‘Stop justifying the President-reject’s tantrums’

“For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.” 

—Margaret Heffernan

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

MOST Filipinos in our predominantly Asian community in Elmhurst, Queens have finally decided to bury the week-long post-U.S. Presidential Election tiffs as the Americans mourned November 18 the death of a quarter of a million people in the United States from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“(Let’s) move on with our lives and brace ourselves for the pandemic’s deadly spike in this cold season,” appealed Benhur, 72, a retired cop from Bayambang, Pangasinan. “Tapos na ang eleksyon at marami nanaman ang namamatay sa covid. Do you monitor the news?”

Bernhur is among the regular habitues in a Colombian-owned coffeeshop in the corner of Broadway and Elmhurst Avenues, known as the “Crossroads of the World”.

He tangled with President Trump’s loyalist Rolando, who made a scene these past days endorsing the unfounded conspiracy theories being yelled in the social media by pro-Trump groups that “the election was stolen by (President-elect Joseph) Biden.”

Biden has defeated Trump, 306-232.

Three elderly Filipinos have sustained Rolando, 64, a former crew member of a Norwegian oil tanker that got stranded in the Staten Island in 1996, prompting him to “jump ship” and lived in East Elmhurst. 

 

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“Ang iba kasing mga Pilipino na bomoto kay Biden mga stupid (Other Filipinos who voted for Biden were stupid.),” ranted Rolando, who regularly paid for the coffee of those who lent him their ears and wouldn’t oppose him.

“Yan ang dahilan bakit hindi ka pinapansin ng mga tao dito dahil kapwa mo Pilipino ay ini-insulto mo (You have been ignored here because you kept on insulting your fellow Filipinos.),” retorted Benhur, who’s son, Albert, is also a former cop in Connecticut. “Stop justifying the President-reject’s tantrums in the Twitter. Stop insulting your fellow Filipinos.”

Greg, 74, a retired employee of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) in Cardona, Rizal, pacified Benhur.

“Hayaan mo sia. Nobody is taking him seriously here. He (Rolando) has become irrelevant,” Greg said. “Umuwi na tayo at mag social distancing na. Mahigit 250,000 na pala ang namatay (as of Novemer 18).

Others in the coffeeshop have also refused to tackle the election result.

“Nakaka sawa na. Let’s wear our masks and stay at home mukhang tumaas nanaman ang covid,” suggested Mang Rody, 80, of Morong, Bataan.

“Huwag na tayong mag debate sa result ng eleksyon. Basta huwag lang kayo ko-kontra kay Rolando,” retorted Mang Pepe, 82, a self-confessed former gunrunner in Nueva Ecija.   

 

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The feud among the retirees ensued as the United States passed a grim milestone on November 18, hitting 250,000 coronavirus-related deaths, with the number expected to keep climbing steeply as infections surge nationwide.

Experts predict that the country could soon be reporting 2,000 deaths a day or more, matching or exceeding the spring peak, and that 100,000 to 200,000 more Americans could die in the coming months.

Just how bad it gets will depend on a variety of factors, including how well preventive measures are followed and when a vaccine is introduced.

The deadliest day of the pandemic in the United States was April 15, when the reported daily toll hit 2,752, according to the New York Times.

There is always a lag in deaths, compared with the rate of infection and hospitalizations, and with the latter measure now hitting records every day—76,830 Americans were hospitalized on Tuesday, according to the Covid Tracking Project—the death toll is certain to go on rising.

Covid-19 deaths have continued their bleak march with little respite throughout the year.

By April 24, 50,000 people had died. 

That number doubled to 100,000 by May 27 and added another 50,000 within two months, by July 29. Two months later, on Sept. 22, the total reached 200,000.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, was a former editor of two dailies in Iloilo, Philippines)