Spreading the virus

‘God’ is not going to save us, so save your breath

· 11 Comments ·

REALITY IN THE AGE OF COVID

We, the people on this speck of sand in an infinite universe of endless galaxies, need help.

Beowulf is dead and the Silver Surfer has his hands full 13.3 billion light-years away in the galaxy MACSO647.

So, who’s going to help us?

God?

Dream on.

Thousands of Christians are still crowding together in megachurch services and praying to God to save them from Covid-19.

Megachurch hosts 1,900 worshipers despite coronavirus pandemic

‘Worship is essential’—Texas churches continue to hold services 

I cannot think of anything more irresponsible and “un-Christian.”

Yo, Christians, you’re supposed to care about humankind and yet you’re doing the worst thing possible to further spread the disease.

Besides which, benighted brethren, you’re wasting your time.

This invisible entity, super power, Supreme Being, whatever you want to call it, may well be (Oh, Heavens, no!) a figment of your fearful and fervent imaginations, an illusion, a delusion, a stubborn holdover from a primitive era.

And even if “He” does exist, He is the God of the entire universe, and since there are two trillion galaxies in the universe, he’s too damn busy.

Forget “God,” dear delusional dreamers. Get it through your heads, our only “salvation” in this crisis, as in any crisis — world wars, global depressions, plagues, 9/11 — is Ourselves, you and me, and most of all the doctors and nurses and all the brave people on the front lines, from health workers to grocery clerks.

The only power we have to survive this microbe hell is our own personal courage and strength and the will to survive. To hell with death and “eternal life.”

The next time some Christian fantatic talks to me about “God’s will” and the “Glory of God” and “Eternal Life,” I will remind them that people in New York City are dying of the virus every three minutes — and going to eternal death.

So, “Glory of God” expounders, stop congregating in primitive prayer marathons — and criminally spreading the virus — and do something actually “Christian” like try and save lives.

KILLS SELF

Fear and suicide in the age of Covid

· 9 Comments ·

Fear of the disease, the dread of isolation and courageous self sacrifice are taking their own tragic toll in the global pandemic.

SOME RECENT HEADLINES

Italian nurse with coronavirus sacrifices her own life over fear of infecting others

Daniela Trezzi

Daniela Trezzi, 34, was working on the front line of the coronavirus crisis when she tested positive for the illness and was terrified that she had infected others.

She had been suffering “heavy stress” amid fears she was spreading the deadly bug while trying to bring the crisis under control at San Gerardo Hospital in Monza, near Milan in the hard-hit region of Lombardy, the Daily Mail reported.

“A similar episode had happened a week ago in Venice, with the same underlying reasons,” said a nursing federation spokesperson.

‘Each of us has chosen this profession for good and, unfortunately, also for bad — we are nurses.”

‘Beautiful’ British teen kills herself because she couldn’t face isolation

Kills self over virus fears

Emily Owen, a 19-year-old waitress from King’s Lynn, 100 miles north of London, died in hospital after attempting to take her own life due to fears of the “mental health impacts” of isolation.

Days before she was found, Emily told relatives she was unable to deal with “her world closing in, plans being canceled and being stuck inside,” reported the London Sun.

The teen was in critical condition when relatives made the devastating decision to remove her from life support, allowing doctors to prep her organs for donation.

New York Man leaves note: ‘How do you enjoy life?’ before jumping to his death

Virus lockdown victim

New York City photographer Robert Herman left a suicide note before leaping to his death from his luxury apartment building in Tribeca, the New York Post reported.

“How do you enjoy life?” the note read.

The award-winning street photographer who had published two books of photos — ’The New Yorkers’ in 2013 and ’The Phone Book’ in 2015.

Herman, 64, landed in the courtyard of the high-end building on Chambers Street near North End Avenue.

Traveller suspected of coronavirus commits suicide by jumping from isolation ward

A New Delhi man in an isolation ward who was believed to be infected with the coronavirus committed suicide by jumping from the seventh floor of the Safdarjung Hospital building.

The man, who had just returned on a flight from Sydney, was waiting for his test results when he forced open the isolation ward window and fell to his death.

Indian man kills himself after becoming convinced he was infected

A father of three children became so terrified of infecting his family that he took his own life.

K. Bala Krishna, who lives in a small village in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, was told by doctors he had contracted an unknown virus after falling ill.

The 50-year-old became convinced the “unknown virus” was Covid-19 after watching videos online.

SO MANY OTHER CASES

Phone calls to national suicide prevention hotlines around the world are up more than 300 percent. Regional suicide prevention services across the United States are also overwhelmed with a record number of calls.

“The thought of contracting the virus is so terrifying,” said one hotline spokesperson, “they would rather be dead.”