Another Willing Conscript, II

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— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) February 1, 2020

Some #coronavirus context:

The # of yearly U.S deaths from each of these causes is greater than the total # of coronavirus cases in the entire world. What’s new is scary- but fried food, sitting on your couch, smoking, & driving to work, are more likely to cause your demise. pic.twitter.com/zO85CZkOaB

— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) March 4, 2020

At first thought, Surgeon General Jerome Adams- an import from Governor Pence's Indiana- is confusing, if not himself confused. Initially, he downplayed the coronavirus as being less a risk than the flu. A month later, he argued that an individual is more likely to die from fried food, couch surfing, smoking, and driving than from the pandemic.

Now he's doing on-line tutorials so people can fashion their own masks, which he once advised should not be worn by laymen. The coronavirus was not serious and the masses should not wear masks; now they should, and here is how:

OMG this is a disasterous joke!! The @Surgeon_General and the rest of Trumps staff must be held accountable if & when we get past this. Jerome Adams is incompetent. #ResignNow https://t.co/C1JQ85OEQx

— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) April 4, 2020

The series of tweets is confusing- but Adams may not himself actually be confused. There is a common thread. There is a straight line between the Surgeon General who: believes that people will die because they are lazy and ignorant, preferring to sit on their couch, eat unhealthful food, and drive instead of exercising; and that people should fashion their own masks.

The unifying principle is blame-shifting. The problem is not a government which told us that the coronavirus is not airborne and now says it is; which argued that the coronavirus " miraculously goes away" once "it gets a little warmer" and now maintains that 100,000 deaths would be a "very good job"; which claims "America First" but ships protective equipment to mainland China.

Fault lies not the government, and certainly not with President Trump.To Adams, it's your lifestyle, not the failure of government to make available life-saving masks, which will kill you.  President Trump blames everyone and everything but "I don't take responsibility at all"- and neither does Adams.

In Jerome Adams, Trump has found his perfect Surgeon General, one who- like the boss- always blames Americans first.

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