I've had enough (not necessarily China-related)

I'm no statistician, but it seems abundantly clear to me that no one knows what the hell is really going on. Some countries are claiming victory (SW, CN, TW) while most are still in lockdown. Most of those in lockdown are now decidedly divided between those that want to keep the lockdown and those that want to open up. The evidence and goalposts on both sides change almost daily. People can't even agree on what an expert is, let alone if they should be listened to or not. 

The politics of this crisis is soul-crushing for anyone that still had hope in humanity. Even the concept that decisions made in a crisis are uniquely flawed precisely because they are made in a crisis and should, therefore, be understood in hindsight in that light has become a pitched battle between partisans vying for some immediate political point and/or future political victory.

I'll admit to not reading much US news on purpose before quarantine--the purpose? To avoid exactly this. The daily media attention on both politics and the virus seems to me a complete waste of time and money. Is anything better, more clear, less divisive? Is there anyone with more hope, more confidence in government, or faith in humanity?

This morning I was reading about SW and their attempts to go back to work and everyone opposed literally screaming, "you want to kill people!!" in response to their plans. Ditto TX, GA. Death, disease, money, everything is political. Is the CA herd immunity (now confirmed earlier cases than WA) real? Will TX kill off all of North America? Does GA really want to kill poor people and blacks? It all depends on your political affiliation.

I really just need to stop reading the news again. 

If you weren't jaded before, the coverage of this event should push you over the edge. Like Ice Cube is now ironically saying, Everythang Corrupt (yes, the same F*ck the Cops Ice Cube of the 80s).

Maybe the Marxists are right that capitalism is broken. And maybe the Righties are right that the media and schools are equally broken. If the last month at home has taught me anything, it has reinforced the reality that politics in general, including those that cover it, is nothing more than a self-serving shit show. 

As a former conservative-turned-libertarian-turned-political-atheist I’m left wondering why should anyone vote for anything other than their own personal financial benefit? Why shouldn’t everyone take as much from the system as they can get (before it collapses)? If I can care for myself and set up my kids, why shouldn't I just walk away from everything else? This has convinced me that I should really be making plans to check out of this rat race. The social contract is broken and calls for a collective morality are all just communist retreads (if we just had the right leader making all our decisions for us).

My nephew committed suicide two weeks ago in China. He had no job in rural Jiangxi and when his mom lost her job due to quarantine he lost hope. I have a close friend whose cancer treatments were stopped due to travel and hospital restrictions here in the US. Her disease has metastasized so quickly without hospital care since the quarantine that she’ll die in the next week or so—and her family has been locked at home together watching her die. My uncle died last week and only 1 of his 7 siblings was allowed to attend the funeral. It’s sad that so many people have died due to CV and sadder that even more will die because of the preventative measures. One of my friends quipped that we’re saving a few thousand old rich white people at the cost of a few million poor brown ones. (As an old white man myself, I appreciate the sentiment but am appalled at the cost.)

I’ve just realized that besides losing so much being quarantined we've wasted most of the last two months following nothing of value. Just like in December, no one that hated Trump has changed their mind, ditto those who hated China. No one who was going to vote for Biden is now not going to, and those that support the WHO and the UN still do too. (And no, finishing Netflix is not valuable.)

And now in April 2020 we’re all surrounded by all that same corrupt BS of 2019 and death and economic destruction to boot.