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Why is Dr. Anthony Fauci a punching bag for the right? He’s considered one of the world’s leading immunologists, has served this country for more than 50 years, and is currently President Biden’s chief medical advisor. Yet since the coronavirus pandemic began spreading globally, Republicans have shredded him in the media, grilled him on Capitol Hill, and called for his prosecution. They claim he undermined Donald Trump and lied about U.S.-funded research in a Chinese lab that they allege could have led to this pandemic. Still, Dr. Fauci continues the fight to bring the world to a safer place.
So what’s behind all the accusations and ridicule?
Well, you really need look no further to understand it than the SOP, the standard operating procedure for the modern American right wing on just about any issue, and it comes to some of the same parameters and characteristics of conspiratorial thinking in general and conspiracism.
I’ve interviewed many experts on cults, conspiratorial thinking, specific conspiracy theories and conspiracism, which is more the tendency within one’s own mind that some have to seek conspiracy even when there is none. And at the end of the day, blame Fauci is very similar psychologically and culturally to: China made this virus as a weapon and released it.
And it is the same principle that underlines so many conspiracy theories, which is that there are many people who would prefer for a variety of reasons to be able to say this was done on purpose. And here’s the cause. Some people prefer to say it that way, or to believe that because it’s scary to think there are random and unpredictable events based on odds, unlikely events that can happen at any time and it’s bad. And we don’t like it. Instead of that, they would rather believe someone did it.
At the same time, Fauci is present and available which makes him a target. And he’s an authority figure, which is the type of person the right loves to question just for the sake of it. Let’s just hope Fauci sticks around long enough to get us out of this mess.
