Coronavirus Lockdown Protesters Are an Avatar for American Ignorance

American Ignorance rears its head as scattered groups of protesters demand an end to the coronavirus lockdown because 'liberty.' If you have trouble reading this message, [view it in a browser](. [Give Me Liberty and Also Death]( Not for the first time, the whole world is conspiring against Donald Trump. Sure, nations across the world from Japan to France to Canada went into lockdown in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, just like the United States. But somehow, everyone is out to ruin Mr. Trump's Economy. At least, that's what you might be led to believe by the scattered protests against social distancing measures—backed by the same kind of ultra-rich right-wing capitalists who funded the Tea Party, and encouraged by the president—that sprung up around the U.S. this weekend. It's a hoax, even if more than 40,000 Americans have died from it. It's a hoax, because that's easier to grapple with than the notion that if not for the lockdowns, the death toll would be many times greater.[Read More]( [This Is Not a System. This Is Organized Piracy.]( The most important story of the weekend could be found in, of all places, the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Andrew Artenstein, a physician and hospital administrator from the western part of the Commonwealth (God save it!) wrote a hair-raising saga of his efforts to get ahold of the supplies of PPE that his facility had ordered and his efforts to keep those vital supplies from being hijacked by the federal government.[Read More]( [Quentin Tarantino Finally Explained The Gimp's Backstory in Pulp Fiction]( Quentin Tarantino’s films, among many, many other things, are stuffed with weird, but unforgettable gags—the kind that don’t quite make sense, and aren’t really explained either. See: Cliff Booth’s obsession with easy mac, Dr. King Schultz’s dentist cart with a massive tooth on it, Gorlami. Here’s another one for you: Our ever-so-brief time with The Gimp, from Pulp Fiction. If you’ll remember, we meet Stephen Hibbert’s BDSM-outfitted servant when Maynard chains up Butch in a pawnshop basement. Maynard has The Gimp make sure Butch doesn’t escape—he does, of course—leaving the leather-dressed dude knocked out.[Read More]( [I Sampled My Way Through the Wild World of High-End Cannabis Products]( I am not, by and large, a weed guy. Oh, I have tried, but through substantial trial and error I have determined that I lack the essential level of chill to pull the whole thing off. For years, I've regarded the stoners in my life with awe and envy; they seem so relaxed and cheerful, while one hit off a vape pen tends to nudge me into the anxiety that is always just over my shoulder. I've observed that marijuana has a way of forcing a person to feel their deepest emotion, which for many people is "potato chips taste good," and for me is "call 911 I’m not breathing the right amount." Weed strips away a person’s defenses, which is all perfectly fine unless, like me, you are one hundred percent made of defenses.[Read More]( [Michael Jordan Off the Court: 21 Photos of His Airness in Civilian Clothes]( Has anyone looked more at home on a basketball court than Michael Jordan, the greatest person to ever play the game? On the hardwood he looked graceful, awe-inspiring, effortless, and powerful. When he stepped off the court, he looked cool—whether it was in a pair of bright yellow pants on the golf course or standing next to President Obama in the White House. Yes, his looks could be a bit polarizing—the baggy suits, the aforementioned bright yellow pants—but it was the '90s and early 2000s, so some forgiveness is required, plus the element of time (and the ESPN documentary The Last Dance) is making these once-questionable fits almost iconic. Here are 21 photos that prove it.[Read More]( [To Paraphrase Another President: 'Is Our Media Learning?']( To paraphrase the previous Republican Worst President of All Time, is our media learning? It’s hard to say. Some elements of it seem to be the walking embodiment of the old joke about getting the mule’s attention with the 2x4. On the vaguely positive side, it seems that the Washington Post is somewhat determined not to be fooled by the AstroTurfed protest groups protesting the stay-at-home orders—demonstrations that are approximately as spontaneous as the Rose Parade—the way that everyone pretended that the Tea Party demonstrations were grassroots enterprises back in 2010.[Read More]( [Read More on Esquire.com]( [Discover how easy it is to melt away flab, and replace it with that lean, muscular look you want. Check out 6 Week Sweat Off!]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Notice]( esquire.com ©2020 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019