Joe Diffie Widow Refutes Conspiracy Behind Singer’s COVID-19 Death
90’s country star Joe Diffie was one of the first high-profile personalities in America to pass away due to complications from the Coronavirus. After first announcing on March 27th that he’d contracted the disease and was under the care of doctors, two days later, on March 29th, it was announced that the 61-year-old had died. The official cause of death was not announced as the Coronavirus, but “complications due to the Coronavirus.” The disease was thought to exacerbate underlying medical conditions Joe Diffie was already suffering from before contracting the disease, like many COVID-19 victims.
However a widely-circulated rumor that the Oklahoma native actually died of lung Cancer, and the Coronavirus story had been concocted to embellish COVID-19 statistics took root via multiple social media posts that spread the conspiracy theory.
An individual named Tony Phillips posted on Facebook on April 13th, “I have a friend who is a friend of Joe Diffie. They labeled his death as a covid-19 death and it wasn’t! So the family asked why it was listed as the COD and the nurse told them they’ve been labeling as many as they can with the virus because that’s how they’re getting funding. So there ya go! Now we know that the numbers are false because many who have passed didn’t die from the virus, but another cause. That’s how they’re getting the $$$$ and that is the truth.”
The post received over 117,000 shares on Facebook, and similar accounts were circulated in other posts claiming Joe Diffie’s death was part of a Coronavirus conspiracy.
Now Joe Diffie’s widow, Tara Diffie, has addressed these rumors. In a post on Instagram, Tara Diffie told fans, “My husband, Joe Diffie, did NOT HAVE LUNG CANCER. His father passed, same name, November 2018 to stage IV lung cancer. STOP STARTING FAKE NEWS. I’ve seen multiple posts and it’s upsetting to all of us.”
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The death of songwriter John Prine on April 7th also due to the Coronavirus was met with a similar version of misinformation. In the aftermath of his death, many individuals on social media blamed President Trump and the response by the United States government to the disease for Prine’s passing. An article posted in the Chicago Reader titled, “Did John Prine Die for Donal Trumps Sins?” goes on to assert matter of factly in the subheading, “The cruelty, ignorance, and incompetence of the federal pandemic response have cost the life of a beloved singer-songwriter who stood against all those things.”
However the article does not mention that according to John’s wife Fiona Prine, who contracted the disease and became ill before John, there is a chance the couple contracted the disease while they were traveling in Europe, not while in the United States. “We were traveling in Europe last month. Maybe we picked it up there, maybe we didn’t,” Fiona said when she first announced her COVID-19 diagnosis, and that she was completely isolated from John. The Chicago Reader article fails to mention that important fact.
John Prine also had no issue accessing testing. On the same day Fiona tested positive, John’s initial test came back “indeterminate.” John Prine also did not have any issues accessing healthcare, or a ventilator when doctors later did diagnose him as positive, and decided the 73-year-old needed to be intubated. Fiona later praised the medical professionals who cared for John. Prine also had numerous underlying health conditions, including a previous bout with lung Cancer. “He’s definitely in that vulnerable population,” Fiona Prine said initially. “This would not be a good virus for him to get, or anyone.”
Numerous readers lashed out at the Chicago Reader for exploiting John Prine’s death. “I’d like to blame this on Cheeto – he certainly has a lot of blood on his hands, and not just related to the coronavirus – but chances are Prine contracted the disease in Europe. Without any mitigating treatment currently available, he would have needed a miracle to save him,” responded one reader.
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Both instances show how the politicization of the Coronavirus issue has bled the nuance out of the discussion, overlooking important facts, and how exploiting the death of someone due to the disease can be a callous act towards the survivors.
Chris
April 21, 2020 @ 11:11 am
My over/under line on the comments for this article is 200.
Bill
April 21, 2020 @ 12:26 pm
You are probably correct. But I won’t read any more beyond these first five or so since I come here for the music!
RB
April 21, 2020 @ 11:20 am
The past four years have convinced me that this country is too stupid to survive. Gullible conspiracy addled morons everywhere .
