The reaction from the right and attempts to downplay the severity of the global pandemic have resulted in more than a little frustration.
But it is also the cause of some really scandalous takes.
Lavern Spicer, a Republican candidate who failed her candidacy for Florida’s 24th Congressional District in 2020, has previously tweeted about COVID, although it is an odd comparison to HIV.
This time it’s just a crazy anagram.
In the tweet above, Spicer tries to implicate a sneaky conspiracy behind COVID, a conspiracy theory favored by right-wing figures.
She does so by pointing out that:
“FUN FACT: If you rearrange the letters from Delta and Omicron, you get MEDIA CONTROL”
If you don’t know, the names “Delta” and “Omicron” are Greek letters used to help identify and differentiate between different strains of the coronavirus that is currently plaguing the world.
So, unless the ancient Greeks and later scholars who romanized the names of the letter can predict the future, these names are unlikely to make sense.
Maybe Spicer will take that into account before tweeting next time.
The delta variant of COVID-19 is the current predominant variant of the virus in the United States. It is believed to be twice as contagious as the previous variants that ravaged the country in 2020.
In contrast, the omicron variant was first discovered in South Africa, but has since been found in several countries on five continents, including Europe and North America. It is of great concern as it may be more infectious than the standard COVID strain, but details are uncertain at this time.
It is possible that the omicron variant will end up being less prominent than people are currently dealing with.
Basically, that these versions of the virus are the talking points is little more than a coincidence and not a conspiracy.
The lingering problem of the global pandemic could be better addressed if more people were vaccinated. But even when a children’s show tries to promote this safe and effective form of medicine, the political right cannot remain silent.
They just have to denigrate Big Bird.
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