Mitchell, South Dakota slapped in the face by herd stupidity. Washington Post

[IADEMO2004]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/12/09/south-dakota-mitchell-covid-masks/?arc404=true


“You may need a mask to get in the door, but once you were inside, you looked around and there were 300 people in the seats watching volleyball, pretty much going maskless,” she said. “Mitchell, South Dakota, is a small town. We trusted each other.”

McCardle had a yellow legal pad under his arm with his daily tally of coronavirus cases in Davison County since March. The growth he had been so carefully recording had exploded in recent weeks, with 359 cases Oct. 1 to 1,912 that morning, a 433 percent increase. Locally, 10 people had died in less than seven weeks. South Dakota now has the largest increase in deaths per capita in the nation, according to Washington Post data from Dec. 8.

So many town leaders have died in such a short time that the impact has been profound, Tjarks said. Who will fill Timmins’s shoes as a mentor for young referees in the state high school athletic association? Who will raise money for the veteran’s park and the rodeo stampede now that state legislator Lance Carson is gone? There would be smaller absences too: her neighbor, John, now missing from the morning group at the doughnut shop.

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Shit Shit Shit GOP Kills Their Own. Fact

[marybourg]

1. John is missing, but apparently the morning group goes on.

Because — they trust each other. Q— what do they trust each other to do? I’m rapidly losing what little respect I’ve had for my fellow humans.

[ahlnord]

13. trust what?

Right. You can certainly "trust" each other to wear a mask, but how can you trust someone to not be infected? Just because you know and like someone, is that supposed to mean they are "clean" of the virus? This is just crazy thinking.

[marybourg]

14. I guess they think it's like a sexually transmitted disease.

“No-one I know would have one!” Morans.

[RKP5637]

2. RIP GOP!

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Now that this Pandemic is running

unchecked in Trump Country,this story is playing out through out the Rural Areas.

Of course,when your Governor refuses to except Reality,this story is testament to how her Personal Agenda is more important than Reality and prevention.

[Jirel]

4. No sympathy.

Oh NOW you’re bemoaning the loss of your fellow neanderthals. Gee, they didn’t have to die in the first place if all y’all just freaking LISTENED.

[BlueNProud]

11. me neither. F these Neanderthals

[grapejuice]

16. Be kind to Neaderthals

Let's not be critical of Neanderthals. These cretins are more like pond scum. Please note that we all have Neanderthal DNA, some more than others.

[BlueNProud]

22. Apologies to Neanderthals who are a higher order of being than the Magat species

[sarge43]

23. Welcome to DU

There's solid evidence that Neanderthals took care of each other.

Not everyone, but anyone with European or Asian ancestors, most likely they have some Neanderthal DNA.

[RockRaven]

5. "We trusted each other" -- What kind of ridiculous dumbassery is that?

I trust people too. Whether or not other people have a respiratory virus known to cause asymptomatic infections isn't a matter of fucking trust, you moron!

[greenjar_01]

6. "We trusted each other."

Good Lord! These people...

[Crunchy Frog]

7. Suicide cult. No sympathy. nt

[bullimiami]

8. the natural selection they dont want to teach in school, on display.

[Indykatie]

9. The GOP is Nothing but a Cult Filled with Selfish Bastards

You'd think small towns where "everybody knows everybody" would react differently to being asked to wear a mask to protect their neighbors but apparently not.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

10. Krazy Kristi Noem, the mass murdering Kovid Killer, strikes again.nt

[bearssoapbox]

12. I used to be proud to say I was born in SD.

Practically right next to Mt. Rushmore.
My grandfather worked for park service and I was all over that area as a kid.

At least I have those good memories.
Those and then Sturgis as I got older through the 70's-90's.
Been 15 or 20 yrs since I've been back and my desire to go back has really been waning lately.

[Brother Mythos]

15. There's uneducated, there's under-educated, and there's ...

just plain stupid. You can't fix stupid.

[LisaL]

17. You can lead the horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

Lots of people are sick and dying, yet the rest still refuses to wear masks?
Oh well...

[Warpy]

18. Kristi Noem is without a doubt near the bottom of a bottomless barrel

of Republican stupidity, slavishly following her idol in Washington and killing her people by her lack of leadership and only half assed action against this virus.

Cases in other hard hit states are starting to decline, my own state included. S. Dakota has stubbornly remained in the top three hardest hit states for a couple of months now, presumably while Noem sends thoughts and prayers instead of a mask mandate, ban on crowded venues, and widespread testing.

""I'm going to continue to trust South Dakotans to make wise and well-informed decisions for themselves and their families. I'm also asking that we all show respect and understanding to those who make choices we may not agree with. Our trust in the data and in each other has been rewarded. This is a testament to the people of South Dakota -- our greatest weapon against this common enemy.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/23/politics/kristi-noem-south-dakota-coronavirus/index.html

Kristi, honey, this is not leadership. It's abdication.

[orleans]

19. here's a different link to the same story (without paywall)

https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2020/12/09/covid-19-gets-personal-in-a-south-dakota-town-as-neighbors-die-and-a-mask-mandate-is-debated/

[IADEMO2004]

24. Good find no paywall

[Grins]

20. A town with 15,000 people...!

Had more than 1,900 cases in ONE day! And a positivity rate of almost 50%!

You’d think they would notice something like that and pause. And reflect.

[LisaL]

25. They are going for herd immunity.

Seems like really soon everybody in that town is going to end up infected.

[DBoon]

26. If the herd dies off, the virus no longer has any hosts to infect

that is how their herd immunity is working

[Yeehah]

21. Green Acres

is not the place to be. Noem is an absolute idiot, but the people who vote for her are even stupider. These trump cultists will never wear a mask because they are stuck in a time when nobody knew about germs. They do what their leaders tell them like peasants.