pandemic 2

WE’RE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT NOW
pathogens to which they had no immunity: “slain, after all
man’s devices had failed, by the humblest things that God,
in his wisdom, has put upon this earth.” It is interesting to
note that, according to Wells, the plot arose from a discussion
with his brother Frank about the catastrophic effect
of the British on indigenous Tasmanians. What would
happen, he wondered, if Martians did to Britain what the
British had done to the Tasmanians? The Tasmanians,
however, lacked the lethal pathogens to defeat their
invaders. 4 Perhaps an epidemic which threatens to decimate
humanity should be treated as Wells’s story turned
around: the “Martian invaders” ruthlessly exploiting and
destroying life on earth are we, humanity, ourselves; and
after all devices of highly developed primates to defend
themselves from us have failed, we are now threatened
“by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put
upon this earth,” stupid viruses which just blindly reproduce
themselves—and mutate.
We should of course analyze in detail the social conditions
which made the coronavirus epidemic possible.
Just think about the way, in today’s interconnected world,
a British person meets someone in Singapore, returns to
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds.
13