Yet again, men of the internet are completely missing the point of International Women's Day

Sirena Bergman in news THE INDEPENDENT

iStock/Canva/indy100

Sometimes it feels as though International Women's Day should just be renamed to International Male Fragility Day, and 2020 is no exception.

Once again, and as always, men across the globe are having meltdowns because for ONE DAY women's issues are at the centre of the media narrative.

According to stats from digital marketing company SEM Rush, global searches for "International Women’s Day" and related terms decreased by 41 per cent between March 2016 to March 2019, meanwhile searches for "International Men’s Day" and related terms have increased by 1002 per cent between November 2016 to November 2019. Yes, you read that right. One thousand and two per cent.

Meanwhile, "When is International Men's Day" is trending on Twitter, in large part due to comedian Rickard K Herring, who takes 8 March every year to reply to every such tweet, reminding men that yes, there is an International Men's Day, and it's on 19 November (coincidentally the same day as World Toilet Day, which provides no end of amusement).

To be fair to Herring, the slightly obnoxious choice of once-a-year hobby is for a good cause: he tweets out every response alongside a link to raise money for Refuge, a charity which supports women who have experienced intimate partner violence. At the time of writing, barely a third of the way through IWD (depending on your timezone), he's already raised over £30,000.

Asked about why he does this every year, Herring said in 2019:

I do this so that everyone else can get on with celebrating International Women's Day and using it to raise awareness of the issues that affect women. And trying to achieve equality.

But having performed this service for the last few years, I’m assuming that everyone will know when International Men’s Day is by now (it’s November 19 by the way), so I’m hoping to have a relatively quiet day.

By the looks of his timeline today, this is clearly not the case.

Are we here for men trying to make IWD all about themselves? No. Are we here for turning fragile masculinity into cold hard cash for some of the most vulnerable women? Yes.

Last year, a graph compiled by a Reddit user showed that since 2010, more people google "International Men's Day" in March than they do in November, when it actually falls.

(Reddit)

Interestingly, it seems no one is really searching for International Women's Day on International Men's Day.
(Google Trends)


It's almost as if women have enough to worry about living in a patriarchal society which systematically demeans and degrades their value on a daily basis, and don't feel the need to come for days that raise awareness of issues that may not affect them.

In case any men have made it this far, here's your annual reminder that really International Men's Day is every other day of the year, when men's needs, points of view and interest are protected and elevated by the vast majority of the world's output. You're welcome.


MORE: On International Women's Day, let's consider these overlooked issues facing women for the other 364 days of the year

This artist put Donald Trump quotes on sexist 1950s advertising posters

Posted Wednesday 22 March 2017 14:15 by Narjas Zatat in news

Saint Hoax is a Syrian artist whose satirical, political visual manipulations provide a snapshot controversial current issues. 

In the latest manifestation of social criticism, the artist took vintage posters from the 1950s and printed things that Donald Trump was reported to have said about women in the past. 

indy100 spoke to Saint Hoax about the series.

---

1

Last year on International Women’s Day, I published my ‘Once Upon A War’ campaign which featured Syrian refugees dressed up as Disney princesses.

2

For 2017, Saint Hoax was working on a project inspired by 1950s misogynistic advertisements, and noticed the growing similarities between the posters’ sentiments and Donald Trump’s comments about women. 

As I was researching those ads, I couldn't stop comparing them to Trump's sexist remarks about women. 

3

I decided to match the visuals with sexist Trump quotes and turn them into an awareness/art project that would be published on International Women's Day. 

4

 

5

The vintage advertisements work well with Donald Trump’s sourced quotes, and Saint Hoax agrees, calling misogyny “the common factor”.

 The way women are represented in the media has shifted drastically since these advertisements were initially published. Sadly, Donald Trump is trying to take America back to the "Mad Men" era. 

6

I'm hoping that these posters would make people realize that Trump's ‘locker room talk’ is extremely dangerous especially now since he is the president of the United States and he's ‘supposed’ to be representing one of the most feminist countries in the world. 

7

 

What does Saint Hoax make of the next four years in the US? 

Putting his sexism and racism aside, my biggest problem with Trump is how ego-driven he is. This is an extremely dangerous trait. Putting a man like him in a position of power could lead to tragic consequences.  

8

There's a lot of talk about impeachment, but I'm not sure how long this process would take. I'm hoping not too long though.

