The facts didn’t change: it’s the same virus now as it was then. Our understanding of it may have changed. But even then, its lethality was obvious to anyone wh

The facts didn’t change: it’s the same virus now as it was then. Our understanding of it may have changed. But even then, its lethality was obvious to anyone who didn’t think Europeans are somehow different from Chinese. And it’s easy to prove that this virus was considered dangerous even back then: this whole shtick of shaking hands and talking about it doesn’t make any sense except against the backdrop of people warning against it. It was a macho bravado move; performative politics put on as a gambit to win another news cycle in the endless culture wars. And it is so obvious a parallel to Brexit, from the blatant disregard of evidence, expertise, and science all the way to the hints of racism, that no appeal of “not the day to get into the politics” will be able to prevent people from seeing the obvious: it was incredibly stupid. To not point out how his kind of politics is now endangering his life would waste an opportunity to learn, at a moment where decisions can still influence outcomes, and good decisions can make the difference for thousands of people who may or may not die. With that in mind, it is also in everyone’s interest, beyond basic humanity demanding it, to hope for his survival: Boris Johnson is a terrible person in many regards, but he isn’t entirely stupid. There’s a good chance he would learn from this, and he may well be the perfect ambassador that can get through to his fans.