What Flourishes Besides Germs

     
There are many things that flourish besides germs during a pandemic:

Hoarding. When people found out they might be stuck at home for weeks, someone decided the main thing they would need to treat a respiratory virus at home was toilet paper. The idea caught on like selfies and soon there was no tissue to be found on store shelves. The same for bottled water even though water systems are not usually susceptible to colds. There was a run on canned goods, taco shells and an assortment of other random foods. Garlic bulbs were as hard to find as the vampire invasion some were apparently expecting. The hoarding of hand sanitizer, disinfectant and cleaning supplies was rude, but at least made sense.

Scalpers. Whenever there is a shortage, real, imaginary or, in Covid's case, cretin created, there are people who reach out to rip off their fellow man. Some are shameless enough to post their greed on Craig's list. A manager at Albertsons told my dad a man took the last package of toilet tissue from the shelf, then offered it to the couple behind him for $25. When the employee told him he couldn't sell what he hadn't even paid for, the man, knowing store policy didn't allow detainment, said "You can't stop me." I wish I had been there to record his trashy transaction on my phone. I could have made him famous on Facebook, after all, he couldn't stop me. But slime balls associate with other slime balls and I wouldn't have been surprised if karma caught up with him before he even left the parking lot.

Scams.  Americans had hardly settled into their shelters before scams sprang up. Special, overpriced sanitizers. Virus killing air purifiers. Fake websites collecting donations. And even though they are probably legitimate, I refuse to tack a donation on my total at grocery check stands when no one can tell me who collects the money and who it is given to.

Spam.  Suddenly, I was getting emails for oxygen units and air purifiers along with the usual male enhancement and cannabis ads.

Snitches. These are the same people who were tattle tales in grade school. The kids who reported who was praying with their eyes open in Sunday school. The gossipy coworker. They like rules and they like reporting people who are not following the rules even better. Pandemic protocols are the perfect opportunity for snitches to exercise their gift of gossip.

Conspiracies.  Never ones to waste a good crisis, conspiracy theorists claim that Corona Virus was created by ___________, is a cover up for ___________, or is of benefit to ___________.  I have to admire their persistence, it's not easy to find ways a worldwide pandemic benefits one group over another. Depending on politics, Democrats spread Covid 19 to make President Trump look bad or Republicans did it to ensure Trump a second term. Some see this as the government's plot to take over the nation's businesses--mini-marts? T shirt shops? music stores? Really? Or there's the theory that the real reason Germany is testing large portions of their populace for Covid 19 is to secretly obtain and register their DNA. The German government must have more employees, resources, organization, better computers, and less snoopy reporters than the U.S. because our bloated, blundering, blabbing bureaucracy could never pull it off.

Acts of kindness. Covid 19 is most dangerous to those with underlying health problems. Similarly, the crisis surrounding the pandemic reveals the underlying health of the hearts of individuals. The Bible says our words and actions come from the thoughts and intents of our hearts. Corona virus did not make hoarders become selfish or scalpers become greedy, it just provided opportunities for those traits to surface. Those very same circumstances are also inspiring acts of kindness, sacrifice and generosity in others. If only those things could flourish until they become pandemic.