Inside the mind of a Trump voter re: corona [View all]

[HarlanPepper]

This afternoon I did something that I felt was my duty as a son. I checked in and gently suggested my 72 and 75 year old parents start thinking about making some Coronavirus preparations.

I have long dreaded this moment, put it off, hoped it would not be necessary. But having taken the time to assess the situation over the weekend and dive into it I have concluded what many others have, that yes, indeed, the shit is about to hit the fan.

I told her in the text conversation that making sure they have hand sanitizer, that they should start thinking about preparing more of their own food, and that my dad should start using the treadmill at home rather than going to the Y 6 days a week. In general a little less time in public and constant hand washing.

They also have after school care responsibilities for my niece and nephew who are in elementary school and vectors for all kinds of stuff because of that.

At this point I’m all but resigned to the fact there’s a good chance they get it.

She assured me that they are taking precautions but at the end said “I really think this will die out when it gets warmer.”

This is an echo of what Dear Leader has said. She gets her news exclusively from RW sources, including Fox News which is on their TV even when they are otherwise engaged with other activities about 14 hours a day.

I thought about saying to her that the H1N1 pandemic was a multi year event, or that the 1918 Spanish flu likely started in the summer months, but it wouldn’t have done any good.

That’s because I didn’t need to ask the question I’ve been wondering about for the last 10 days. The answer is clear/ She believes this is a plot by Democrats to damage Trump politically. She doesn’t believe it’s real.

We haven’t talked about politics since November 2016 by a mutual agreement so that’s about as far as I can push it at this point. My guess is she’ll come around when one of her friends gets sick and dies. But that’s probably what it would take.

My dad is a slightly different story. He follows the markets closely because that’s what he’s interested in. I know he gets his news from other sources because of that and given the impact it will have on the economy I’m fairly certain he recognizes the severity of the situation, even if it’s solely through that lens.

Like most people here I love my parents. But as I told my wife if they were to get it and the worst happened, wishing I had made the effort of sounding the alarm will not be among my regrets.