9

 

10

 

11

And who would Saint Hoax vote for, if they could choose anyone? 

Michelle Obama. 

You can view Saint Hoax' other works, which have been exhibited in galleries in New York, Bangkok, Florida, Singapore and Beirut, here.

Why self-quarantine from coronavirus is a privilege only for the rich

Image: Getty

Are you one of the two million people who are too poor to self-isolate?

There are currently 51 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, up from 39 confirmed yesterday, so there's inevitably been a lot of discussion about the best ways to stop the virus from spreading any further.

In a plan that was released this morning, Britons were warned that up to one in five people could be off work sick at the peak of a coronavirus epidemic. This could have a huge impact on workplaces, and entire industries, across the country.

People are starting to worry about the potential effect two weeks off work could have on their bank balance.

Self-isolation is important.

Something as simple as a trip to the shop by a person with the COVID-19 virus to pick up toilet paper could pass on the virus to elderly people and those with weakened immune systems.To properly self isolate, you should stay at home, ask delivery drivers to leave packages outside the front door, use separate towels to others in the house, and basically stay in your bedroom. And, whatever you do, DON'T go to work.

Some companies offer their employees sick-pay schemes, which is great for them. But what about everyone else?

Some employers don't offer anything more generous than the legal minimum statutory sick pay. This basic pay pack amounts to just £94.25 per week. And you don’t get anything for the first three days off, either.

With the period for self isolation set at 14 days, that could mean a budget of £188.50 to eat, pay bills, pay prescription fees, care for children or other dependents, entertain... And that's assuming that a person on statatuory sick pay doesn't have any dependants.

We’re predicting a lot of overdue rent and, in the worst cases, people might even struggle to feed themselves or buy basic necessities. Once again, poverty has more potential than any disease to kill.

But for some it could be even worse.

While Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) must be paid by employers to their sick employees, not everyone qualifies. Workers must have earned on average at least £118 per week (before tax) in the past 8 weeks before their sick leave to qualify.

With minimum wage for people aged 18 to 21 at just £6.15, a university student would have had to work on average 19 hours per week, for the last 8 weeks, to qualify.

A young mum in her early twenties earning minimum wage at £7.70, would have had to have worked 15 hours per week, and a cafe worker in their mid twenties or above waiting tables as a side hustle – 14 hours on average.

For those working in the gig economy, the situation is similarly bleak. In gig economy jobs, such as food delivery, pay is given per task.

So if you’re too sick to do the gigs, there won't be any pay for you.

Kimberly Hurd from Collective Benefits, an organisation working to extend benefits such as sick pay to self-employed people, told indy100:

Statistics on self-employment are sobering – with over 6M self-employed workers in the UK – 96 per cent without income protection and 93 per cent without critical injury or health cover and often with less than £500 in savings.

Gig and flexible working is here to stay and will account for more than 25 per cent of the workforce in the next five years. While it comes with a large amount of needed flexibility, it also leaves many vulnerable.

Issues like Coronavirus highlight this real and growing issue and a lack of protection. Often we see if a gig worker is out sick for a week or more and can’t work, this causes real financial difficulty for them and their families and the result is a reliance on the welfare state.

For millions of people, two weeks off work is simply not an option, meaning they will be forced to put themselves at risk of infection.

Trade Union Congress (TUC) highlighted this on Twitter in a post that has been shared 1500 times.

Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress, told indy100:

The threat of coronavirus shows why sick pay should be a day one right for everybody. It’s not right that millions of UK workers miss out on this protection. The government must ensure everyone gets statutory sick pay regardless of how they earn.
Employers who aren’t paying sick pay from day one risk having staff coming in – especially if they don’t have symptoms.

The TUC are calling on people to sign a petition calling on the UK government to “guarantee sick pay for every worker from day one” which has so far gained over 11,000 signatures.

In this age of austerity and continuous cuts to public services, it’s the poor that suffer the most.

How unsurprising.

THE INDEPENDENT 

Trump supporters brand Bernie Sanders a 'communist bum' and a 'loser' for calling for a free coronavirus vaccine

Picture: Getty Images/Twitter

Bernie Sanders is a big fan of free healthcare.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last four years, you’ll know that universal healthcare is Sanders' biggest passion. He lives for it.

So it’s little surprise that the Vermont senator and presidential candidate went on Twitter to make clear that, in the event that a coronavirus vaccine is made available, it should be free to all.

