A Short Note on the Pandemic #6

March 18, 2020 Off By Michael

Photo by David Veksler on Unsplash

As the United States moves further into the Corvid-19 Pandemic, the President proposes to give some Americans a $1,000 check to ease the burden caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus. One can view this as hush money for his initial ineptitude in dealing with the pandemic before Americans began to get sick. His lackadaisical approach caused his American supporters not to take Corvid-19 seriously and thereby to avoid appropriate steps to ward off the infection. As the numbers grow in the coming days, some, if not all, of the new coronavirus cases, can be traced back to the President’s initial down-play of the severity of the disease. Come November 3, $1000 can cause a large number of Americans to forget what inaction took place in January.

Two days ago, President Trump told reporters that he does not take responsibility for the federal government’s slow response to the impending medical crisis. He then officially passed “the buck.”

He said it is the responsibility of governors to purchase ventilators and respirators to take care of the coronavirus patients in their states.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden won three more primaries moving closer to the magic number of delegates he needs to secure the Democratic nomination. Biden’s recent success in the Democratic primaries is a harbinger of things to come for President Trump as Biden’s support signals the country wants a change in leadership at the top to reflect a measured and confident approach in managing a crisis.

Harold Michael Harvey is the author of Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance. He is a Past President of the Gate City Bar Association. He is the recipient of Gate City’s R. E. Thomas Civil Rights Award, which he received for his pro bono representation of Black college students arrested during Freaknik celebrations in the mid to late 1990s. An avid public speaker, contact him at hmharvey@haroldmichaelharvey.com.