Rusty
April 21, 2020 @ 11:51 am
The last four years have proven we have a chance. The last 2 months of the coronavirus bullshit hysteria have shown us all how stupid people are
Musiccityman
April 22, 2020 @ 7:18 pm
Operation MKULTRA. Operation NORTHWOODS. USS Liberty. Countless other examples of criminal conspiracies. People are smart to question authority, be it government or media.
Big Tex
April 21, 2020 @ 11:36 am
Conspiracy theorists are all cut from the same cloth. They lead lonely, insignificant lives of ignorance and envy, fantasizing about and promulgating wild – and totally false – “conspiracies.” In so doing they seek to elevate themselves to a level of recognition and respect that has eluded them.
Mike Honcho
April 21, 2020 @ 11:49 am
Maybe so Big Tex, but people that accept what they are told by the media cant be elevated above the theorists. As always the truth is somewhere in the middle. The politicization of the media is the underlying threat that is dividing us.
Big Tex
April 21, 2020 @ 1:18 pm
There is no “middle” between the truth and conspiracy theories.
c
April 21, 2020 @ 1:28 pm
No comparison at all between science and conspiracy theories, you are just looking for an excuse to believe what you want to believe. Science is literally testing and retesting trying to disprove hypothesis or strengthen a theory. It changes with better evidence. Conspiracy theorists and political ideologues ignore evidence and try to make connects that don’t pass even basic scrutiny.
Mike Honcho
April 21, 2020 @ 2:19 pm
Science is not static. How can you claim science is correct with this fact alone? Science is a conflict without an end. The State uses the veil of science to control the sheep, and its become a religion of those who dont believe in religion. People that dont understand something repeat it on faith that the State is telling the truth. The State is not altruistic.
The Original WTF Guy
April 22, 2020 @ 9:05 am
Of course science is not static. It would not be very useful if it was.
Science is not about outcomes, it is about the process. As long as we follow the processes and report things correctly, we have engaged in science.
Of course, you won’t believe a word of this because you seemingly would rather get your knowledge from the National Enquirer or QAnon, or just make it up. But go ahead and continue to believe the world economy is controlled by a secret cabal made up of Bigfoot, a Yeti, and two unicorns. I’m sure that will serve you well.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 10:47 am
I have a BS in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology. I understand science very well. We aren’t dealing with science, we are dealing with politicians that cherry pick what is reported as science. Science is not a single entity with a spokesperson. You are a fucking idiot if you think your views are backed by science. Science has more than one viewpoint, so by extension…. And, I damn sure dont trust a party that claims to be directed by science, but claims there is more than two genders.
thegentile
April 22, 2020 @ 1:01 pm
what sort of shitty scientist doesn’t know the difference between sex and gender? lol. they’re different words with different meanings. gender describes those characteristics that are largely socially created. sex is the genitals you were born with (no matter how small mike. no worries).
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 1:16 pm
What does this have to do with Joe Diffie, John Prine, or the Coronavirus? Stay on topic please.
Erik
April 22, 2020 @ 8:44 am
Actually,they can.news agencies look to sources they can cite,& check references.ANY idiot can make up a conspiracy theory and post it.look anywhere but fox “news”& find reality.climate change is real,Vaccines have never caused autism,& our joke of a president costs thousands of lives by sewing division and skepticism towards scientific facts.No, not Mr. Prine, but Tens of thousands of other people’s lives are over.
Jake Cutter
April 21, 2020 @ 5:00 pm
There are definitely those conspiracy theorists who will only believe what they want to believe. The ones that won’t change their mind no matter what the evidence shows. It’s easy to laugh at people like that. There are some goofy ones out there. 5G being to blame for COVID, for example. But then there are also people that are skeptical for good reason. When the media shows nothing but worse case scenarios, shows footage from the worst hit hospital in the worst hit neighborhood of the worse hit city in the US, and uses language like “apocalyptic” and “war zones” When they even use footage from Italy and pass it off as New York, when they turn the whole thing into a political witch hunt, it’s no wonder that a large number of people start to question the narrative. The media deserves some of the blame in this.
