I've recently recovered from Covid, and I wouldn't want my worst enemy to have even a touch of it, much less die from it; nor would I ever mock anyone's health struggles.
But the U.S., and the world generally (with some few exceptions in particular countries), has mishandled a straightforward public health situation in a catastrophic way, with the result that the public is *more* ignorant about how to keep safe from Covid than they were at the beginning of the pandemic.
Three years ago I would never have imagined that people could be broadly politically divided over an issue as basic as individual health, or would cheer on mis- and disinformation about a health crisis; or that they would, for the sake of making a political statement, fail to protect their own health and risk death for the sake of a slogan.
This is more than a physical health crisis; it's a horrific overturning of the foundations of human relations and human ethics.
@DavidSalo Nor I. It is still too shocking to quite believe.