Coronavirus Dangers, Karma, and Moving Forward

I think I caught coronavirus—It was hard to tell, but for about 48 hours I had a strange, intense, and uncomfortable compression in the upper center of my chest around my esophagus, unlike any I’d ever felt before, and trouble breathing and a dry cough. I also had what I thought was a mysterious injury to my toe (I thought maybe it was a spider bite or something) but turns out coronavirus infects the skin of your toes! It was also not psychosomatic because I have an extremely lackadaisical view of all this, on account of knowing how to improve resistance to the virus, and at the time there were cases common around my area. A day into symptoms I finally took an aspirin and the cough and tightness went away in less than 24 hours, while it took a few more days for the toe issue to resolve.

I’ve interacted with more than a dozen people likely exposed, some of whom were using my recommendations, even those most at risk but who flagrantly flaunt isolation guidelines and did not get seriously ill, and others who were not using my guidelines but who quickly adopted them such as a person who presented with a high fever, severe coughing, and significant weight loss who then recovered completely after only a few days following my guidelines. It’s incredibly frustrating to think that I may have an effective way to resist this pandemic that is not only cheap and widely accessible but also highly effective while many get sick, die, and others yet ruminate in fear either of the virus or perceived assaults to their way of life. This crisis has also revealed there to be many more eugenicists amongst us than I ever thought possible, even and most alarmingly among the ranks of those who are charged with the care and treatment of the ill, whom for some inexplicable defect of intellect and absence of mortal character asininely believe their own time with the Reaper is too far in the distant future to be of concern, as if they are not also potential victims of the very survivalist and calloused everyone-for-themselves mentality they promote, should others of another demographic (i.e. their children) actually listen to such bullshit, self-centered, pretended intellectualism ignorant to our shared reliance one upon another. I want to be perfectly clear—I entirely condemn and despise those who promote eugenic philosophy, who love money more than their fellow man, who fear their own mortality, for it is the same mindset which allowed the calloused apathy toward those many souls who have perished from the HIV pandemic and other horrors and failings of the human race like the holocaust and every other genocidal epoch, rooted in absolute stupidity, pompousness, and arrogance which above all I most despise, and if you are someone who has taken this stance you would do well to revaluate your own safety, should your children or those in your community actually listen to you.

While coronaviruses are comparable to the flu in the way they behave, they are absolutely not comparable in terms of mortality rate—and much confusion has been sown in regard to lethality, and debate around the nature of viruses is being mistaken for advice on the reality of infection and whether or not you can ignore your own potential susceptibility. It is commonly reported that the CDC estimates a range of 25k-60k flu deaths each year, as if this statistic justifies throwing caution and basic human decency to the wind and letting God decide who lives and who dies instead of adhering to mitigation efforts, since early estimates of COVID-19 fatalities were near that upper range and since most people have had the flu they then stupidly think the coronavirus is like the flu, even though it is absolutely not like the flu. In reality, actual reported flu deaths, I learned from this article in Scientific American, are only between 3.5k and 15k people a year, and the CDC estimate has traditionally been purposefully inflated far beyond reasonable estimates for unreported deaths as a “worst-case” scenario to increase the sense of urgency for flu vaccinations. The CDC data also includes pneumonia deaths, which is not the flu.

But the irresponsible protesters who defiantly gather and rail against government-mandated safety procedures and put the wellbeing of others at risk are right to want to have a normal life—we all want that—and it is tempting to consider their stupidity without empathy, but if we do that we further risk our own safety since it only increases their combativeness and noncompliance. Helping those we feel antagonized by to understand that we are sympathetic to their fears and desires instead of only ridiculing them can help them accept the need to abide by guidelines which will in turn protect all of us. It’s exactly the way you talk to an unruly child—if you remain indignant and obstinate the child will only increase their flailing and screaming. But if you help them understand that you are sympathetic to their problem, they feel heard and will drop the issue even if they don’t get their own way. Because as I discuss in my article on Trump, none of this is really about politics, but people’s needs, egos, fears, and desires. Indeed it is typically the defiance against the perception of competition which motivates political animosity, exactly as is being seen in these stressful times.

COVID-19 is also causing mortality in seemingly younger, healthier individuals by causing stroke, although this can also be treated and prevented through the use of aspirin during infection (low to normal doses—do not use in excess!) as discussed in my article on coronavirus, since aspirin has long been known to both prevent and treat stroke (and both vitamin K and glycine or gelatin can be used to address any side effects caused by aspirin). Sadly, the lack of any real cohesion across the whole of the U.S. is undoing any benefits we might have got from all this lockdown effort, since the actions of unscrupulous actors and incompetent leadership is causing a rebound of the virus, and social distancing only works if everyone takes it seriously. The earlier estimated rates of fatality for COVID-19 assumed strong and effective mitigation efforts now being thrown out by many states, which obviously means that the mortality estimate used to justify reopening is now totally incorrect, and with the death count currently over 58,000 in the U.S.A. (04/28/20) the actual count will now easily exceed 100k at a minimum by the time this first wave is done, ten-times that of a severe flu season, while place like New Zealand, which quickly implemented aggressive mitigation efforts, have effectively eliminated all their coronavirus infections.

