At this point, it appears that the Trump administration has decided that they’re fine with 3,000 people dying per day from COVID-19, which is FEMA’s projection for America’s future if we continue opening non-essential businesses and relaxing other restrictions too early. Many public health experts have slammed this decision, but none perhaps so hard as Yale epidemiologist for infectious disease Gregg Gonsalves, who has derided this policy as one that is “getting awfully close to genocide by default.”
How many people will die this summer, before Election Day? What proportion of the deaths will be among African-Americans, Latinos, other people of color? This is getting awfully close to genocide by default. What else do you call mass death by public policy? #COVID19 #coronavirus
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) May 6, 2020
Gonsalves also brings up the fact that a disproportionate amount of COVID-19 deaths have been among ” African-Americans, Latinos, [and] other people of color.” According to Sherita Golden, M.D., M.H.S., of John Hopkin’s Medicine, black individuals account for about half of all coronavirus cases in Chicago and nearly 75 percent of deaths while making up only one-third of the city’s population. It’s the same in other cities.
“Likewise, in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, African Americans make up 70% of deaths due to the coronavirus, but just 26% of the county’s population,” Golden says.
"Discrete state and city data sources show that Black Americans may be at elevated risk for COVID-19 infection and death, but (as of April 15, 2020) the race/ethnicity of 78% of current diagnoses nationally were 'unknown'." 1/https://t.co/qHJh8CikVG
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) May 6, 2020
Meanwhile, the Navajo Nation has the third-highest infection rate per capita among all regions of the U.S. while being underserved by the U.S. government and the CARES Act.
Forcing people to return to work by re-opening non-essential businesses and denying them unemployment insurance if they refuse will also have more of an impact on people of color as they make up a disproportionate number of service industry and retail workers.
With all this in mind, Gonsalves doubled down on his tweet, asking about how international law might apply to the U.S. in this situation.
And I am being serious here: what is happening in the US is purposeful, considered negligence, omission, failure to act by our leaders. Can they be held responsible under international law?
— Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) May 6, 2020
As unlikely as that seems, there’s no shortage of people who agree with Gonsalves on his suggestion that the Trump administration is approaching a kind of genocide.
Genocide by voter suppression? Trumpublican party seems to be willing to pursue all means that they think will stop more Dems vs Repubs from voting.
They appear to not care about ancillary carnage to Repubs,
just damaging Dems.@SenateGOP not too late #DumpTrump You look bad.— Reckoneer is ???? as ????, #FBR (@reckoneer) May 6, 2020
Engels called it social murder
— Justin Feldman (@jfeldman_epi) May 6, 2020
@DrGJackBrown calls it “Genocide disguised as incompetence”
— ~••~Ana says get away from me. M’k. Thxs~••~ (@OnaohD) May 6, 2020
Americans are dying because of presidential decisions that can be traced directly the President Trump. Took him forever to utilize DPA only because the administration wasn’t ready to implement the program. Administration moved slowly to establish medical equipment purchases.
— Bradley Bosch (@BradleyBosch2) May 6, 2020
Genocide by neglect. It’s a thing!
— *HierarchyEnablesAbuse* ????️???????????? (@radicalfaery) May 6, 2020
I completely agree and have tentatively referred to genocide in some of my responses, wondering if I was just being reactionary. Am relieved to find that this is a shared perception. Thank you for confirmation.
— Be Kind (@petsyrah) May 6, 2020
I [email protected] exact argument on radio yesterday after reviewing percentages of black & brown people dying & infected with #covid-19. Some listeners said I was exaggerating/joking. I wasn’t. Thank you for your honesty & expertise. Our gov/leaders must be held accountable.
— RoxanneJones (@iamroxannejones) May 6, 2020
a little stephen miller eugenics. oops, they said it out loud.https://t.co/lPOviEJizQ
— liddle’ genghis jawn (@coolmoedean) May 6, 2020
Someone please save us from ourselves.
