Master Yoda teaches us that, fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” It appears members of the Biden administration might benefit from a little Star Wars wisdom because, judging by recent comments made by one of the members of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 response team, they don’t seem to understand – or care – that their fearmongering rhetoric isn’t helping matters.
During a press briefing, Jeffrey D. Zients, a Coordinator for COVID-19 Response in the White House, lauded those who chose to take the vaccine while predicting “severe illness and death” for the unwashed unvaccinated due to the Omicron variant. He said:
“We are intent on not letting Omicron disrupt work and school for the vaccinated. You’ve done the right thing, and we will get through this.
For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm.
So, our message to every American is clear: There is action you can take to protect yourself and your family. Wear a mask in public indoor settings. Get vaccinated, get your kids vaccinated, and get a booster shot when you’re eligible.”
Tell us how you really feel, Jeff.
The staffer also indicated that “[t]he more people get vaccinated, the less severe this Omicron outbreak will be.”
It is worth noting that Zients’ statements regarding Omicron were deceptive in light of data showing that this variant is not nearly as deadly as the others. Those infected with the variant experienced mild symptoms, most of which were treated at home. RedState’s Bonchie pointed out:
Then there’s the mention of hospitalizations. We already have data out of South Africa showing that Omicron has actually led to a massive drop in hospitalizations. That’s because this newest variant appears to be very mild compared to Delta. Biden’s fearmongering isn’t backed by any data.
Zients’ comments were reminiscent of remarks made by President Biden in September when he indicated he was losing patience with people who have not yet taken the jab.
NOW – "Our patience is wearing thin," warns Biden the unvaccinated.pic.twitter.com/ODIylWPfOG
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 9, 2021
Coming from an administration that vowed to promote “unity,” these comments are a bit confusing. Indeed, Zients’ words betray a thinly-veiled contempt for those who have been understandably hesitant about getting the injection. It mirrors other high-profile leftists who believe the vax will finally end the pandemic.
Members of the activist media have been using the same tactic to coerce the holdouts into rolling up their sleeves. Earlier this year, CNN’s Don Lemon and now-disgraced Chris Cuomo did their part to foment hatred against the unvaxxed.
“We have to stop coddling people,” Lemon quipped, adding: It’s time to start shaming them, or leave them behind. Because they’re keeping the majority of Americans behind.”
“Stop it with the ignorance,” Lemon demanded. “And we have to stop saying, ‘Oh well you have to listen to people.’ No, you don’t. These people are being harmful to the greater good. You don’t have to listen to a minority of people who are being harmful to the greater good and who are not acting on logic, reason, and science.”
Cuomo concurred, repeating the CNN lie about those taking ivermectin: “You’re going to question the vaccine, but you’re going to take a horse dewormer.”
To some, it might be easy to dismiss this as the usual politicking we have been seeing over the past few years. That would be a mistake. The White House has joined with the activist media to make Americans afraid of the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants. Even though Omicron has proven to be relatively benign when compared to other variants, they still seek to inspire fear.
Zients’ comments reveal the reality that this fear has turned into anger. Indeed, he, along with many others, have been trying to elicit outrage from the vaxxed masses against their fellow unvaxxed Americans. In turn, those who have not taken the jab have become angry at those looking down on them because of their hesitancy – especially those seeking to use the government to force them to face the needle.
Next, Democrats will likely ramp up their efforts to cause Americans to hate one another over this issue. After making people fear the virus, convincing them they should be full of anger against those not getting on the vaxx train, it will be easy to push them towards hate.
What happens then?
It could be more dangerous than we would care to think. We have already seen a notable rise in political violence over the last five years. It is not difficult to imagine that this could be one of several factors leading to more hostility.
One can only hope that the situation will not devolve into more violence. Perhaps people won’t be willing to go as far as some wish they would. But we cannot discount the possibility that the little green Jedi Master is correct. The fact that people like Zients are willing to use such strident language against the unvaxxed, when the science does not bear out their statements, indicates this administration does not care where this trend could lead. But why would they — when there is nobody to hold them accountable?
