Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
CNN’s editor-at-large Chris Cillizza has recently discovered that, for some, there is a stigma attached to catching COVID-19. The shame is so much that he reveals the people he comes in contact with won’t even admit they’ve had it.
He detailed his recent findings in a Twitter thread where he notes that the significantly more contagious variant of the virus, Omicron, is changing the way people in his bubble talk about their past infections.
“For months and months, no one I came into contact with admitted they had Covid. Not neighbors. Not co-workers. Not friends. Not acquaintances. No one,” Cillizza noted. “Except that, with Omicron surging and lots and lots of people now getting it, I’ve found some of these same people telling me they had it last fall or at the start of the pandemic or whenever.”
“Which is fascinating to me. Because it suggests that they were embarrassed or scared to say they (or their family) had it before,” he continued. “Why? Probably not one reason for everyone, honestly. But I do think societally we unknowingly turned having Covid into some sort of judgment on your character.”
“Like, getting Covid was a sign you weren’t being responsible or careful enough. Not being a good member of society,” Cillizza lamented. “The ubiquity — thanks to its contagiousness — of Omicron has changed that dynamic. Some of the stigma of getting Covid has worn off, and made people more comfortable acknowledging that they’ve had it before.”
I’ve noticed something amid this Omicron surge that’s made me reconsider the first 20 months of this pandemic.
🧵 1/
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) January 5, 2022
https://twitter.com/ChrisCillizza/status/1478556056230023171
https://twitter.com/ChrisCillizza/status/1478556058314493953
https://twitter.com/ChrisCillizza/status/1478556060361318405
https://twitter.com/ChrisCillizza/status/1478556062466908169
Some on Twitter were utterly shocked that Cillizza was just discovering this behavior. Others suggested that media coverage had a lot to do with how people perceived those who were infected:
I can’t believe you just figured this out
— sigh… (@cardinals150) January 5, 2022
Gee, think CNN’s coverage contributed to that?
— BillHobson (@BillHobson1) January 5, 2022
Because covid was politicized. Only “MAGA white supremacists” and anti vaxxers were the ones to get it
— Flyover Country (@USFlyoverState) January 5, 2022
You have no self-awareness, do you? You, personally, fomented this!
— PartyMember (@PartyMember3) January 5, 2022
“A pandemic of the un-vaccinated” HAHAHA! Now that we are getting it, lets not stigmatize it. HAHAHA!
— Kapow Robot (@KapowRobot) January 5, 2022
To come to this now, must mean, you are truly out of touch.
— William Blake (@Dunkej01) January 5, 2022
Every time I read one of your pieces, I’m always flabbergasted that somebody pays you to write about your new discoveries when non-journalists have been aware of these basic facts for months by the time you published it as some groundbreaking info.
— Mike Cortese (@drebin25) January 5, 2022
Your network did a great job of convincing everyone that getting Covid was moral failing. Now you’re surprised that people were embarrassed to admit they had Covid?
— goski (@Uintafly) January 5, 2022
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
- ‘A bad and dangerous precedent’: Columbine survivor discusses sentencing of school shooter’s parents - April 11, 2024
- Rolling Stone reports RFK Jr’s ‘number one priority’ is to take votes from Joe Biden - April 10, 2024
- ‘Star Wars’ icon Billy Dee Williams shuns ‘victimhood,’ defends blackface: ‘If you’re an actor you should be able to do anything you want’ - April 9, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.