Mississippi recently reached a dubious milestone: Surpassing the state of New York in total COVID-19 deaths per capita.
But according to Gov. Tate Reeves (R), people in his state aren’t very worried because they have their religious faith to comfort them, according to the Mississippi Free Press:
“I’m often asked by some of my friends on the other side of the aisle about COVID … and why does it seem like folks in Mississippi and maybe in the Mid-South are a little less scared, shall we say.
“When you believe in eternal life — when you believe that living on this earth is but a blip on the screen, then you don’t have to be so scared of things.”
Reeves quickly adds that faith doesn’t mean that God doesn’t want us to take “necessary precautions,” but he hasn’t exactly been at the forefront when it comes to urging residents to get vaccinated and wear masks, calling a mask guideline from the CDC “foolish.”
“It reeks of political panic so as to appear they are in control. It has nothing — let me say that again — it has nothing to do with rational science. In Mississippi, we believe in freedom.”
Ah yes, freedom. Apparently, the freedom to die from stupidity and a rejection of science is more sacred in Mississippi than life itself, which is ironic when you consider that so many Southerners claim to be “pro life” when it comes to the issue of a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices.
It seems that Republicans simply cannot manage to square their blatant hypocrisy with the larger “freedom” narrative they’re attempting to sell to the American people. Donald Trump had the same problem as he dithered endlessly about how COVID would soon disappear as the death toll reached the hundreds of thousands.
Tate Reeves, however, is among the most disgusting examples of willful ineptitude and endless dissembling to be seen in the country. Maybe his faith can help him explain to his god why he’s letting thousands die while he thumps the Bible and insists everything is going to be fine.