You’d think that most people would believe that healthcare is a human right and the idea of a free vaccine would be completely uncontroversial.

But of course, this is America we’re talking about. (You know, the land “of the free” where absolutely nothing is actually free).

Depressingly, Sanders has inundated replies by angry Americans who think that the vaccine shouldn’t be free. This seems pretty suspect seeing as we already know around 20 million Americans don’t have health insurance. 

Sanders was called a "communist" for insisting that any future vaccine should be free.

Wow, nothing riles MAGA Twitter up quite like the suggestion that something should be free.

THE INDEPENDENT

Komodo dragon shocks zookeepers by giving birth to babies conceived without a male

Posted by Louis Staples in offbeat

Picture: iStock/Getty Images

Last year Chattanooga Zoo in Tennessee welcomed three Komodo dragons.

But now the endangered species have thrown something of a curveball in the zoo’s direction. One of the dragons has given birth without any involvement from a male dragon.

The process of giving birth without a male is called parthenogenesis and it doesn't happen in mammals. (Though we appreciate the Bible begs to differ).

Birth without male involvement is still very rare, but this isn’t the first time zoo animals have surprised us in this way. Last year a water dragon at the Smithsonian National Zoo that had been isolated from males shocked zookeepers by laying a bunch of eggs. We have no choice but to stan these independent women.

So how does this happen?

IFL Science reports that female komodos carry both W and Z chromosomes. This is what makes the process possible. The zoo explained:

When parthenogenesis occurs, the mother can only create WW or ZZ eggs. Eggs with the sex chromosomes of WW are not viable, leaving only ZZ eggs to produce all-male hatchlings.

So, potentially, these dragons have rendered men useless – what a shame.

Komodos aren’t known for being the friendliest of creatures, which is why the female in this case might have just decided to go it alone. The zoo's Facebook page writes:

In the wild, Komodo dragons mainly live isolated and often become violent when approached, which has allowed these animals to evolve to reproduce both sexually and parthenogenetically.

But the opposite can also happen, where a strong bond forms and komodos form long-term monogamous relationships.

So maybe they’re more like us that you’d think?

ALTERNATE HEADLINE

Komodo dragon shocks zoo by giving birth to babies without a man


THAT WOULD BE BESTIALITY 


H/T: IFL Science

Trump claims he had no idea people die of influenza despite his grandfather dying from the virus

Danielle Zoellner, The Independent•March 7, 2020

AP

President Donald Trump made the claim when speaking about the flu that he had no clue people could die from the virus - despite it taking the life of his grandfather.

Mr Trump's claim came while he was in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday to visit the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters and meet with health officials about the coronavirus.

During a press conference, the president spoke about the number of people getting infected by the coronavirus and how it compared to influenza.

"Over the last long period of time, you have an average of 36,000 people dying (per year)," he said about the flu.

Mr Trump continued: "I never heard those numbers. I would've been shocked. I would've said, 'Does anybody die from the flu? I didn't know people died from the flu.' ... And again, you had a couple of years where it was over a 100,000 people died from the flu."

In recent years, about 12,000 to 61,000 people in America have died from the flu in the course of one season, according to data from the CDC. An estimated 34,000 died from the flu last season.

So the president was correct on his figures when attempting to calm fears of the coronavirus. But he was incorrect, or misinformed, about not knowing anyone who has ever died from the virus, the Daily Beast reported.

Friedrich Trump, the president's grandfather, became one of the first people to die during the first wave of the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 while living in Queens, New York.

Donald Trump's grandfather Fredrich Trump died from the Spanish flu in 1918. The flue killed more than 675,000 people in the US (Wikimedia Commons)

One day in May he was taking a walk with his son when he suddenly felt ill. He went home and died the next day.

A second wave hit the US later that year following Fredrich's death, and an estimated 675,000 people died in the country from the flu in total. Globally, the Spanish flu killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people.

Fredrich's son, also named Fredrich, was only 12 years old when his father died. He would go on to welcome his fourth child, a son named Donald, with his wife in 1946.

The amount of people who died during the Spanish flu was worsened by President Woodrow Wilson and his administration talking down about the health crisis. Experts have now criticised Trump and his own administration over how its handling the current coronavirus outbreak.

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Trump was warned of a pandemic ‘that could lead to massive rates of death’ by the intel director he fired



March 8, 2020 By Sarah K. Burris



The United States was warned last year that a pandemic could lead to serious problems if President Donald Trump and his administration didn’t take public health readiness more seriously.

