crowning humanity with corona

The illness
isn't a particular virus,
although the mere search
to blame
someone or even
a part of the World;
as in a group
of people,
or certain populous
is the true malignance
of the cancerous outbreak.
Like it couldn't happen
on our side
or watch.
Only some 13 years ago
a zoonotic outbreak
was determined,
in the country
I live in.
Short term memory span
has already ousted the event.
Were our leaders transparent?
Were they resourceful
in finding solutions?
Were they honest?
None of the above
was applicable to their conduct.
They chose to cover-up
and mis-informed,
on part of the lobbying
for meat producers.
A disease which had already been
discovered in 1935,
and a known threat
was deliberately set aside
as psychosomatic,
which led to
its largest ever
outbreak.

The holding of the bag
still only carried
by those who lost
loved ones.
Responsibility for those
in the plush,
a word to be avoided.
Until this day
the remaining P.M.
hasn't truly met
his albatross
sound and steadfast.
Today we talk
of another disease,
yet the mechanisms
of misinformation
outright denial
and utter prejudice,
won't help
those who suffer,
nor those
who may be affected.
I can only hope
you will be amongst
the 60%
that tend to survive,
and may be a source
to find antibodies
to fight this illness
of ours.

In 2007 an outbreak of a so-called mysterious disease struck certain parts of the Netherlands. In several cases the illness was determined as something psychosomatic, hence not taken seriously.
Only after the symptoms remained, persevered and infected more people, more appropriate action was taken considering counter-measures, treatment, and care. For some who fell ill it was already too late. Even though the malady had already been discovered in 1935 in the US and Australia, as Q-fever and treatment was available since then, even up to vaccines; the misinformation spread in 2007 led to at least 74 deaths directly related to this disease.
The immediate cause of this disease, the large gathering of goats and sheep in the immediate vicinity of the affected areas. Long time meat producing areas had shifted their focus from pork to smaller bovidae, due to losing their pigs for yet another disease. To cure their farms from swine fever, their livestock of pigs were exterminated. A similar fate loomed over these businesses when news about a possible connection between the presence of large quantities of sheep and goats near the disease herds was found. Agricultural lobbyists put their foot in and nullified the complaints. In facetious gesturing political leaders misjudged the importance of the matter and even up to keeping up the denying the illness wasn't Q-fever at all. Hence countermeasures were again postponed, treatments delayed, necessary meds not provided. This led the biggest outbreak of Q-fever the World had ever witnessed.
To my humble opinion the only goal of the politicians and meat industry lobbyists was to endorse the hard stricken former pig farmers who had so successfully shifted their focus and had found a new diversification for their way of farming. This way of farming an excessive gathering of animals on too small a surface, where animals constantly stand in their own excrement, and do not come outside. A kind of farming prone to disease, and more eager to take to the syringe rather than to look at their own ways of producing, with all its consequences. Rather than transforming the pork or meat sector for good, the outright intention at least seems to be, to defend any shift to other animals as long as the sector keeps producing. That the transformation of meat, pork, poultry and other kinds of animal proteine producers could finally start shifting their methods of production hadn't and hasn't even surfaced.
Sanitation is King, both in the human World, as in the animal kingdom to which we humans belong. We as a species aren't a separate entity where it comes to disease. Our society demands security, yet in the production of meat no warranties for security are given, especially when disease lurks round the corner through breeding, keeping, trading, storing, buying and eating.
The very same mechanisms are at play in the emergence of the corona virus, be it bats, or any other animal species who carried the strand first; the issue is the large gathering of animals, either alive or dead next to a large gathering of humans. Such may lead to large and ever larger outbreaks. We know it, the virologist knows it, the medical field knows it, maybe you even figured this part out by combining and deducing the part of information which comes through the news. Maybe you didn't. Maybe you and even me we all just want to go back to 'business as usual' in a World where all the figurative roadsigns slowly emerge in a static of all being red.
What's the general reaction? we take the easy route and blame our fellow human beings whom we call names and mock. Until a next day when another virus will stand at our doorstep, caused by our conduct in our vicinity. At least when our eyes don't open and we just keep believing in our supermarkets and our cars. Keep believing in our lying politicians and their schemes, keep believing we don't have to change. Because all will go back to business as usual, that's what we've been promised, that's what we want.
Guess what, you may even get it, but it will come at a cost, a terrible cost.
It is indeed time for a drastic change.