But like all things in life this event is playing out just as it should, with the advent of the virus arriving at a karmic pinnacle of world events surrounding unchecked greed, waste, criminality, and the last several decades of unrestrained, self-centered capitalism and political mendacity, to influence the outcome of history and force changes upon the human race they have heretofore been unwilling to make voluntarily. Similarly, the black plague was not caused by the rats and fleas which were vectors of the pathogen Yersinia pestis which causes plague but was instead a consequence of unrestrained food production and irresponsible waste and environmental management stemming from over-dense cohabitation and neglect of our environment. The great World Wars were not so much a problem of evil dictatorial ambitions but that of the rest of the world believing they could ignore the heinous acts occurring on the other side of it.

Viruses and pathogens will always plague life on this planet, they are one avenue of life that will never be eliminated, which thrive on conditions of ignorance, excess, and selfishness. But it is not retribution, vengeance, or justice by which this karmic event is driven. Karma is simply an ethereal concept of cause and consequence, and it matters not how much anyone feels empowered, justified, or maligned, such as my friends who in the comments on my article on Trump recoiled at the existence of saboteurs and morally conflicted voters—we are all under karma’s dominion, and you are not exempted from it though you may be right, virtuous, meek, powerful, rich, intelligent, or just consider yourself such. We are not absolved of our mortality even when others do harm. That is why even those who are innocent become victims of horrors we wish not to exist, or why powerful and ruthless persons persist with seeming impunity while those who are kind and generous get passed over. Though empowered by a view to world cooperation and peace, Democrats ignored the fallout of too readily engaging and appeasing Iran and China, and ignored the legitimate parts of the conservative concerns, largely because their position originates from xenophobia and racism, but which in turn gave fodder for their opponents on which to capitalize and then win the government. Though the individual mandate for insurance was and is a product of conservative Republicans, and a concession to Republicans in the creation of the ACA, Democrats ignored the consequences of incorporating such an oppressive tax into their champion legislation which in turn added to the difficulty of remaining in power—and have now stupidly adopted this tax as their own platform even in traditionally progressive states as California, rather than pursuing a progressive single-payer program which would relieve the stress of a huge voting block of the population which will in turn be part of the reason I believe we won’t win back the Presidency this election.

Those who resist shut-down guidelines do so because they are afraid and frighted—just not of the virus. The horror of dying is so great to such persons their minds can only presuppose an exemption from mortality, which then translates into reckless behavior like claiming God will protect them from COVID-19, which God absolutely does not do. A feeble human mind cannot well bear the kinds of fear which accompanies such perceptions of death, so it is expected that people with poor education, health, and lacking in economic opportunities would try to empower themselves through the only means which they possess. We can best protect them and ourselves by showing empathy to their stupidity rather than just blaming them for it. The karma of engaging in political conflict rather than compassion and understanding has consequences for us as well, though we may feel entitled and righteous just like the other side. That is the lesson the Universe is trying to teach us in this moment, but though you are adhering to lock-down guidelines you are not listening either.

It doesn’t help that more nefarious forces are at work behind the scenes, seeking to capitalize on the politicization of the moment by stoking fears and anxieties for their favor. But the forces of antagonism rarely operate on possession of facts and reality, and as is typical fail to recognize that their constituents are also the very people likely to die from this pandemic, and the Republican party, already marching toward a total congressional wipeout in November on account of their systemic corruption, are sealing their fate by facilitating the expiry of their very own members. Concepts such as herd immunity are being used to justify the disposal of caution, not even considering that herd immunity is only effective if coronavirus cannot be caught multiple times, which does appear to be a possibility with this virus. Thus karma steps in to balance through cause the very effect which these forces work to create. But such is life—we are often the authors of our own undoing, and the peril is greatest for those who attempt to write their own reality. Those on the left fail to see their own subjugation to karma, because it is a trait common to all humans regardless of ideology, suffering from the same delusion of self-righteousness as the other side, and will thus be disappointed when the current nominee either fails to win the Presidency due to his long history of refusing to alleviate the struggle of the middle and lower classes, or to somehow miraculously avoid also succumbing to this virus during a rigorous Presidential campaign in the kind of condition he is (no way this potential is lost on the current administration either, which is probably another motivation behind their reluctance to tackle the virus effectively).

Being healthy in the manner espoused by my article on coronavirus is really the only way we can safely continue our lives in the midst of this pathogen, but we absolutely can and it appears to be very effective. But the world now also requires of us an increased use of compassion, consideration, and cooperation to successfully navigate the challenges coming to our way of life. To actively consider the impact of our consumption, our inaction, our apathy, complacency, our dismissal of adversaries and reluctance to take civic responsibility. In our corner we do have the backing of logic and reason, which can easily prevail so long as we are not also victims of our own hubris and arrogance. Concepts such as a universal guaranteed income and finding value in times of limited economic liquidity are part of that direction. If the lock-down and political furor have you depressed—don’t be! Even when it is exacerbated by external confounders depression is a biochemical process which can be addressed regardless of the events around you, and you can learn how by watching my video on the topic or reading my article about six quick techniques to interrupt depression.