It’s possible to say that COVID is serious AND it’s being reported on without any perspective or rationality. It is understandable that some people are seeking to understand what is actually going on. I’m glad we live in a world where, for example, not everyone believes that Epstein killed himself.
Harris
April 21, 2020 @ 6:28 pm
Conspiracy theorists are people attempting to manage the dissonance of a world that doesnt conform to their core beliefs.
I believe almost all false conspiracies (excluding provable real ones like MK Ultra or the Business Plot) are manifestations of cognitive dissonance. Some core belief of a person is violated and rather than adjusting their beliefs to reality they deny reality.
I think the reason conspiracies are only growing with time is that in large part the core belief most Americans are raised with is the one repeatedly violated. Specifically, the idea of America’s inherent goodness/innocence. I think 9/11 was an inside job, sandy hook, pizza gate, and now this coronavirus stuff are all examples of people trying to resolve the dissonance created by America doing things that violate the core belief of most Americans that America is essentially innocent.
Most people grow up with this idea of American innocence and have that bubble burst at some point. Some people react by going deeper into over the top jingoism. Other by embracing political nihilism. And others by embracing conspiracy theories that deny American culpability in fucked up things.
Anyway Third Rock From the Sun was one of the first albums I ever bought. It was great.
Big Tex
April 21, 2020 @ 6:46 pm
Not so fast there, Harris. People who hate the USA believe some of the most absurd conspiracy theories. The Steele Dossier is one such example.
Harris
April 21, 2020 @ 9:06 pm
Most people who don’t like the USA grew up being taught it was the best country on earth and at some point they dealt with the trauma of realizing that wasn’t true. In their case they dealt with it by embracing political nihilism where you end up defending the war crimes of countries who frame themselves as anti imperialist.
It’s just another way of dealing with that centra dissonance most Americans experience in their lives.
Jake Cutter
April 21, 2020 @ 9:18 pm
The “trauma.” LOL. Sounds REALLY terrible. You’re really on to something here.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 7:06 am
I hate myself for asking, but what is the best country on Earth, Harris? Show me on the doll where the USA hurt you.
Big Tex
April 22, 2020 @ 8:30 am
“Harris” on this board is probably Sturgill Simpson in disguise. Simpson hates the USA, but he doesn’t have a clue why. As I mentioned on another thread, “Sturgill” is an ancient Norman name which translates as “dumbass lute player.”
Paddy
April 21, 2020 @ 12:23 pm
You are only helping to spread these stupid claims. Why bother?
scott
April 21, 2020 @ 12:42 pm
Appears he was trying to clear up things.
Paddy
April 21, 2020 @ 12:51 pm
Yes. I agree with you. But now there are people talking about this who were never aware of the original chit chat. And that is how this conspiracy shit spreads.
Mike Honcho
April 21, 2020 @ 12:58 pm
Nothing cleans like daylight. Im always suspicious of people that want to hide things. Settled science comes to mind. If your point of view cant withstand scrutiny, maybe you need to reconsider your point of view.
Trigger
April 21, 2020 @ 1:17 pm
Paddy,
I appreciate this concern, but I feel like I have an obligation to set the record straight whenever I see misinformation being spread. If it was just a few people jawing off on Facebook, that would be one thing. Something the media also loves to do these days is give trolls a platform by acting like a couple of comments represent a prevailing viewpoint. But when you have misinformation spread so far an wide like the Joe Diffie stuff was—literally hundreds of thousands of times—and his wife’s reach is limited to refute these notions, I feel I have a responsibility to attempt to help correct the record, if only so when people take to Google for answers, they get the full story.
thegentile
April 21, 2020 @ 2:31 pm
you have an obligation to stop misinformation whenever you see it being spread? hmm, let’s investigate.
“One word Hydroxychloroquinine. I’m no doctor but I am hearing amazing survival stories from Covid-19 patients of recent. I know, its unproven in testing and clinical trials, but Drs all over the world are using it right now.”
