This, unlike Covid or Ebola, is a disease you have to work at to get. It could be *easily* stopped by simply exercising some self restraint. The danger is that the lack of self control will not only allow it to spread to other people similarly devoid of the willingness to behave like rational adults, but they will spread it to the uninvolved, as was the case with these children. And worse, by allowing the disease to spread far, FAR further than it should, it is given the opportunity to mutate into a very different form: airborne, perhaps, or far deadlier. Or both. Remember smallpox pandemics? Because I sure don’t. It was eradicated when I was a little kid. But I may live to see it come roaring back… not because this sort of thing “just happens” from time to time, but because entitled selfish jackwads couldn’t keep it in their pants for a few weeks.
For those who might find the title of this post “offensive:” imagine what the general populace will think – and what they will do – if unwise and easily controlled behavior leads monkeypox to mutate into a form that attacks the broader society. I’m offended at the notion of kids being given sexually transmitted diseases.
UPDATE: For frak’s sake, this is *exactly* what I’m talking about:
Attend:
When New York Pride festivities kicked off on 24 June, I was aware that monkeypox was an emerging issue – especially for gay men …
I had sex with several guys over the weekend.
Wow. What. A. Hero.
“I know that Fire Hot, but I poured gasoline on myself a lit a match anyway. I was shocked at how poor the American health care system is! It let me get burned!!!”
He describes where he first got the painful sores. I’ll give you two guesses. He then goes on to complain about the clinics, about the physicians, about the epidemic people and the government. Guess who he *doesn’t* blame.
If someone like me, who has worked in sexual health for a long time, had such a hard time navigating care, I can’t imagine other people doing it.
I was isolated, lonely and frustrated with how unfair the situation was.