Stanford lecturer Brett McGurk cited a document from the office the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats’ 2019 “Worldwide Threat Assessment,” which specifically warns of a disease like the coronavirus.

In the section Human Security, Coates explained: “the United States and the world will remain vulnerable to the next flu pandemic or large-scale outbreak of a contagious disease that could lead to massive rates of death and disability, severely affect the world economy, drain international resources, and increase calls on the United States for support.”
Defend democracy. Click to invest in courageous progressive journalism today.

It has become clear that neither Trump nor his administration took the warning seriously.

Trump got rid of Coats last year after reports surfaced that Trump had been “eager” to fire him.

See the excerpt below via Mr. McGurk.
Trump says the coronavirus came “out of nowhere.” But last year, the DNI WARNED that we were vulnerable to a pandemic “that could lead to massive rates of death and disability, severely affect the world economy, strain international resources…” https://t.co/D6uUabE2s2 pic.twitter.com/dAiCpFhp93

— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) March 8, 2020

‘There is genuine panic’: Fears of global financial meltdown as human toll of coronavirus grows
Published March 9, 2020 By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams

President Donald Trump described as “the worst person to be in charge in this moment” as coronavirus cases in the U.S. topped 500 over the weekend.

Fears of a financial meltdown at least on the scale of the 2008 crisis intensified Monday as global markets were gripped by panic resulting from the spread of the coronavirus across the globe and the ensuing oil price war launched by Saudi Arabia over the weekend.

“The fear today is about a global recession,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman of management firm Great Hill Capital, as markets headed for their worst day since the 2008 crash.

“Trump won’t let people infected off of a cruise ship and into quarantine because he likes ‘the numbers being where they are.’ He’d rather keep the numbers down than help these folks. This is literally the worst person to be in charge in this moment.”
—Jamil Smith, Rolling Stone

As the Washington Post reported: “U.S. futures pointed to heavy losses on Wall Street on Monday. Overseas, London’s FTSE 100 fell more than 8 percent to its lowest in three years; Japan’s Nikkei index slumped more than 5 percent and Australia’s benchmark shed more than 7 percent. Oil prices suffered the sharpest plunge since the 1991 Gulf War, while 10-year U.S. bond yields dropped to a record low as investors sought safety.”

While some urged caution in interpreting the meaning of daily market fluctuations, analysts said there is reason to fear that destructive economic crisis is on the horizon. Chris Weston, head of research at the Melbourne-based web trading platform Pepperstone, told The Guardian that “there is genuine panic” in the market, noting that he hasn’t “seen anything like this for years.”

Escalating market turbulence and warnings of a worldwide economic fallout came as the human toll of the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, continued to grow. In the United States, the number of cases surpassed 500 across 34 states and deaths rose to 22 as the Trump administration’s lack of preparedness was on full display Sunday morning.

Asked about the White House’s plan for the 3,500 passengers and crew members aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship—which is set to dock Monday at the Port of Oakland after 21 people on the vessel tested positive for COVID-19—U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson insisted that “the plan will be in place.”

Pressed to elaborate, Carson admitted the plan “hasn’t been fully formulated.”

STEPHANOPOULOS: The Grand Princess is docking tomorrow. What’s the plan for the 3,500 people on board?

BEN CARSON: They’re coming up with one

S: It docks tomorrow

C: The plan will be in place

S: Shouldn’t you be able to say what it is?

C: It hasn’t been fully formulated pic.twitter.com/J717Q7q0DG

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 8, 2020


U.S. President Donald Trump, for his part, told reporters Friday that he would prefer that the passengers remain aboard the Grand Princess because he doesn’t want “to have the numbers double because of one ship,” referring to the number of known coronaviruses cases in the United States.

“This is 25th Amendment stuff,” tweeted Jamil Smith, senior writer for Rolling Stone. “Trump won’t let people infected off of a cruise ship and into quarantine because he likes ‘the numbers being where they are.’ He’d rather keep the numbers down than help these folks. This is literally the worst person to be in charge in this moment.”

Trump’s remarks came just hours after the president falsely claimed that his administration “stopped” the spread of coronavirus in the U.S.