“Detroit Border Patrol stop Chinese Scientist with vials of live Sars, Mers, in suitcase. Look up the arrest of “distinguished” Harvard prof. Charles Lieber. Shame on the “news” outlets, for cover-ups.*People need to wake up.*”
“It’s a criminal shame that the healing power of high-dosage intravenous vitamin C is being actively suppressed, ridiculed, and attacked in America. Dr. Richard Cheng in China has recently reported on his success using that treatment on dozens of coronavirus patients. No huge vaccine profits in that approach, so it will never gain wide acceptance here.”
these were found in the comment sections here which i personally (and others) responded to the validity, or rather lack thereof. i’m sure there are others, but these were ones i specifically responded to. to the latter comment, when i questioned it and asked why you would allow this misinformation to be spread (and from a blog post even), you said…
“This is an open forum and people have the right to post whatever they want here. Clearly nobody should be taking serious medical advice from the comments section of a country music blog. But … has a right to post a link, and people can read the article and decide for themselves.”
you also said (again when i asked why you allow it), “If you see something you disagree with it, challenge it, just like you did here. That’s what lends to healthy discussion.”
you also told me “I’m not going to allow you to turn this comments section into a train wreck” when i called out the vitamin c comment (and a few after) specifically.
so in conclusion, it doesn’t look like you’re stopping the spread of misinformation at all and are in fact giving it a forum.
Trigger
April 21, 2020 @ 2:48 pm
The Gentile,
Once again, here you come to take a constructive discussion and turn it into blame game and punditry. I can’t dispute the medical efficacy of Hydroxychloroquinine or large doses of Vitamin C on the Coronavirus because I don’t have any data on that, and neither does anyone else. That is why the FDA is currently conducting clinical trials on these treatments. To equate that to the widow of Joe Diffie disproving a very callous rumor that basically calls her a liar is ludicrous. Also, none of these comments you cite were shared over 100 thousand times on social media, and directly dealt with the death of an individual. If I knew for a fact that Hydroxychloroquinine or large doses of Vitamin C don’t help with the Coronavirus, perhaps I would refute it. But I don’t. Neither do you. Neither does the FDA.
Paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 4:31 am
I think, Trigger, you should cease to make any further comments in relation to Covid 19. I appreciate you are only trying to do your best. It is a absolutely fine to report the deaths of musicians etc., who have died or been treated for this damned thing but you should stop there. This is a site dedicated to country music and not for medical discussion. And only comments about music should be allowed. All other comments should either be ignored and deleted. Or sent to some other site.
thegentile
April 22, 2020 @ 7:56 am
there i go again with my nasty comments. i ought to be ashamed of myself.
Bob
April 22, 2020 @ 9:18 am
https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/fox-news-mentions-hydroxychloroquine-have-significantly-dropped
Jake Cutter
April 22, 2020 @ 9:28 am
Paddy, how bout you stop telling people what to do? Want people sent to another site? How about you lead the way?
Bob
April 22, 2020 @ 2:43 pm
Here, Trigger, educate yourself:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.10.20060699v1
For those of you who believe your computer is being monitored by people in invisible helicopters and are afraid to click on a link, the title of the artlce is: “No evidence of clinical efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection with oxygen requirement: results of a study using routinely collected data to emulate a target trial”
https://apnews.com/a5077c7227b8eb8b0dc23423c0bbe2b2
Even your heros have seemingly given up:
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/22/21230982/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus-trump-fox-news-hype
But, hey, there is a great song about it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqk5of8LgLE
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 2:58 pm
Why in the world are you assuming I have some affinity for hydroxychloroquine? I haven’t said shit about hydroxychloroquine. Not in an article, not in a comment, or anywhere else. Do you think you’re busting my chops here or something? Others have mentioned hydroxychloroquine, but not me. I could give a shit. Let the FDA conduct their clinical trials, then perhaps I’ll take a stance on it.
Also, neither Fox News nor Donald Trump are my “heroes,” and similar to your strange hydroxychloroquine stance, the only way you would come to those conclusions are through wild eyed assumptions. Sync up your comment threads and go piss on someone else’s leg.
