each other, they are out there yelling it loudly and often affecting others. It will take years to clean up the mess Trump has created.

  25. Appalachian says:

    Men are disproportionately affected by the Dunning-Kruger Effect. This idiot sat on confidence mountain while knowing absolutely nothing of what he was speaking on. Was soooo sure he knew better than those nasty doctors and scientists and it got people killed. What a moron.

  26. Grant says:

    I’m sorry, but this guy seems like he has a lot of (mental health) issues independent from COVID-19. I’m a white gay man and people like this boob make me sick, frankly. The only gay people I know who are voting for Trump are either deeply closeted or plagued with internalized homophobia and shame at being gay. How he could ever consider voting for someone like Trump–who would celebrate this man’s homosexuality to his face and then enact laws that take away his rights when he’s not looking–boggles my mind. WAKE UP. I don’t understand what Trump has done to justify support from anyone. He hasn’t delivered on anything that he promised when he was running in 2016. What great things has he done for our country? He has ravaged our economy, appointed conservative activist judges, and incited the beginnings of a race war.

    • Mabs A'Mabbin says:

      Most of our boggled minds here, I think, left the building a very long time ago. Everything he’s done this year alone seemed to wake up a few and shake some trees, but in my mind, it has angered me that it took mass death. And yet he still has supporters. Some would piss their pants in elation to see his jacked mug on Rushmore. It’s vomitous mass.

      • Moo says:

        I was wondering what would prompt an openly gay man to vote for Trump. Thank you for explaining. You are, fortunately, not responsible for the actions of all gay people.

    • A says:

      @Grant, you’re not wrong. Shame is endemic to the American psyche in a very particular way. It’s endemic around the world, obviously, but it manifests itself in a certain way in America in particular, and we’re seeing that in action with a lot of the support for Trump, I think. The people I’ve met, who support Trump, who continue to support him up till now, lend their support for the simple reason that Trump makes them feel good about themselves for the first time in a long time. He says the things they wish they were able to say. He demonstrate a ‘fuck you’ attitude that they aspire to.

      I don’t really know what this dude’s damage is in particular. I don’t really care. I’m damaged. A lot of us are. I’ve never supported Trump a day in my life. What sets me apart from someone like this fucking idiot? It’s not nature, it’s not nurture. All I know is that I spend a lot of time thinking about whether my actions are hurting another person. I extend to others the grace I want for myself.

      I’m not saying all this to put myself on a pedestal. All I’m saying is, the rest of us don’t get applause and adulation for doing the right thing to the best of our ability. Why do we grant that for people who have been shitty to everyone else, but suddenly “seen the light”? This man pretty much senselessly killed his father-in-law. His husband, the man he loves’ father. I don’t understand how someone could live with themselves, knowing that an action they took, an action that did nothing for anyone except serve their own ego, resulted in something like this. Oh wow, your ego wasn’t worth it, and now you feel like shit. WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK? These are the same people who think that they’re better than anyone else because they’re white too. With brains like that, no wonder they have to elevate themselves on the basis of their skin colour, what else have they got left?

    • shanaynay says:

      Well said Grant!!!!

  27. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I only hope that across all-too-few lightbulb moments among the painfully stupid reach other painfully imbecilic selfish traitors. Their revelations mean absolutely nothing to me.

  28. Jay says:

    It seems to me like he spends most of this interview justifying his delusions and behaviour, I don’t see any actual regret. He’s unhappy about the illness and preventable deaths of his family members (horrifying just to write that), and probably the public shame, but I don’t see him really owning up to his actions or admitting wrongdoing. Like, what would he do differently now? How does he look at information found on facebook now? What mistakes did he make and why? It doesn’t seem like there’s any real reflection going on.

    • A says:

      He’s desperately asking for absolution. That’s why he’s going so public with this shit right now. He wants the public to say to him, “Oh no, you poor little white man. How could you have known? How sad for you that you’re dealing with all of these consequences? Our heart breaks for you.” He wants people to pat him on the back and tell him that it wasn’t his fault.

