I took August off. I just needed a break and truthfully, I'm not sure too many people are following this BLOG. Anyway. I'm back. Let's talk about some misconceptions with numbers and statistics.
I've mentioned this before. Numbers and statistics can be molded to say whatever it is you want to say. You can ignore criteria or include it. You can fluff it up or downplay your data to suit your needs, desires or the message you want to present. For instance, Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election. She did if we only counted the votes and not played into that horrible, out-dated, misaligned Electoral College. Maybe. Will we have the same results this time? Maybe. Maybe not. As of today, Labor Day, Biden is ahead in the polls. But so was Clinton in 2016. Polls can be deceiving. It discounts certain demographics or makes assumptions on others. For instance, there were a lot of people who just said, "Fuck it! I'm staying home and not voting." That is a real fact that probably was not sufficiently factored in. The Sanders base possibly decided to not show up to support the Democratic party because they really, really, really didn't like Hillary. Shit happens.
Let's discuss #BLM. We see everyday how our nation's police forces are shitting all over disenfranchised black males with mental health issues and/or are just plain poverty stricken. But that has not stopped the entitled white folk from posting the item below. Also, check out the BradyUnited.org. They have terrific stats on gun violence in general. However, it does not separate cop from civilian shooters.
Take note that year over year, more white people have been shot than other cultures. This is VERY misleading. This stat doesn't identify unarmed or armed civilians shot by police. It doesn't clarify the percentage shot by race based on total population. It doesn't sell its point if they're saying more whites are shot than blacks if the percentage is 5% of the white population versus 10% of the black and/or Hispanic populations. And I stress, we can't support the above if the majority of whites shot and killed by police are armed and trying to shoot and kill the police or other civilians. How many unarmed white guys have been shot? How many unarmed white guys are walking down the street and being stopped and hassled by some macho white (or black) policeman, who thinks because of the color of your skin you are up to no good?
Don't be baited by statistics like these. They're general. They're marginal. They do not paint a complete picture. There are unknowns not being included or presented.
To discount the protests by the African-American community as well as its white and other racial supporters, less we forget, the athletes who have taken up the cause by not showing up to work, would be a biased and rose-tinted glasses look at the United States and in some part, the rest of the world. Racism is alive and unwell in the WORLD. White privilege has blinded us or has set Whitey into denial mode. And remember, I'm a White Senior Fucking Citizen.
We have racial bias and systemic racism bad, but we are not the only white culture that suffers from it and is in denial. I know that's a general statement. I could support it by citing proof from other countries, but my intention is not to make this BLOG post about all of that. We know that this is a worldwide problem. And we have no one to blame but ourselves...the white people.
When I used to hear that we have a real BLACK problem, I would say, yes, we do. It's called the White Entitled American. You can tell I don't have many friends. I'm outspoken, I know. I know my faults and I know my strengths. I accept myself for what I am...broken and disenfranchised. But that's never going to stop me from speaking my mind. After all, we have to live in our own skin and there's no "team" in "I."
I'm not a marcher in the street kind of guy. I've known all my life that shit is fucked up. I speak out when I can. I challenge those daily who say there is not a racial problem and the blacks are out of line. White imperialism and privilege has existed. Has always existed, since the 1600s when the first white European settlers invaded these shores and basically wiped out the existing native population, and of course, accepting the Spanish slave ships into their harbors to purchase kidnapped and enslaved Africans. It's a fucking embarrassing legacy. One for which I don't want to be part of. Change has been along time coming. A revolution is needed. It needs to start here and now. And I don't mean fighting in the streets. I mean we need to get the right people in our governments to make the changes that should have been made 200 years ago. Blacks should have been treated as equals and given all the rights and privileges that the Whites have always had. Women should have been given the same rights as Men had from the beginning of time. Our patriarchal legacy has given us war, death, famine, cruelty...I could go on and on and on, but you get the message.
