Imagine a biological weapon, one that is often fatal and is highly contagious.
Imagine people who set out to spread that weapon, making other people they encounter sick, and some will die.
Imagine that the people who do that are likely to get sick and die themselves, but don’t care. They are zealots who want to spread death and destruction in the name of their movement.
We could call them suicide bombers.
Imagine that there are people who incite the suicide bombers to go about their deadly business, while they themselves may have secretly been inoculated against the bioweapon whose spread they are organizing.
We could call them bioterrorists.
But we don’t need much imagination. The bioweapon is SARS-Cov2. The suicide bombers are the anti-vaxxers and the anti-mask brigades. The bioterrorists are the politicians, the radio talkers, the preachers, the quacks, and the Facebook liars.
Or we can just call them Republicans.
Not all Republicans are in the terrorists’ camp, but a majority may be willing suicide bombers, while the leadership is inciting them to kill and die themselves.
Let’s call it like it is. Just because the bomb doesn’t make a loud boom and takes weeks to kill doesn’t make it any less dangerous. And let’s treat them accordingly.