Bob
April 22, 2020 @ 3:25 pm
“I can’t dispute the medical efficacy of Hydroxychloroquinine or large doses of Vitamin C on the Coronavirus because I don’t have any data on that”
Damn, you may be dumber on this than I thought. The quote if from directly above this.
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 4:30 pm
Seriously Bob, go fuck yourself. If you read this comment thread correctly, you would see that The Gentile was trying to criticize me for not calling out comments about Hydroxychloroquinine MADE BY OTHERS. NOT BY ME! I responded that I could not refute other people comments because I do not have the scientific data to back it up. I TAKE NO FUCKING STANCE ON Hydroxychloroquinine. I repeat, NO FUCKING STANCE. Never have. I haven’t promoted it, condoned it, said it works on Coronavirus, anything.
If you can’t understand this very very basic point, then you don’t need to be publicly sharing your opinion here or anywhere else.
Harris
April 21, 2020 @ 9:24 pm
Hey not sure you’ve ever had one of your foundational beliefs about the world challenged but that shit is painful. And so when people in a society are taught a whole bunch of stuff that’s not true, it makes them believe some wild shit as they all collectively realize that. I do think this is one of the main reasons our country is both so polarized and also so prone to belief in absurd conspiracies.
Cognitive dissonance is a hell of a drug.
Jake Cutter
April 21, 2020 @ 10:16 pm
Idealization and disillusionment are powerful, I agree…in terms of mortality, career, parents, authority figures, Santa clause, etc. I just think it’s a stretch to connect any major societal shortcomings to the “trauma” from finding out the USA was not the perfect country Mr. Harris told me it was.
The Original WTF Guy
April 22, 2020 @ 9:17 am
If you can believe a bearded man in the sky created the universe in 7 days…
Mike Honcho
April 23, 2020 @ 10:16 am
Im sure you believe socialism is a viable economic system. Which one has been proven wrong time and time again?
CountryKnight
April 24, 2020 @ 7:08 am
Mike,
Go easy on these lemmings. They are from the participation trophy generation.
marc
April 21, 2020 @ 1:25 pm
“The post received over 117,000 shares on Facebook” Most of these people probably couldn’t name his songs and are caught up in the politicization of the virus.
NCW
April 21, 2020 @ 2:32 pm
I didn’t know thia was a thing with Mr. Diffie. I was very saddened by his loss. However, I will say as a healthcare worker that I’m getting very angry at ppl claiming this is a hoax. Without using super harsh language, those who are trapped by their own paranoia on this can fuck off. I hope you don’t have to watch someone you love die on a video screen only to have someone tell you it was all made up.
RK32
April 21, 2020 @ 2:51 pm
Could not agree more and I wish you would let rip with any level of language that’s required. Thirteen elderly people died from this virus in a care home about two miles from where I live. These people were known in the community and it hardly made the news. So, if any of the conspiracy theorists think this isn’t as real as it gets, as you say, they can fuck right off.
Mike Honcho
April 21, 2020 @ 5:22 pm
Why are we quarenteening healthy people? I had the virus last month and felt like shit for a couple weeks. My wife had it and didn’t even know it. Sick of emotional arguments on this. We could argue about fucking skateboards and bicycles if we want to. If you are compromised stay the fuck home. Somebody has to work and pay the bills. Some of y’all treating this like a paid vacation.
Paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 4:39 am
And we should also quarantine idiots who cannot spell.
VA in MA
April 22, 2020 @ 11:15 am
You’ve got the answer right there in your comment – it’s possible to have the virus and feel totally fine. If folks like your wife, who have the virus but are asymptomatic, carry on like normal they risk spreading the virus to others. Without a massive ramp-up of testing, we’ve got no way of knowing who should remain self-quarantined and who can safely interact with others.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 11:33 am
Shutting down the entire economy for a virus only dangerous to people who already have compromised health makes no sense. It is much easier for those susceptible to lock themselves down. They generally dont contribute much, anyway. I’m not sure people realize that the government must first take capital away from somebody, in order to redistribute it. An economic meltdown will make C19 seem like a cold sore.
