Radically Honest Side Note: I’m the worst kind of fool for writing about this, but my intention is to bring context to the other ‘Jakob’s’ of the internet world.
It’s not that I haven’t been ‘thoughtful’ or ‘considerate’ about it. I wouldn’t write this if I didn’t think it’d be a net-positive. My aim, as all my loyal readers know, is always toward curious and alternative perspectives. I‘m not pushing data or trying to ‘help you properly prepare’. It’s maybe more embarrassing than that (at least to me, maybe I have a sliver of modesty still wedged somewhere under my wolf-skin). I just hope what I’m about to share is helpful to you as a reader in gaining some useful, insider info.
As I began to realize that nearly EVERYONE: every writer, every internet celebrity, every influencer, and news host, was creating truly extensive and often well-organized information around the virus, it dawned on me why that might be. I checked out the google results for “COVID-19”, “Coronavirus”, “pandemic”, “wuhan”, etc.—sure-as-shit, this is even bigger than “Trump”. The whole world is thinking about this. That’s wild, but it’s also why folks who are in careers that rely on readership are almost ALL chiming in. It’s why I’m writing this article. If we don’t comment on this, we’re missing out on a massive SEO (search engine optimization) opportunity, which is further propagated by every person that writes, types, and comments about it on their profiles…
YOU talking about it is why EVERYONE is talking about it.
That, and as a writer, I can confirm that we get a lot of messages from our readers about our thoughts on the subject, and it’s always easier to ‘reply-all’ with a blog post… similar to that “thank you” status we post in response to everyone that wishes us a “happy birthday” on Facebook.
So, please try to consider your involvement in all of this, especially if you claim to be “sick of hearing about it”. When we mention it on the internet, the internet multiplies its value, and then those who are playing the internet game as a career double down.
Again, YOU talking about it is why EVERYONE else is seeing and talking about it. Welcome to the matrix.
IF this does become a terrible crisis in your area, remember, keeping a distance from people (or moderately quarantining yourself) and taking extra precautious isn’t just self-serving. It’s because you, as a carrier, could infect other people who are sickly or old, and that happening, in a roundabout way, means you aided in their death.
For reference, just think about your grandparents. You’d want to kill the irresponsible son-of-a-bitch that infected them. Despite our opinions about it, we all have a role to play.
Person 1 will likely be in a better position mentally if this does go haywire (they’ll have been out of radio contact for a month), but they desperately don’t want that.
Person 2 is going to be riding high in their intellectual prowess, and laughing hysterically if this fizzles out with only a few thousand more deaths, which is quite possible.
As for me, I’m not having my lungs permanently damaged because we thought it wasn’t that bad. We certainly won’t be sounding the alarms or clearing out isles at the stores, but we’ll be taking safer-than-usual precautions, which feels is the right thing to do for my family and I to be safe and responsible. This post will (*edit: likely) be the last you hear from me on the subject.
If you’re not an expert on viruses, please stop with the ‘stats’ and ‘facts’, ESPECIALLY if they’re in meme form, with no listed sources. No matter how funny it may be, you’ll be ok if you forfeit this round. You’re just gaslighting frightened people, and that’s immature. Besides, you’re increasing the algorithmic hit meter for #coronavirus and #COVID-19 — which is precisely the issue with Person 1, Person 2… and the biggest fools of them all, like me—the self-serving internet writers hoping to cop a share or a few likes from all of this. Please share this article…
Article photo by: Anna Shvets from Pexels