“The [coronavirus] tests are all perfect. Like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. This was not a perfect as that, but pretty good.” — is Trump referring to the transcript of his phone call with the Ukrainian president here? pic.twitter.com/FU5XxPTu7Z
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 6, 2020

Meanwhile, Italy on Sunday ordered what the New York Times described as “an unprecedented peacetime lockdown of its wealthiest region,” restricting movement for as much as a quarter of the country’s population as the country struggled to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

“The Italian outbreak—the worst outside Asia—has inflicted serious damage on one of Europe’s most fragile economies and prompted the closing of Italy’s schools,” the Times reported. “The country’s cases nearly tripled from about 2,500 infections on Wednesday to more than 7,375 on Sunday. Deaths rose to 366.”

---30---

CPAC attendees mocked online and urged to self-quarantine after coronavirus exposure: ‘Stay off the internet, too’

Published March 7, 2020 By Bob Brigham


The coronavirus may be spreading through the elite ranks of the conservative movement after a positive test for COVID-19 coronavirus at a conference attended by 19,000 people.

“The American Conservative Union (ACU), which hosts the high-profile Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), confirmed Saturday that one of this year’s conference attendees has tested positive for the novel coronavirus,” Fox News reported Saturday. “The conference is attended by many lawmakers, politicians and White House officials. President Trump and Vice President Pence also spoke at this year’s event.”

The announcement came one day after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) announced that two attendees at their recent conference have tested positive. The AIPAC convention was also attended by Trump and Pence.

Here’s some of what people were saying:

You all said it was a hoax.
— JenniferM (@jennifermcc6) March 7, 2020

This is the most meta thing ever. An attendee at a conference that emphasized that the Coronavirus was a hoax has tested positive. It’s like someone at an anti-climate change conference drowning in the remnants of a melted ice cap.
— Gritty’s Political Brother (@grittypol) March 7, 2020

Poor dead irony dies again and again. https://t.co/Vtwbsx5Z1X

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) March 8, 2020

That’s called Karma. Do they still think it’s a hoax?

— Disgusted American (@coreysneena) March 7, 2020


Please everyone that attended CPAC- please quarantine yourselves for a few months. Thank you from the public. Just to be safe. Stay off the internet too.

—  
(@NatureFarmGirl) March 7, 2020

It’s all good. Dr Trump said don’t worry and Pence will send prayers
— Top Gunn (@jcgunn724) March 7, 2020

Ok, now quarantine everyone who was spreading fascism at the conference.
— Charles Louis Richter (@richterscale) March 7, 2020

Pray it away
— SFMNLVR (@slanderson2474) March 7, 2020

Matt Gaetz who joked around with a mask is probably on his way to get tested for Coronavirus right about now with the CPAC news.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) March 7, 2020

CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp tells me he interacted with attendee who has tested positive for coronavirus. While the timeline is unknown, Schlapp shook Trump's hand on stage the last day of the conference. https://t.co/lR5DfHiy8
— Colby Itkowitz (@ColbyItkowitz) March 8, 2020

Wait, I thought Dear Leader had this under control?
— Jason Avant (@PetCobra) March 7, 2020

pic.twitter.com/ME8FlO38aJ
— dᴜʀᴡᴏᴏᴅ, TV/VCR Repair (@_Durwood) March 7, 2020

Thoughts and Prayers
— Seth Scoville (@budkin) March 7, 2020

Get gulping down that colloidal silver solution. You'll be fine.
— RChappo (@RichChappo) March 7, 2020

Irony…at this same event the corona virus was called a hoax
— Cristian (@calvarez813) March 7, 2020


Just tell them that as long as they’re not tested, they’re fine!
— christine d. (@lolottedamour) March 7, 2020

God's will and all that pic.twitter.com/BKvTj4ZUjT
— The world needs more Goldens, STAT! (@auggiesnoise) March 7, 2020

This CPAC person is just talking about the coronavirus to hurt the president! https://t.co/8js044qgSB
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) March 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/PamKeithFL/status/1236424142758518785

#CPAC attendee—who was exposed to #coronavirus PRIOR to the conference—has tested positive.@realDonaldTrump and #COVID19 task force “leader” @Mike_Pence attended the conference.

