From Fascism to Pandemics, Mom Knew Best

 

For those too young to know, "V" was one of the most watched and discussed mini-series of the 1980s. Before Independence Day, this was the first time we witnessed giant mile-long spacecraft arriving over every major city simultaneously. However, instead of reigning death and destruction, they came as friends who needed our help. At least, that was how it seemed. 

In reality, the "Visitors" as they came to be called by the people of Earth, only appeared to be beautiful humanoids. They were, in fact, venom-spitting reptilian beings who saw us as a perfect food source. Not everyone knew this and many were willing to cooperate with what eventually became an allegory for Nazi Germany.

Characters we came to care about had their hearts broken by people they thought they could trust. An underclass comprised of Earth's scientists became the minority that needed to be controlled and censored lest they figure out the Visitors' secret. Soon there was even a youth group of makes in brown shirts acting as assistants to the orange-clad soldiers patrolling the streets. One such character even turns in his own grandfather, a concentration camp survivor.

During one of the times the mini-series was rerun on local TV, my mother and I got into a deep discussion about the people we knew and cared about and how we thought they would react in the same situation. It was a tough conversation because some of those people, individuals we loved, were also ones we knew would turn against us. Mom and I knew we wouldn't cooperate but we also knew we were related to people who would find their comfy lives more alluring than resistance. 

 I think about that conversation often. I wonder how she would have reacted to how COVID revealed so many true natures. I wonder if she would have been disappointed or if she would have just shaken her head in that knowing way she often employed when unpleasant things were confirmed.

It seems as if she was preparing me all those years ago for the moment when people would disappointment me on a level I'd never before experienced. I often think she prepared me too well, as it was nearly impossible for me to feel that way. Having observed the growing self-absorption in the U.S., almost nothing surprises me with the possible exception of lunatics calling medical workers "crisis actors." And that's the one thing "V" never addressed; how bone-chillingly stupid human beings can be.

So many people seem to have learned nothing as they continue coughing from their uncovered mouths into the air and clicking laughing emojis on scientifically vetted articles about viral spread. I think if COVID were an alien race, those of us who still mask up indoors would be targeted like the scientists in "V." If that day comes, I'm ready.

Thanks, Mom~