Not ‘done’ with COVID
Thanks to Michael Hiltzik for his insightful column on comments made by comedian and talk show host Bill Maher minimizing the current severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indeed, while we all are experiencing frustration and fatigue from pandemicrelated restrictions, listening to the flippant attitude of pundits like Bari Weiss on Maher’s show doesn’t help to unify us in meeting this global challenge.
Perhaps Weiss should take a page from our ancestors, whom I’m sure, after years of sacrifice, might have felt “done” with World War II and other crises. Many in past generations came together to face hardship with determination and selfless courage.
In contrast, Weiss presents a disturbing caricature of millennial self-centeredness that is so often the target of Maher’s ridicule.
Susan Dunn Valley Glen
Hiltzik completely misses the point of Maher’s position on government COVID-19 measures. Maher fully understands the carnage this virus has wreaked and continues to wreak. He just points out that it’s almost entirely among the unvaccinated.
If you’re fully vaccinated and do not have the wellknown risk factors, then your chances of hospitalization are very small, and your chances of dying from the disease are miniscule.
If you’re not fully vaccinated, then you’ve ignored every warning from every expert. You are no longer my responsibility. Let the rest of us go back to our lives.
I agree with Maher in that we should target our response to the disease. As a small business owner, I’m ready to accommodate employees who cannot be protected by vaccination. As a citizen, I support plenty of equipment, pay and time off for healthcare workers. But as a parent, I’m fed up with my vaccinated child not being able to fully experience school and friends.
Government should keep vaccinations free. It should keep shouting good advice. But for those of us who have taken the advice, leave us alone. Joel Karafin
Los Angeles
How is “done with COVID” different from “done with traffic lights”? It has been a long time since anyone died at Wilshire and Sepulveda, so because the traffic lights have worked so well we can take them out. Keith Price
Los Angeles