People on the liberal side of things have plenty to say about Donald Trump’s cringe-inducing tweets and bleats. They’re easy pickings. But too often, they say things themselves that make people outside their camp raise an eyebrow or roll their eyes. This is a problem if they actually want people to pay attention, and it becomes an even bigger problem if it’s a matter of life and death.

Case in point: “The virus doesn’t care.” You see it all over the place. The virus doesn’t care about your freedom. About your lockdown fatigue. About your social isolation. About the fact that you lost your job.

Oh, the saying is true enough. But it’s heartless, because a lot of people do care about those things, and minimizing their feelings isn’t exactly the greatest way to win them over. On the contrary, it’s far more likely to make them dig in their heels.

It’s the old, “no one’s gonna tell ME what to do,” mentality: “If you try to make me do something, that’s the best way to ensure I’ll do the opposite.”

I’m a 57-year-old guy with a chronic bronchial condition that’s been with me all my life. I believe the science. I don’t want to catch this thing, and I don’t want to spread it. I’m not going out of the house unless I absolutely have to; when I do, I’m wearing a mask and staying as far away from other human beings as possible. I recognize “the virus doesn’t care,” but despite all this, when I hear that phrase, I bristle inside. My gut response is: “A virus? A damn VIRUS? My freedom is being constrained by some mindless blob of microscopic bullshit? I DON’T THINK SO!”

If that’s the reaction someone like me has to hearing this clichéd phrase, imagine what someone who’s healthy and DOESN’T believe the science might react. Spoiler alert: It won’t be the way you want them to.

The reason most people decide not to wear a mask is that they don’t like being told what to do. They don’t like government telling them what to do for one thing, but at least government is made up of fellow human beings. People tell other people what to do all the time. But the thought of being bossed around by some brainless microorganism is ... well, it feels humiliating. People don’t like feeling humiliated. I know I don’t, and I’d be willing to bet the “science is bullshit; I’m healthy and I don’t care” crowd thinks the same way.

Self-preservation

I’m all for sensible government regulations to curb the spread of COVID-19 until the curve is trending downward and/or we’ve got a good vaccine. Will I be following those regulations because the government says so? Not really. I’ll be following them because I don’t want to get sick and infect others. Let’s face it: Most people don’t care about jaywalking. But they won’t jaywalk if they’re stepping out in front of a big-rig barreling down on them at 40 mph.

The biggest problem isn’t the fact that people are flouting the law. It’s the fact that they’re ignoring the science — and the risk. They’re stepping out in front of that big-rig because they don’t believe it’s there, so they don’t bother to look both ways before crossing. No one’s gonna give you a ticket (as long as you’re white), so what’s the harm?

Sure, you can tell the jaywalker, “The big-rig doesn’t care,” but the oblivious pedestrian will just say, “What big-rig?” Far better to yell, “Look out! You’re gonna get yourself killed!”

Then, the focus isn’t on obeying some abstract authoritarian command; it’s on self-preservation, which is built into our DNA. Some people will still ignore you — and wind up dead or hurt as a result. But in general, they’ll care a lot more about the risk of getting killed than they will about obedience to the whims of an enemy they can’t see and would rather ignore so they can party at the beach or down a few brewskies at The Elbow Room.

We got into this mess because we believed the lie that it “can’t happen here,” and now it’s getting worse because we believe “it won’t happen to me.” (Never mind that you might be an asymptomatic carrier who passes it on to Grandma, who dies because of it. Try not to think about that, either.)

The problem isn’t that the virus doesn’t care, it’s that we don’t. That big-rig won’t hit you if you don’t step off the curb.

If you do, well, nice knowin’ ya.