Limbaugh: We Must “Adapt” to COVID Like the Donner Party Did with Cannibalism

Of all the 2020 headlines that will end up in history books, this one’s at least a likely contender: “Americans should adapt to the coronavirus like pioneers who turned to cannibalism.”

That’s from right-wing commentator (and, disgracefully, Medal of Freedom recipient) Rush Limbaugh, who made that argument on yesterday’s show:

This isn’t who we are, folks, this cowering and fearful and almost giving up in the face of this enemy, COVID-19. We’ve not ever done anything like this before. So much of the way we are dealing with this is unprecedented — and it’s un-American.

That would be more motivational if Limbaugh wasn’t defending the Trump administration for leading the way into the abyss. The issue isn’t that we’re giving up. It’s that we can’t fight a virus with grit and tenacity. It requires listening to epidemiologists. It requires sacrifice. It requires being prepared with medical equipment. Republicans have refused to do those things at the levels we need to.

And then, somehow, Limbaugh turned to cannibalism. As one does.

You’ve heard of the Donner Party? Maybe some of you haven’t. The Donner Party, the Donner family and a bunch of travelers trying to get to California over the Sierra Nevada mountain range. They made the mistake of trying to make the trip in the middle of winter. We’re talking the Lake Tahoe region. They get to the peak. It was so bad that they had to turn to cannibalism to survive. That’s what’s noteworthy about the Donner Party. If you read the diaries written by the leaders of the Donner Party, the only reference to how cold it was, was one sentence: “It was a particularly tough winter.”

It’s just what was. They didn’t complain about it, because there was nothing they could do. They had to adapt. This is what’s missing. There seems to be no concept of adaptation. There seems to be no understanding in the Millennial generation that we can adapt to this, and that we’re going to have to.

So… moral of the story is we should “adapt” to a life-threatening virus just like a family that resorted to cannibalism. Very inspiring.

Twitter users, as usual, did not disappoint in sharing their appreciation for this dose of positive thinking:

Wear your masks. Unlike the Donner Party, we don’t need to resort to eating each other if we have enough common sense to take some basic precautions.