Americans are Acting F*cking Ridiculous About the Coronavirus

Since the outbreak of the virus and the now increasing number of cases in the US, I’m watching people back home do some of the most moronic things ever in “preparation” for their own confinements, should they choose to have them at some point.

Honestly, and I’m sorry if this is harsh, but most of you are being unbelievably stupid and arrogant around this. Many have been acting so selfishly with this pandemic or not acting at all and those actions could be the reason someone dies.

I’m mad at those of you out there who are making stupid jokes and memes, not taking this seriously, pretending like it doesn’t apply to you, using the “media is fear-mongering” excuse to justify your apathy. Meanwhile, people have died and countries have been locked down and confirmed cases continue to increase around the globe.

China worked their ass off to make sure more people haven’t died and y’all are back on American soil shrugging your shoulders.

Living in China through the first stretch of this virus, I saw how the Chinese government handled the outbreak nationwide. Now I’m observing the hysteria taking place back home. I cannot understand why people are acting the way they are. I also cannot understand how US leaders and officials are just standing by and watching the American people panic or not panic at all.

I’m going to share my own personal perspective having been in China during the first wave of the Coronavirus. I’m also going to state the facts with citations, to help inform people of the severity.

I’m noticing there are three kinds of people in the US right now:

1. Apathetic people who don’t care and think this all a crock of shit.
2. Panicked stockpilers selfishly clearing supermarket shelves and leaving nothing for everyone else.
3. Reasonable people who are staying informed, composed and taking this global health emergency seriously.

Summary of My Confinement During the Coronavirus

I’m an American living amongst 12 million people in Xi’an, China. We just went through what is now a pandemic, the lockdown in response to the outbreak, and are finally coming out to experience daylight and normalcy again. You can read about my most recent update on being in China during the Coronavirus here.

I was confined to my apartment from January 23rd, 2020 until March 5th, 2020.

During my confinement, I, like the rest of the province was advised to stay inside. We were only allowed to leave our apartments to purchase groceries every two days and had to sign in when returning to our complex. My temperature was scanned each time I visited the supermarket. I had to write down my personal information before they would allow me in.

People were required to wear masks outside. Xi’an was deserted and quiet. Businesses shut down completely, taxis stopped running, it was a hassle to go anywhere without jumping through a bunch of hoops to get on a subway. Nothing was easy or fun about being in confinement. But it was necessary.

Right now, Xi’an is coming back to life, but there has still been no official statement informing us that we are in the clear of all this.

The List of Idiotic Things Happening in the US

Many memes, jokes, and other information have been circulating on the internet and on my social media feeds. The more I watch the more I am confused about my fellow Americans and their reactions. Here are some of the actual things happening that, when you’re me and looking at this from the outside, appear absolutely batshit crazy or unbelievably stupid.

1. Someone got stabbed with a BROKEN WINE BOTTLE in a grocery store while fighting over a case of water. (Source)
2. Toilet paper is being hoarded and shelves have been cleaned out. (Source)
3. Circulating social media posts are encouraging snorting cocaine and drinking bleach as a Coronavirus treatment. (Source)
4. There is increased racism and xenophobia towards Asians. (Source)
5. Trump delivered a vague and not at all helpful address to the American people. (Source)
6. Trump’s unwillingness to refrain from handshakes despite the CDC urging people to refrain from human contact. (Source)
7. There is a severe lack of test kits and a delay in testing for the Coronavirus. (Source)
8. Millions will NOT be getting paid sick leave if the time comes for confinement. (Source)
9. There is a selfish man who bought over 17,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and tried to sell them for $8 – $70 apiece. (Source)
10. The emergency Coronavirus bill covering copays for testing, but not treatments or hospital visits despite the 27 million uninsured or underinsured Americans. People will likely not visit hospitals because of this. (Source)
11. People are selfishly swooping up ultra-cheap flights around the world like they didn’t learn anything from China’s lack of restriction on out of country travel from the beginning, which CAUSED the outbreak in other countries. (Source)
12. People comparing H1N1 and the Black Plague to the Coronavirus (which is still developing) like we should care any less about this pandemic over another. (Source)

Yo, you guys look ridiculous right now, you know that right?

The Idiotic Memes Circulating Social Media

With what’s making the news, there are also a lot of people out there making uninformed and flawed statements about the rise of cases in the US or acting like they actually just lived in China through the first wave of the epidemic (which they didn’t) saying things like:

1. The Coronavirus outbreak happened in response to the riots in Hong Kong.
2. “If you don’t like stores running out of basic necessities, you’re not going to like socialism & communism.” (China is a socialist economy and handled the outbreak better than the US is right now, for the record). (Source)
3. Does anyone actually personally know anyone with the virus? All this is happening but no one I personally know is sick so, basically, it can’t be real. (Source)
4. “I’m afraid of [random item no one cares about] more than the Coronavirus.”
5. Building toilet paper forts and posing in them with their assault rifles hanging out (really?)

