Pandemics, Past and Present

Yersinia Pestis, the bacterium that causes the plague is believed to have first appeared in China over two thousand years ago and caused at least three pandemic level events. It’s hard to know for certain the origins of The Black Death, the worst of them, in the middle of the 14^th century.

One theory holds that the enormous reach of the Mongol Empire connecting previously isolated parts of the world may have contributed to the wide reach of The Great Mortality. Given the fact that a Mongol army laid siege to Genoese trading port on the Black Sea and as the Mongol soldiers succumbed to the Bubonic Plague, their bodies were catapulted into the walled city to explode and infect the inhabitants, there might be some merit to the claim.

Since it wasn’t the only occurrence of the plague, (only the worst) it’s hard to say. It probably wasn’t the Jews, though. But, according to John Kelly, in The Great Mortality, An Intimate History of The Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of all Time, “Medieval Europeans knew that whenever bad things happened to Christians, the Jews were to blame.”

And the Jews suffered for it. Jews were being burned alive, tortured for confessions and persecuted in ways that bring shame to the legacy of humanity. All this, despite the fact they were dying from the plague as at precisely the same rate as the Christians.

Fast forward to the Covid19 pandemic.

From the beginning, Senator Tom Cotton, Republican Arkansas, has been steadfast in his insistence that it was a weapon, probably accidentally released, but it might have been intentional, by the Chinese government. Stern, unforgiving and absolutely resolute, he stared into the eyes of the interviewers and held tightly onto his claim all without producing any real evidence.

Never one to pass up the opportunity to point a finger at China, Donald Trump started his Wuhan virus tweets. Eventually, at a rally in Tulsa Oklahoma on June 20^th 2020 he hit the high note of epidemic drollery with his “Kung Flu” proclamation. Presidential xenophobic humor at its finest.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo couldn’t agree more. While he couldn’t agree more he could certainly agree more often. He was a constant on television news, in newspapers, internet articles. He had the fervor of an evangelical, and the same proof, faith. It’s all you need.

Meanwhile, the streets of America were getting meaner. Asians, Asian Americans, Polynesians, were facing persecution, assaults and blind, stupid bigotry. Despite the fact they were just as likely to get the illness as anybody else.

Trump, Pompeo, Cotton all deny having any part in un-American behavior. Just like Rudolph Giuliani didn’t mean “trial by combat” on January 6^th, he meant reasonable and responsible dialogue to find common ground and resolve our differences. But, people hear more than what you say, they hear what you mean, and sometimes they hear what they think you mean. If you’ve been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to be heard you have a responsibility to choose your words and meanings carefully.

The nation was struggling under the enormous weight of restrictions, curfews, closures, people were losing their jobs, people were dying. They need leadership, a calm, gentle presence to guide them through the storm. The worst thing to provide was a scapegoat. And that’s what they got. What they got was our elected and appointed officials asking, “would you like a little gasoline with your fire?”

And the answer was hell, yeah.

Sometimes you wonder how far we’ve come and you worry about how far we still have to go.

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This post is republished on Medium.

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