Diamond in the Sky

I had an online twitter friend post a question last night, "People don't talk about Covid because________?" 

My reply was simply a non-flattering image of "TFG." The same day, news broke that Lynette (Diamond)  Hardaway of "Diamond and Silk" had passed away. TFG posted on "Truth Social" that "Diamond's death was totally unexpected, probably her big and precious heart just plain gave out." 

Having my life (in what seems to be) permanently altered by Covid, I honestly would never wish the worst possible outcome on anyone. The second worst possible outcome seems to be permanent for me with Long Covid as I approach 36 months from the onset of my illness in January 2020.

This is a good time to point out that I'm not a doctor, nor a scientist, (or autopsy expert) but I certainly know more than most having gone through over 200 doctor appointments and following "credible" research sources (some of which are listed at the end of this post) around the world on the topic as I continue to try and snap the cycle of Long Covid.

I won't correlate Ms. Hardaway's death to Covid other than to point out she was apparently hospitalized with Covid in November.  

Back to the online poll last night on why people don't talk about Covid. One reason I've pointed out is "story fatigue" similar to the Ukraine conflict with Russia. People generally get tired of a story and lose interest. That's certainly one component. The other (stronger) reason is the politicization of Covid; and subsequently "Long Covid" (or Post Acute Sequalae Syndrome; also known as PASC.) I wrote (or should I say VBLOG'ed) about this in my John Oliver-style "Mad Vax" post in July '21 on how Covid became such a political hot topic. 

The short version of "Mad Vax" is that for some unforeseen political reasons, Covid started out as "I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter" ('21.) 

As I used to tell my kids, one "white lie" turns into another then a plethora of untruths follow. Trump's little white lie mushroomed into a political position that Covid is nothing more than the flu. I also believe it was greed and power as TFG saw the potential of what a pandemic could do to the economy, his re-election prospects and his "grift" of the office and American people. This evolved further into a staunch QoP political position against; science, research, quarantines, masking, and vaccinations. It also vilified Dr. Anthony Fauci, WHO and the CDC.

Enter in Diamond and Silk (D&S) as big fans of TFG. The conservative VLOGGERs stirred the conspiracy "machine" suggesting that it was invented by the media to make Trump "look bad." Um, sorry, Mr. Covfefe did a fine job of that on his own. The conspiracies did not stop there. D&S also claimed that "Quarantining people inside of their houses for extended periods will make people sick." Lest we forget that deaths were so rampant that hospitals ran out of room and temporary morgues were set up in parking lots for the spiraling death toll in 2020.

These claims seem somewhat benign but the Diamond and Silk's lunacy went "further down the rabbit hole" suggesting, "Bill Gates' desire for a vaccine was somehow aimed at "population control" and wanted verification of where the dead bodies were in New York City.  Donning their "tin foil hats" they further speculated that 5G technology was being used to infect people with coronavirus. 

Diamond and Silk are not alone here as James Woods, Jon Voight, Kirstie Alley, and Kevin Sorbo (among other washed up actors) all "angry tweet" against science and logic with regards to Covid-19. The late Ms. Alley got into a fracas with CNN suggesting the network spun up viewers in "sheer terror" over what might happen. Yes, death and dying can be scary stuff and actors are not scientists nor are they experts on Covid. 

Regardless of which side of the aisle you sit on politically, it's obvious that Democrats embraced practical measures and Republicans downplayed the virus and any guidelines around protection or prevention. Unfortunately, words have consequences and virtually half the country (United States) subscribe to one stance or the other. The later can have deadly consequences.

Before you start your "whataboutism," my written wrath is not exclusive to the QoP. This year, Joe Biden famously went on 60 Minutes and declared Covid all but over. New variants continue. Deaths continue and Long Covid continues. 

As a byproduct of not thinking Covid is real, there's similar wrath about "Long Covid" being a hoax or mental illness. If you don't believe in Covid, you're not going to believe in Long Covid. 

This weekend, someone in my Twitter feed suggested, " it's bad that they're (people with Long Covid) too lazy to work and try to grift the government for money though." I quickly replied that I'd paid over $2M in taxes in my lifetime and have taken literally zero $ from the government in the three years I've been sick. He went silent.

Short of invoking "sheer terror" there are statistics coming out that risk of heart attack and stroke are significantly higher after having Covid, or experiencing Long Covid. Researchers adjusted for pre-existing conditions and found that after one year, those who had COVID-19 were 63% more likely to have some kind of cardiovascular issue, resulting in about 45 additional cases per 1,000 people. Risks were elevated even among people who did not have severe COVID-19. 

I learned in my career that you don't complain without presenting answers. I've written ad nauseum about solutions. Unfortunately, (at least in the US,) there have been three House Bill introduced that all fall short of covering all the issues. All of them (shocker) have been authored by Democrats including Senator Tim Kaine who suffers from Long Covid. Now with the QoP having a majority in the House, I hold little hope that anything will be done. Joe caved into political pressure and now the party that think's it's a hoax is in charge.

Unfortunately, one little white lie about Easter snowballed into a political movement that creates serious headwind towards change. With that, I appreciate those that still stick to science and are searching for solutions (including but not limited to Professor Resia Pretorius, Putrino Labs, Professor Doug Kell, Dr. Wes Ely, RTHM, Dr. Claire Taylor, LongCovidPharmD, Professor Akiko, Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, and Dr. Elisa Perigo) to help prevent death or permanent disability related to Covid-19.  

Part of my point here is listen to experts; not actors, bloggers, VLOGGERS, or even necessarily politicians for advise on Covid. Consult experts.

The Diamond and Silk twitter account (which was reinstated from dispelling misinformation about Covid-19) has a donation page. No details about where those funds go other than funds go to Silk--her remaining sister. My condolences to Ms. Diamond's family.