First of all, if it didn’t happen to you or someone you know, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Not everything is about you. I believe the media is guilty of fear-mongering most of the time, but it doesn’t change that people are getting infected and dying all over the world.

The List of Non-Idiotic Things Happening in the US

1. People with a brain urge the brainless who are stockpiling to share the wealth with the 60+-year-olds and medical professionals who actually need toilet paper, sanitizer, and masks. (It’s sad anyone has to even suggest it).
2. Alibaba Co-Founder Jack Ma in China donated 1 million masks and 500,000 test kits to the US. (Source)
3. Those with common sense and consideration for other humans are actually closing schools, canceling businesses, and postponing events for the well-being of Americans. (Source)
4. People are washing their hands more (you should’ve been doing that already, sickos).
5. Corona has not been affected because of stupid jokes like “I’m not drinking Corona now, I don’t want the virus!”

To those believing every skewed meme posted out there, please stop getting your information from people living under a rock. Educate yourself through actual news and factual resources. You’ll notice this post is filled with facts from various valid resources.

Differences Between the US and China’s Reactions to the Coronavirus

This epidemic started in December and while it was definitely not handled like it should have been early on, China took huge steps to contain the spread by issuing the largest quarantine in history. Over 60 million people were quarantined in Wuhan and other surrounding cities. Soon, all other provinces would follow suit to protect the people and weed out infected residents.

China is a community-oriented society. They are known for caring for one another unlike the US, which tends to encompass a more independent mindset. Since the outbreak, China has shown its ability to come together and support each other.

If you haven’t seen it already, here is a video of complete strangers in Wuhan yelling words of support between skyrise buildings. Their shouts say, “武汉加油” or “Wuhan, we got this.”

Meanwhile, in America, individuals and their “look out for yourself attitude” are fighting over toilet paper and stabbing each other to win a case of water. While doing so, Americans have made the argument that the Chinese population blindly follows their leaders. Honestly, is America much different?

The People’s Republic of China is ruled by a Communist Party that has the manpower to control the confinement of millions of people. The ability for the PRC to control a situation in this way saved millions.

“China has the ability to impose these measures better than anyone else on the planet,” (Source)

China’s methods of aggressively handling the virus have slowed the rise of confirmed case numbers significantly. Reports have suggested other countries aren’t equipped to handle the outbreak in similar fashions (Source). However, Italy has recently locked the entire country down in response to their increasing numbers. Yet they are struggling with the resources needed to care for patients. (Source)

What I’ve Seen Being Confined in Xi’an

I’ll break this down in bite sizes pieces for people so there is no confusion. This is a mixture of what I personally witnessed during confinement in Xi’an and reported dates of progression of the virus. This is not as extreme as Hubei, but it was amazing how Shaanxi handled it and kept the confirmed cases rate that low.

1. China reported it’s first death on January 11, 2020.
2. 12 days after the first death, on January 23, 2020, China quarantined Wuhan’s 11 million people. (Source)
3. The Chinese government banned in-country travel during one of their highest-traveled times of the year, Chinese Lunar New Year.
4. China quarantined millions and confined millions more even though it would heavily impact the economy and school systems (two very important things in China).
5. Systems to track people’s whereabouts were put in place and were constantly being developed as the epidemic evolved.
6. Curfews were issued to prevent people from leaving and increasing the risks of infection.
7. Price gouging was not a thing.
8. Stockpiling was also not a thing and there was enough for everybody.
9. Security was employed daily at complexes to make sure people weren’t neglecting federal orders of confinement.
10. People weren’t in denial virus, they were pissed it wasn’t contained early on, but not in denial.
11. Everyone worked together to stay inside and prevent the spread of the virus.
12. People understood the severity of the virus and were not apathetic about it.
13. Facts were given to us regularly to show the progression of the virus thanks to local news source Xianese.
14. Shaanxi saw only 245 cases after the outbreak in Wuhan thanks to the confinement measures. (Source)

Now, being that I am from Colorado and live in Shaanxi, here’s an example of how much better Shaanxi handled this over Colorado.

Colorado has 5.7 million people with currently 102 confirmed cases and increasing. People are out hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer or saying the media is full of shit and there is nothing to worry about.

Before people in Colorado started going bananas, Chinese authorities gained the compliance of over 37 million people in Shaanxi to stay inside thus avoiding mass hysteria. They only had 245 since the outbreak and haven’t had a new case in almost three weeks.

Right now, the infection rate in Colorado is higher than that of Shaanxi.

