So far about twenty-eight thousand Americans have died of Covid-19. The situation is terrible. But it is our duty to minimize the spread of the virus as much as possible. We must wash our hands. We must practice social distancing.
Sadly, but unsurprisingly, some of the COGs have responded poorly to the ongoing crisis. HWA spread his anti-medicine superstition for decades among his followers. Even though COG splinter groups have moved on from this stance some Armstrongites fanatically cling to this dangerous attitude.
We all have the opportunity to show love to our neighbors by socially isolating ourselves to slow down the spread of Covid-19 and save lives in the process but some COG splinter groups have chosen to behave unwisely.
RCG continued to hold services. LCG tried to have a ministerial conference and the LCG leadership only cancelled it after many people, including Banned by HWA, spoke out about the dire consequences of such a meeting at the present time.
ICG's Mark Armstrong has been as misanthropic as ever, even in this present crisis.
In their zeal to “keep everybody safe,” government, all the way down to the state and city level is making sure no one escapes the fall-out from the kung-flu (That's right, I said it even if Trump didn't). (Mark Armstrong, Weekly Update, March 20, 2020.)
Here's Mark Armstrong insinuating that the fear of the coronavirus is politically motivated.
The “news” people have foisted one false story after another upon the public. The “Russian collusion” story was delivered to the American public day after day for at least two years. When that failed to convince the public that President Trump was a Russian agent, they flipped to the Ukrainian phone call to claim that American interests had been sold out for political advantage. In fact, the sham impeachment hearings were still in progress when stories about the Chinese virus were beginning to surface. But, getting rid of Trump was the main objective and that's what his enemies went with. You don't suppose this panic is Plan C? (Mark Armstrong, Weekly Update, April 3, 2020.)
PCG's attitude is compromised by their partisan affection for the Republican Party and their focus upon their prophetic speculations. Much of their discussion of the coronavirus does not treat the pandemic with the seriousness the topic requires. Here is one example of this dismissive attitude in action from Brad Macdonald.
I'm not sure about you, but I have never been more wary (and weary) of “experts.” I’m tired of hearing from WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus and Dr. Anthony Fauci. I chortle with disbelief when I hear a world leader other than United States President Donald Trump talk about the coronavirus. I treat with extreme skepticism the orations of esteemed professors from the world’s most venerable educational institutions. And I cringe at the monologues from the talking heads of CNN and BBC and the micro-sermons delivered on Twitter. All of these people, our leaders, have an unlimited supply of opinions and answers, which they communicate with unqualified resolve and confidence.
Sadly, I struggle to trust almost everything these people say. I have little confidence in their solutions and policies. Perhaps I’m the only one who has an intensifying skepticism and faithlessness in our leaders. Maybe I’m alone in my growing contempt for the opinions of smart people, the “experts.” But I suspect not. (Brad Macdonald, Why You Should Look Forward to This Saturday, March 26, 2020.)
It is astonishing to see this person's contempt for expertise. Nothing good can be produced with such an attitude.
On March 25 PCG produced an episode of The Trumpet Daily that moaned about stay in shelter orders.
#1202: Lock It Down: It’s What We’re ‘Supposed’ to Do
[00:30] Why Lockdowns? (22 minutes)
India has a population of 1.3 billion people. The nation has had just 10 deaths related to coronavirus, but the government has imposed a nationwide lockdown. It’s as if each nation is trying to out-shutdown the one before it! When in history have you heard of such extreme measures being taken to combat the flu?
[23:00] Mortality Rate (11 minutes)
The World Health Organization initially said the mortality rate for the coronavirus was in the 4 to 5 percent range. These numbers contributed to the worldwide panic. Now estimates are coming in that suggest the mortality rate could be well below 1 percent. (Source.)
First of all it is not a flu. It is a coronavirus. And even if the death rate was one percent that would still make it at least ten times deadly than the flu.
Furthermore even if the death rate was one percent the diffence in projected death rates does not matter since the main problem with this coronavirus is its ability to spread exponentially and kill thousands at the same time.
Even though some of the COGs have chosen to respond so badly to this ongoing crisis we don't have to. Wash your hands. Avoid touching your face. Respect stay in shelter orders. Avoid crowded places. Keep yourself safe.
Be informed.