Maybe now, they’ll admit that the #CoronavirusOutbreak is NOT a “hoax.”

https://t.co/mqtN0zaetf
— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) March 7, 2020

CPAC confirms an attendee tested poaitive for coronavirus.
Last week at CPAC, the outgoing WH Chief of Staff characterized coronavirus media coverage as designed "to bring down" the president. pic.twitter.com/joYAtHnDBl
— Anthony L. Fisher (@anthonyLfisher) March 7, 2020


Thoughts and prayers
— DanG (@DanLGrafford) March 7, 2020


People think a member of Trump's team might have spread coronavirus at CPAC

Picture: CSPAN/Screenshot

With the spread of coronavirus continuing to dominate headlines it would have come as a shock to many that an attendee at the recent CPAC event, which hosted a speech by Donald Trump, tested positive for the illness.

The likes of Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump, Mike Pence and numerous members of the Trump administration were at the four day gathering in Washington DC but reportedly didn't come into contact with the infected individual, which didn't seem to bother Trump anyway.

The president was quoted as saying:

I'm not concerned at all. We'll have tremendous rallies. We're doing very well.
We've done a fantastic job, with respect to that subject, on the virus.

That seems fair enough but one of the many speeches at the event did see Trump's now-former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, gave a talk on how the White House is dealing with the deadly outbreak.

Rather than give some reassurances, Mulvaney proceeded to lambast the media for their coverage of the virus, claiming that it was a ploy to oust Trump from office.

Mulvaney wouldn't have been able to have foreseen that someone at CPAC would have coronavirus but he clearly wasn't practising great hygiene at the event anyway.

In footage from his talk, Mulvaney coughs into his hand, which is not the recommended thing to do (according to the CDC you should cough into a tissue or on your sleeve) then, just moments later, shakes the hand of Stephen Moore, after presumably not washing.

Now, we aren't saying that Mulvaney is the person with the coronavirus at CPAC but this video has given people ideas.

Trump, a notorious germaphobe, might have gotten wind of this as he sacked Mulvaney from his current position at the weekend and replaced him with North Carolina lawmaker Mark Meadows.

Mulvaney is now set to become the US special envoy to Northern Ireland. Let's just hope he practises better hygiene in his new role otherwise he might risk being told off by his boss again.

Arizona Congressman Dr. Paul Gosar and staff in self-quarantine for coronavirus after CPAC contact

Ted Cruz interacted with coronavirus-infected CPAC attendee — and won’t return to Washington

CPAC founder who touched both Trump and virus patient insists president ‘scrubbed’ hands at event

Days After Rep. Matt Gaetz Wore a Gas Mask to Vote on COVID-19 Funding, the Virus Killed One of His Constituents

Tara Law, Time•March 8, 2020

As Congress worked to pass an $8.3 billion emergency funding to address the mounting coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida wore a large gas mask on the House floor.

Gaetz posted an image of himself wearing the mask on Twitter Wednesday, later tweeting that he had ultimately decided to back the funding bill, but “didn’t feel good” about its cost.

Reviewing the coronavirus supplemental appropriation and preparing to go vote. pic.twitter.com/wjJ4YY4VZz
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 4, 2020



Gaetz’s decision to wear the mask during the legislative session was immediately criticized by some of his colleagues, including Rep. Sean Maloney, a Democrat of New York, who said that Gaetz had shown “extraordinary insensitivity to people who have lost loved ones and are now scared about what’s going on.”

Just two days later, Florida announced that two people had died after contracting the virus, including one of Gaetz’s own constituents.

On Saturday, Gaetz released a statement to say that he was “extremely saddened” by the news.

“I’m confident our community will continue to remain vigilant in combating this disease and pray there will be no further contractions of the virus in Northwest Florida,” Gaetz said.

However, others said that the gas mask incident showed that Gaetz had failed to grasp the seriousness of the outbreak.



Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, tweeted on Sunday, “Matt Gaetz mocked fear over the coronavirus. Now one of his constituents is dead. The family of the deceased has got to be wondering whether their representative will finally get serious about protecting them or continue the frat boy pranks.”

Matt Gaetz mocked fear over the coronavirus. Now one of his constituents is dead. The family of the deceased has got to be wondering whether their representative will finally get serious about protecting them or continue the frat boy pranks. pic.twitter.com/48PIKfBlAI
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) March 8, 2020

Before the constituent’s death was announced, Rep. Bobby L. Rush, a Democrat, noted that he had been treated very differently when he wore a hoodie on the floor of the House to draw attention to racial profiling in 2012.

“Guess which one of us was forcibly removed,” Rush wrote.

In 2012, I wore a hoodie on the House Floor to make a statement about the deadly consequences of racial profiling. On Wednesday, @RepMattGaetz wore a gas mask in the chamber, making light of an epidemic that has killed 14 Americans.