Another thing: We need to knock the rich down to everyone else's level. They believe, and I can say this without reservation, that they are the kings of this century. WE DO NOT NEED ROYALTY. We do not need Autocrats. We need intelligent, caring, thoughtful, insightful leaders in our government and in all governments throughout the world. I mean, think about it. We are truly fucked as of today if a superior race would land on Earth tomorrow. I know that's a quadrillion to one occurrence. (I don't believe in little green men.) But we're not getting along. We have as many enemies as we do allies. We would never get our shit together enough to defend this planet. Wise up! is all I have to say to this.
COVID-19 has been up our collective asses for 8 months now. And for the most part has become a minor inconvenience throughout the world except for the good old USA. We have it in spades. We have so screwed ourselves because of our insufferable "We're the Greatest!" attitude that we may be down for the count for at least another year. Think 2022, before we start to see things as we did pre-2019.
The last time I mentioned the Coronavirus was the end of June where we had 122,000 deaths in the USA. Today we are nearing 190,000. That's about 30,000 a month, nearly 1,000 per day. That's one hell of a summer statistic. I'd rather said I got a really, really bad sunburn in 2020 than to share that statistic. If that's the contest you all signed up for, we're winning. We're not taking into account the increase in gun violence this summer too. So this is definitely a summer of death.
Now, I said don't get baited by the numbers. And I mean that here too. These numbers are awful. But they may be under counted. Yes. A few months back, The Donald wanted the hospitals and local government to report the numbers of COVID patients and deaths directly to him and by-pass the CDC. The very CDC that we look to for medical advice when it comes to sickness, diseases and what-not. His reasoning, which a 2nd grader could deduce, is if the numbers are really, really bad, he'll look bad. He'll look like he wasn't diligent in leading the country in this crisis. Which he has not. He has not lead this country in any crisis. The same goes for testing. He said "Slow down the testing. If you do more testing, of course, you'll get more cases!" (I may have paraphrased his statement, but the gist is there.) He doesn't care if people have it and are spreading it like the California Wild Fires, which he also has not done anything to help that situation. If the numbers surpass all expectations, he'll look bad. He doesn't want to look bad. Because it's better to have no substance than to look bad. For Fuck's sake, can we get an adult in the White House?
So the numbers look grim. We have over 6 million people confirmed with the virus. The number is most likely higher. I've never been tested. I don't think I have any of the symptoms. I can't say that I'm not asymptomatic. However, I'm doing everything in my power to eliminate my participation of the spread. I stay home. I wear a mask when I go out. I only go out when I absolutely need to. And I keep my distance from others, especially from the Millennial and Trumpee (Trump groupees) assholes who won't wear masks. And it appears I have a lot of both in my apartment building and the shitty little Podunk town I live in. Fuck, I wish I could move to New Zealand.
The COVID numbers could be worse than they seem, but as reported now, they're fuck awful. We have a quarter of all the cases in the world and lead in the deaths, but we only have little over 4% of the world's population. We would be more inline with the statistics if we were the most populated country on Earth. We've allowed China and India to top that list. Y'all need to get procreating. We need to catch up to Asia.
Worldwide, if we can trust the numbers reported by other countries, there are nearly 27 million cases, nearly 18 million have recovered. That means two in three get better. It doesn't mean the other third are goners. It means 880 thousand souls have been lost and the others are still hanging on, about 8 million. Now when I say hanging on, I don't necessarily mean they're in hospital on respirators, though a good portion of them are. I mean, they have the virus and could go either way. Worse case scenario is the total Coronavirus deaths will top near 9 million. Worse pandemic EVER. Remember, don't get lost in the numbers. Don't be fooled. With a survival rate of 67%, the total worldwide shouldn't exceed 3 million deaths. Notice I did not say ONLY. Because 3 million deaths, many of which could have been prevented, is horrendous. Most of this we can lay blame at the door of the Chinese. These fuckers have never been forthcoming enough from the start of this pandemic. When a Chinese doctor there tried to, he was silenced until he died from the virus which now speaks volumes to us all. Also, note, every major pandemic where great many lives have been lost started in China.
- Bubonic (Black Death) plague (1331-1353).
- The Third Plague (1855).
- The (incorrectly named) Spanish Flu of 1918.
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