Styx Feet Apart
The above cartoon is dark, but dark times sometimes call for dark humor. As I’ve preached many times on this blog, humor is both a uniquely human and uniquely powerful way to deal with the tougher aspects of life: tragedy, fear, loss, anxiety. I didn’t draw this cartoon with any specific meaning in mind other than the inconsistent messaging we were getting about masks, especially in the early months of the pandemic.
Many in the U.S. have turned mask-wearing into a political tool, which, as an American, I find to be very embarrassing. As one Internet meme put it: A mask is not a political statement, it’s an I.Q. test.
So I hasten to remind people outside the U.S. that these virus-denying MAGAnuts are a fairly small minority. When you contrast the number of votes Trump got to the number of Americans eligible to vote, it was less than 20%, and a substantial number of people who voted for him in 2016 have indicated that they will not make that mistake again. And now that we have a direct metric of his administration’s selfish incompetence—the world record for bad management of a health crisis, counted in actual deaths—even more of his followers are kicking themselves for checking that box four years ago.
So please remember that a small minority of Americans are currently flying this embarrassing airbus and the rest of us are trying desperately to force our way into the cockpit. And that minority is getting smaller every day as those in states where Republicans encouraged people to disregard safety in favor of the economy are dying at a faster rate than those in other, more sensible areas.
The good news is that this humiliating international embarrassment has changed many Americans for the better. Virtually all Americans of good sense and compassion are wearing masks, are ready to reckon with our systemic racism, and are embarrassed by our president and what he’s brought to the spotlight in the past few years. We don’t even blame Europe for banning us for the time being. We’d ban us, too.
Even more surprising, a majority of Americans are thinking that socialized medicine might not be such a bad thing after all, in spite of the scary stories the GOP’s state news source tells them about life under Stalin.
Americans are beginning to imagine a world in which you could afford to seek medical attention even if you’re not pulling down six figures a year. And maybe even to imagine a world in which you could be out of work for months because of a fucking pandemic and still spend a few days in a hospital without declaring bankruptcy. Amazing. (Yes, Europeans, a few days in an American hospital can literally bankrupt an average person.)
Human history is made of peaks and valleys and we’re in a bit of a basin at the moment, but I’m hopeful that it will lead to some lovely peaks with gorgeous vistas. Ones that are less racist, more egalitarian, more cooperative, and compassionate. We Americans all love the idea of “getting rich,” but we should ask ourselves if we’d be willing to be rich if it meant that ten (or more) other families in our community will be poor. Because that’s how it works.
AND NOW WE SWITCH GEARS and have a look at what nuggets of humor and creativity Wayno managed to scratch out in chalk on the sidewalk in front of Bizarro Headquarters last week. . .
And instead of a scythe a golf club, just like the president.
The Old Testament bans this kind of union, by the way. Just sayin’.
Congratulations to the Jazz Pickles for being undefeated this late in the season! Go Pickles!
If you’re feeling sorry for this chap who’s stuck behind the fence, have a look at Wayno’s weekly post about this same cartoon. Don’t forget to come back, though!
What disturbs me about this one is that I’m certain it is happening.
I believed this until a couple of weeks ago but now I don’t. Maybe I’ll talk about that in a future blog post!
That sews up this week’s humor wound, Jazz Pickles. I hope you’re managing well through the weirdness. If you enjoy what we do and that we post it for free, without ads, please consider tossing a shekel or two into one of the links below. We at Rancho Bizarro deeply appreciate it!
Until next time, be happy, be smart, be kind, and laugh every day— even if only maniacally.
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