Guess which one of us was forcibly removed. pic.twitter.com/nh2LHPeIFW
— Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) March 6, 2020

Gaetz deflected criticism against the gas mask on Twitter Sunday, arguing that he had not been mocking the outbreak at all.

“Made light?!?! I was quite serious. The threat to Congress is real, as I explained based on travel and habits like selfies and handshakes,” Gaetz tweeted.

Made light?!?! I was quite serious.
The threat to Congress is real, as I explained based on travel and habits like selfies and handshakes. https://t.co/O9MDM3kAiq
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 8, 2020

Matt Gaetz Wore Gas Mask To Mock Coronavirus Concerns. One Of His Constituents Just Died From It.
Sebastian Murdock, HuffPost•March 7, 2020


Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) mocked coronavirus concerns by wearing a gas mask on the House floor just days before an infected man from his district died.

“Reviewing the coronavirus supplemental appropriation and preparing to go vote,” he said in a tweet Wednesday before the Senate approved an $8.3 billion emergency funding bill to combat the virus.

In the tweet, Gaetz is seen wearing a gas mask.

Reviewing the coronavirus supplemental appropriation and preparing to go vote. pic.twitter.com/wjJ4YY4VZz

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 4, 2020

Just two days later, Gaetz released a statement saying a death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, had occurred in his district.

“I’m extremely saddened to learn of the first fatality in our district from coronavirus, a Northwest Floridian residing in Santa Rosa County,” he said. “Our prayers are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Florida officials announced two deaths from the virus on Friday, including the Santa Rosa County man, as well as two new cases in Broward County. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in Florida to seven, according to CBS News.

So far there have been 17 documented deaths from the virus in the U.S., with hundreds more infected across the country. At least 3,000 people have died worldwide. The situation has been further exacerbated by a lack of CDC testing kits for the virus and by an administration that continues to downplay the growing threat.


Matt Gaetz allowed to mock coronavirus with gas mask in congress, after black lawmaker 'forcibly removed' for wearing hoodie

Posted  by Sirena Bergman in news

Getty/Twitter/indy100

Democratic congressman Bobby Rush has called out the double standards of the House of Representatives after Republican Matt Gaetz was allowed to wear a gas mask in congress, making light of the coronavirus epidemic, while Rush was "forcibly removed" for wearing a hoodie to raise awareness of racial profiling of black men.

In 2012, Illinois representative Rush wore a hoodie on the house floor. Rush, who is African American, was trying to raise awareness of racial profiling following the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. At the time, the incident was widely reported, with some estimates suggesting it received more press than the presidential election.

George Zimmerman, who shot Martin, would go on to be acquitted of murder in 2013, sparking the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Around one in every 1,000 black men and boys die in America at the hands of the police, making it one of the leading causes of death among this demographic (needless to say, this is not the case for their white counterparts).




It's an issue which lawmakers had systematically failed to address, and Rush's acknowledgement of that fact was important both in its symbolism and visibility – but the establishment disagreed.

Rush was removed based on a rule which doesn't allow members of congress to wear hats, but a hoodie is clearly not a hat. Neither is a gas mask, obviously, but both cover parts of the head and face, so it's hard to understand how logically one could be allowed over the other.

Trump supporting Matt Gaetz presumably thought it would be amusing to come into congress wearing a full gas mask as some sort of joke relating to coronavirus, which has killed 14 Americans.

He claimed that members of congress were the most likely to become infected with coronavirus, because "we fly through the dirtiest airports" and "touch everyone we meet".


This is clearly false. For starters, people in China, which has reported around 80 per cent of the 102,000 cases we've seen thus far, are clearly more at risk than anyone in America. When it comes to risk of death, the main contributing factor is pre-existing conditions.

It's worth noting that in the US 44 million people don't have health insurance, while a further 38 million have "inadequate" insurance. The cost of testing for coronavirus can reach $3,270, more than 3.5 times the average weekly income in America ($865), according to 2017 figures.

The coronavirus outbreak has led to the spread of misinformation (including by President Trump himself), leading to arguably unwarranted panic. However, as cases rise in America, there is clearly reason for concern.

In one fell swoop Gaetz managed to feed in to the hysteria while also mocking a situation which has led to thousands of deaths. Pretty shocking behaviour for an elected official entrusted with representing the interests of the American people.