Thanks!
By “American Chernobyl” I didn’t refer to the local situation and mitigation, obviously COVID is different, better in some ways, mostly worse in ways we don’t understand yet.
I was referring to the regime effects, especially when thrown in a blender with Afghanistan and mixed.
Soviet nuclear scientists were held in very high esteem (for good reasons), and their glory reflected on the political elite who chose them and protected them. The same was true of the Red Army.
When both failed, and when the failure was made worse by constant regime lies - the whole thing fell apart.
As part of the medical-scientific establishment (a very small part), we have benefited in many ways from undeserved esteem from people in general (except here, obviously).
If SARS CoV 2 got its start here, and not just here, but at the very pinnacle of our cosmic biomedical research establishment, selfless geniuses saving us from cancer, infections, and all that other stuff - if there is a Legasov somewhere in our system, if we have a Boris Scherbina mistakenly assigned to cover it up - the regime will be shaken to its roots.
There are days at work (yesterday was one) that I feel like a Chernobyl liquidator.
This is, to quote our not-quite President, a “big f***ing deal”.
But, if not, hopefully then people will get good and angry.
If my family (and much of this board) is any indication, people don't want to know, are not ready to know or just can't handle the truth.
I have actually had a family member (smart, educated, thinks he is conservative) text me a link to an article titled something like, "How we know CV was NOT created in a Lab". Really????