      Well it was. It WAS his fault. His father in law is dead thanks to his stupidity. This is not public shame, this is just the facts. There is no sympathy or absolution to be found in this situation. There are people who will provide it for him, obviously, because society can’t resist white man tears for whatever reason, but there is actually none here. He just can’t deal with that, because then it would dawn on him the full horror of his actual actions, and he’d do anything to escape that realization.

  29. Josie Bean says:

    I wish he would have brought up exactly how much he was out of pocket for the trip to ER, possibly needing an ambulance and 3 days in hospital. Plus, what was his father-in-law’s hospital bill that his Estate will have to pay??? That should get people’s attention.

  30. Singhsong says:

    It is what it is. I wonder how his husband is feeling since losing his dad and grandma because of this.

  31. Lizzie says:

    This guy and others who think this is a hoax remind me of the Meghan haters. It is all social media hating and they feed off of it daily and it grows and grows. It’s pretty scary.

    • shanaynay says:

      I blame DT for the BS about it being a hoax. I believe he called it a hoax that the Dems created, or some nonsense like that.

  32. Leah says:

    These covidiots are only sorry after the trash fire has taken off down the street. Excuse: “Oh I’m sorry they died, but it was a hoax, the orange man called it that and being as dumb as a post I believed him”. So tired of these people.

    He reminds me of that unmasked guy I saw at the supermarket in May, he looked right at me and said “I believe in freedom”. I never said a word to him beforehand but he had to tell me his opinion anyway. I just looked down at my shopping list and shook my head. The guy wasn’t young, he was a rough looking 50-60 ish year old who looked like his liver hated him for too much drink. He somehow had walked into the store without anyone stopping him for not wearing a mask. It was weird.

    Just wear a mask, stay six feet apart, don’t crowd into crowds and wash your hands. What is so hard about that?

  33. shanaynay says:

    It’s such a shame that it took all this for him to realize it was real. It’s just truly sad. SCIENCE doesn’t lie people!!!!!!

  34. Winterberry says:

    I always think of Caitlin Jenner. She just thought that she could change the Republican Party and we thought she would wake the heck up when she transitioned. We were both fools…

  35. TheOriginalMia says:

    I know a gay Republican. He lived in Mississippi. His family never acknowledged the fact he was gay. It just wasn’t mentioned. His Hispanic decade-long partner knows he will never meet his partner’s mother as long as she’s alive. It’s all bs. I asked him once before why he voted Republican and he told me he didn’t give af about gay marriage or having children. I wonder if he voted for Trump. Probably. Some things are ingrained in their DNA at a early age. As for this guy, I have very little sympathy for him. I feel awful for his partner’s parents.

  36. Nightsky says:

    I am SO sick of hearing stories like this. People who “oopsed” by refusing to take the virus threat seriously. Thinking it was just a hoax (to try and take Trump down??), or at least an overblown paranoia. A paranoia they refused to fall prey to. Trying to prove they are resilient to a killer virus. All those people, world-wide, who have died from covid, are dying, will die, or possibly suffer lifelong health issues …. that’s a shame, but it doesn’t affect me personally. And since I am invincible and unaffected, I am going to throw a party and put my loved ones at risk. So I can brag after about my invincibility. My freedom! My rights!! Oh wait…. they all got sick, some even died (alone, in a hospital). Now I feel soooo bad. Poor me. I didn’t know that could happen. Such a toddler defense when confronted with the reality of your shitty, selfish actions. STFU you irresponsible loser. What you did is bordering on manslaughter as far as I am concerned. Do something now – anything – to help your fellow man and show you feel genuine remorse rather than just sniveling and whining about it on social media.

  37. Izzy says:

    He AND his family chose to ignore the truth and science, and to flout basic social distancing guidance. I have ZERO sympathy for them, even the ones who died – they chose to show up, they signed their own death warrants. Play stupid games , win stupid prizes.