How the US is Handling Coronavirus Right Now

As of Sunday, March 15, 2020, 2,815 people have tested positive for the Coronavirus and 59 patients have died (Follow the tracker here). From what I’ve observed about this virus in the US, here is how it is being “handled”:

1. The US was more profoundly aware of the outbreak in late January 2020.
2. Trump starts a buttload of statements that carry through to present-day ensuring everyone “it’ll go away.” (Source)
3. The first case in the US was announced on January 21, 2020. (Source)
4. January 31, 2020, Trump restricted travel from China unless the traveler is related to a resident of America.
5. The Trump Administration asks congresses for $1.25 billion to respond to the virus. (Source)
6. The first death in the US is recorded on February 29, 2020. (Source)
7. Trump announces a national emergency two months after China’s first death and allots for $50 billion dollars of federal funds to combat the virus. (Source)
8. The US approves virus testing yet they are underprepared to test for the virus or hospitals are refusing people with symptoms. (Source)
9. Trump was in the same room with the Brazilian President’s aide who tested positive for the virus. Trump ultimately tested negative. (Source)
10. The person who was advised to self-quarantine after testing positive went to a social gathering anyway and infected at least one other person. (Source)
11. The US is still allowing Americans to make travel plans, unlike China who banned in-country travel less than two weeks after the first death.
12. Trump is trying to gain exclusive access (US only) to a vaccine being developed in Germany. (Source)
13. There has still not been a federal order put in place to self-quarantine, nor a system to safely contain the masses.

No wonder everyone is panicking, nothing has really been done to prevent panic or instill understanding. The Trump administration has known about this for TWO MONTHS. No action plans have been put in place other than him saying, “Here, let’s throw some money at it and eventually it’ll go away.”

China is managing confinement on millions of people throughout this country, which is something I have yet to see the US implement. The US media and the government are both 100% not handling this properly or in an orderly fashion. They are allowing panic and drama. Leaders have stood by and watched people stockpile items they don’t need, let there be hysteria, and let misinformation spread nationwide.

Current Infection & Death Estimates From the CDC

The reason everyone is probably being so apathetic about this is because of the low cases and the high recovery rates. Medical professionals in China worked incessantly to save people. Had they done nothing, more would have died.

“The case fatality rate for COVID-19 is still likely significantly higher than that of the season flu but not as high as that of SARS.” (Source)

Currently, the CDC has projected the numbers of people who will likely be affected by the Coronavirus. The numbers are far worse than people realize. And if we have learned anything, it should be the negative consequences earned when a country tries to hide or downplay the reality of a pandemic.

What we know about the Coronavirus right now:

• Symptoms may not appear until up to 14 days after exposure.
• The virus is mainly spread from person to person.
• Surfaces may take part in spreading the virus, especially when the person touches their face after touching the surface.
• Cough, fever, or shortness of breath may be signs of infection.
• Limited movement in your community can decrease the likelihood of infection.
• Older adults are most at risk.
• People with heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease are at higher risk.
• A vaccine is being formulated and getting ready for testing. (Source)
• A projected 160 million to 210 million could be infected and 200,000 to 1.7 million of these cases could result in death. (Source)

Those numbers reflect both the aggressive and non-aggressive approaches to reducing the transmission of the virus.

For more information directly from the CDC, go here.

Solutions to Make the Coronavirus Go Away Faster

This is still developing and cases are increasing despite everything that is happening in Italy and has already happened in China. The case count could be much higher if people don’t start taking better care.

The reason China was able to stifle the increase in cases was because of their aggressive measures to confine millions of people. I’ve never seen anything like what China did in my life. I’m worried America doesn’t have the manpower to make Americans follow that kind of order willingly. I believe this is what will ultimately make it worse than it appears right now.

There are simple solutions to preventing this Coronavirus from being as big as the CDC projects it to be. Here again for you, in bite-sized pieces are some suggestions for preventing the spread, which are ones I experienced myself.

• Stay in your home.
• Wash your hands and try not to touch your face.
• Take only what you need from grocery stores (there is enough for everybody).
• Pay attention to the CDC and WHO as they update information.
• Distance yourself from others.
• Support each other (don’t worry, you can do it from a distance).

If you’re wary of spending a whole month inside and missing work for a sliver of time, just remember, your one month of confinement could save a single life.

The Coronavirus is larger than just little singular you. What I’ve learned from experiencing the epidemic in China is that working together and supporting each other is what is ultimately going to help us out of this.

Stop acting ridiculous. Start proactively helping prevent the spread of the virus. Protect your loved ones and neighbors. Stop panicking and think rationally about how to help the problem rather than hurt it.

Thanks for Reading

If you have other helpful information that would provide clarification, have other questions about this post, or would like insight on coping with the Coronavirus, leave a comment below.