As a former UPI reporter I gave this article a D- minus. Community Spread is not defined by the writer, yet it's a key descriptor in the headline. Even the suggestion of its plain meaning, that the Community is seeing the virus advance because of something the community shouldn't be doing - is unsubstantiated.
"A serious outbreak inside the community could have devastating effects. Most who show symptoms from the virus develop a fever or cough and may have trouble breathing, though they do recover."
Consider this two-sentence paragraph. Couldn't the first sentence be said of any community? This has nothing pertinent to offer readers with an interest specific to The Villages.
"Prior to the opening of the testing site, The Villages slowly began to shut down its expansive social scene. That’s after the community — which leans Republican — had sought to downplay the virus’s affects as President Donald Trump repeatedly expressed confidence the virus would be contained inside the U.S."
First, it's effects, not affects. This writer has a law degree, which made me marvel not only at his spelling, but also at his assertion that the community had sought to downplay the "virus's affects" (sic). In my opinion, his statement is invidious and made without any substantiation. His additional reference to politics (apparently the real cause of the spread of infection) is another irrelevant injection in what purported to be a story about disease. And when did the president ever state that the virus would be contained within the US? Let me be clear, the Wuhan virus started in...where was it?...oh, yeah, Wuhan. How can it be contained in the US?
I know, he means something else. But that's why E.B. White said you should re-read your own work, because while you think you may have said what you meant, chances are very good you haven't.
He also uses a couple propaganda devices to take a swipe at the president. One is "Authority". He quotes a nurse (a healthcare authority) but he doesn't quote her on healthcare. He quotes her on politics to leverage her authority into an area it doesn't apply. He uses her to spread the false claim that people (Trump has been the one accused of this) have called the virus a hoax. Here is what he said:
"One of my people came up to me and said, “Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia. That didn’t work out too well. They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax that was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything. They tried it over and over. They’ve been doing it since you got in. It’s all turning, they lost, it’s all turning. Think of it. Think of it. And this is their new hoax.” (DJT 2/28/20)
Finally, he uses her comment on the awakening of the community as though this one person has her finger on The Villages pulse. That's just bad judgment. Maybe D-minus is generous.
|