The coronavirus vaccine is the new status symbol, the ultimate signifier of privilege, chutzpah and exclusivity – the things that separate the ultra-elite and the powerful from ordinary chumps. It’s a sign that someone made it.
In America, the few, the great, the insufferably arrogant jump over heroic and nameless first responders, the frail elderly and the chronically ill – anyone without an elected title or a hefty government salary.
You can forget about inequality progressively. These rightsholders have been invited to roll up their sleeves and brag, even floaty, to stuff themselves at the trough of the potentially life-saving drug. Some have taken the opportunity to rub their needle pricks in our faces by using social media to promote their supposed courage for passively receiving Pfizer’s miracle elixir, or posing for photos or in front of TV cameras while getting sweet relief.
The rest of us will just have to wait, many of us until spring at the earliest.
Suckers!
There was, among others, the democratic-socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who plays a champion for the poor and powerless in her Bronx / Queens neighborhood, shows off her own injection live on Instagram. Her narcissistic pose started when she embarrassedly shared the run-up to the needle, doing things like filling out a form.
After attending the main event on Friday, she discussed her arm pain.
This is despite the fact that the far-left darling is only 31 years old and is apparently in excellent physical shape. For her part, I have not heard of any attempts to distribute the vaccine early to people for whom it may be a matter of life and death.
But Ocasio-Cortez firmly defended her cut off the vaccine line after Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, 57, argued that members of Congress, especially those who are under age 65 and in good health, should not be given the opportunity. of the elderly and health workers.
For AOC, taking the vaccine meant a fight against angry right-wing people.
“Gosh, if the GOP hadn’t spent so much time undermining public belief in science, masks and COVID itself, I wouldn’t have to weigh the possible consequences of misinformation [would] happen when leaders insist [people] to take a new vaccine that we didn’t take ourselves! she tweeted.
But some members of Ocasio-Cortez’s own party were even more passionate about the preferential treatment of politicians. Among them was Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar – a member of AOC’s progressive ‘squad’ – whose father died of complications from COVID-19.
She called it “shameful” that young, healthy lawmakers have early access to the vaccine.
“It is now clear that we do not have enough vaccines for everyone and there is a shortage of supply. We must prioritize those who need it most,” Omar wrote online. “That’s why it’s alarming to see members being the first to get vaccinations while most front-line workers, the elderly and the sick in our districts, wait.”
And on Monday, former Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, 39, health officials for selfishly jumping young, healthy individuals to the front of the vaccination line.
‘Heartless, arrogant, not chosen [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] bureaucrats have decided that the lives of older Americans don’t count, ”Gabbard tweeted.
“They recommend that 100 million ‘essential workers’ (ie, healthy people working in liquor stores or telephone companies) be given the vaccine before our grandparents get it,’ Gabbard wrote.
“This is an immoral and bad health policy. I planned to get the vaccine, but I will now show solidarity with our seniors by not doing this until THEY can. I request my colleagues who are under 65 and healthy to join me. “
Ensuring the health of the residents of the Washington, DC swamp has somehow been given a higher priority than protecting the safety of seniors and health workers, as they are considered vital to the functioning of the federal government. (Add a cliché here.) Their well-being is also seen as contributing to national security.
But a growing number of lawmakers say they will pass up the opportunity to get the vaccinations before their more deserving voters get them. Refusals include Senator Paul and Representatives Gabbard and Omar, as well as Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Representative Brian Mast (R-Fla.) And Representative Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ.)
Politicians, as hard as it may be to believe, you are no more important than everyone else. Check your privilege at the door. Come reelection time, you can and will be replaced easily.