Dan
April 21, 2020 @ 3:22 pm
I always thought that if something really big ever happened in America we would finally pull together with a unified cause. I was wrong.
I guess we’ll have to wait for the alien invasion to give us all the same thing to hate
RD
April 21, 2020 @ 6:30 pm
When we were a homogeneous people, with the same religion, same values, same history, etc., we pulled together. Obviously, this has been fucked out since 1965 and we are now the “Polyglot Boarding House” that TR warned about. It is not surprising to me. In fact, its inevitable. The scumbags who fought for the demographic shift had to swear that it wouldn’t happen in order to subversively enact it.
Jon
April 21, 2020 @ 8:15 pm
Curious what event in 1965 you’re referring to here. Please elaborate.
Paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 4:43 am
Yeah Jon. And maybe that idiot should also tell that to Native Americans. I think they were here first. Look what happened to them for getting uppity.
CountryKnight
April 24, 2020 @ 7:10 am
Got here first, yes.
But here is the difference, America wasn’t founded until the 13 Colonies banded together. The Indians didn’t run a country called America. Try again.
thegentile
April 22, 2020 @ 7:37 am
i think he’s talking about the british invasion. those darn mop tops and their rock n roll music corrupting every one!
Di Harris
April 22, 2020 @ 12:26 pm
Detroit Border Patrol stop Chinese Scientist with vials of live Sars, Mers, in suitcase. Look up the arrest of “distinguished” Harvard prof. Charles Lieber. Shame on the “news” outlets, for cover-ups.
Good afternoon Gentile,
Thank you for quoting me in your earlier comment.
When you researched the content of the first two sentences, what did you find?
thegentile
April 22, 2020 @ 12:34 pm
i still found the same information completely refuting whatever point you are trying to from when you posted this nonsense the first time (so i’m just going to copy and paste):
“according to our own government, what you said is wrong. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/harvard-university-professor-and-two-chinese-nationals-charged-three-separate-china-related
and if you think it has to do with coronovirus, it does not.
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/02/no-link-between-harvard-scientist-charles-lieber-and-coronavirus/
a minute of googling. that’s all that took.
trigger, how is this allowed? honestly.”
VA in MA
April 22, 2020 @ 11:39 am
They are talking about the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act.
But they’re also choosing to not think about American Indians, enslaved Africans, waves of Chinese and Japanese immigrants, Chicanos, etc., in their “homogeneous people” daydream.
Buzz Meeks
April 22, 2020 @ 2:41 pm
“When we were a homogeneous people, with the same religion, same values, same history, etc., we pulled together.”
You mean sheep. Get in line. Follow your leaders, no matter what. Opiate of the masses kinda thing is what you’re into……sounds like Iran is more of your style.
Big Tex
April 22, 2020 @ 6:01 pm
The Immigration and Nationalization Act that Teddyboy Kennedy was responsible for in the mid-1960s has been a disaster for my nation! We have gained nothing but trouble by allowing third-worlders into my nation. You can take the primitives out of the third-world, but you cannot take the third world out of the primitives.
Di Harris
April 22, 2020 @ 6:08 pm
Oh,
Thank you, thank you thank you.
Segue to Ted (Chappaquiddick) Kennedy, & Fauci (that would be the current, dr. fauci, of the NIH).
Gentile, my apologies for commenting one more time this evening.
thegentile
April 23, 2020 @ 6:42 am
““Tony Fauci didn’t want the American public to know that he has poisoned an entire generation of Americans,” Kennedy said, alleging Fauci targeted a whistleblower who was trying to uncover the blood supply in the country was tainted with deadly strains.”
i think you got the wrong kennedy (lol) in your theory. ted is dead. rfk jr. is an antivaxer (which i assume you also are based on this). di, maybe to save some time you could let us know if there are any conspiracy theories you don’t subscribe to?
Paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 4:36 am
The alien invasion is already here. Led by General Trump.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 6:38 am
Everyone is an idiot, but paddy. Feeling bold with her $1200 to supplement her disability check.
RD
April 22, 2020 @ 6:46 am
Most of that $1,200 is already spoken for. Cat food and soy milk are expensive these days.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 7:34 am
You know she invested it in toilet paper.
Paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 7:30 am
Hello Honcho. I live in Ireland. Your 1200 dollars is way above me.
Jake Cutter
April 21, 2020 @ 4:17 pm
Trigger,
If you remember my comment on your older post, I asked the question about this. For the record, I had no idea about this case and that there was any doubt or social media commentary. I asked because it is a valid question. There is a difference between dying with the virus and because of the virus, and there are some legitimate questions around that and how the numbers are being counted. That said, its obvious that it is deadly, I believe family members on what happened, and wouldn’t be part of spreading rumors or conspiracy theories.
Trigger
April 21, 2020 @ 5:43 pm
I agree that’s a fair question, and the fact that people with preexisting conditions make up something like 85% of the people dying of it further clouds that discussion and assessment. I’m not sure there is a right answer in certain cases. Would Joe Diffie still be alive if it weren’t for the Coronavirus outbreak? My guess is that he would be, but only his doctors and family know the extent of his preexisting conditions.
Jake Cutter
April 21, 2020 @ 5:51 pm
Well said. Half my point is that I wasn’t aware that he was being used as a case to try and prove the point…. if I was, I wouldn’t have asked the question. There’s a difference between being skeptical and singling someone out personally, and making them the face of a narrative. Especially right after they died.
Seak
April 21, 2020 @ 7:45 pm
Trigger the 85% statistic is totally made up, and inaccurate. While certain medical conditions do carry with them a higher risk factor from covid-19, as the disease has progressed, for reasons we still don’t know, the virus also seems to take different paths in many different people. Such that some healthy 30 year olds die & some 90 year olds live.
Additionally the dies from complications wording is quite common, and is true for nearly everyone (for most diseases). Most individuals who die from covid-19 die from pneumonia, but the pneumonia is caused by covid-19. It’s a medical terminology thing.
Trigger
April 21, 2020 @ 10:48 pm
It’s not “totally made up.” It’s verifiable from the CDC. I couldn’t find the latest data (may not have been published online yet. But here is the information from the CDC:
“The percentage of COVID-19 patients with at least one underlying health condition or risk factor was higher among those requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission (358 of 457, 78%) and those requiring hospitalization without ICU admission (732 of 1,037, 71%) than that among those who were not hospitalized (1,388 of 5,143, 27%). The most commonly reported conditions were diabetes mellitus, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease. These preliminary findings suggest that in the United States, persons with underlying health conditions or other recognized risk factors for severe outcomes from respiratory infections appear to be at a higher risk for severe disease from COVID-19 than are persons without these conditions.”
“Among all COVID-19 patients with complete information on underlying conditions or risk factors, 184 deaths occurred (all among patients aged ≥19 years); 173 deaths (94%) were reported among patients with at least one underlying condition.”
Source:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6913e2.htm
Obviously, that doesn’t mean everyone who dies from the Coronovarius has an underlying condition or is older, and I didn’t imply that. But the vast majority do, no matter where that number ends up when all the data is crunched.
Seak
April 22, 2020 @ 3:40 am
Trigger, that’s on 184 deaths, the United States is now at over ~45,000 (and several younger then 19).
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 7:48 am
I know. I mentioned that. The new study is much more detailed, but I can’t find it online, and it may not be posted yet, but it’s been cited by numerous people at the CDC. The point is that stat is not “totally made up.”
RD
April 22, 2020 @ 6:55 am
Yes. And even the stories about youngish people with no preexisting conditions dying are mostly bullshit. The two local stories that the media has been trumpeting involved a 47 year old man and a woman in her early 40’s. The stories have been accompanied by close-cropped face shots and breathless panic because they had “no preexisting conditions!” Well, guess why the pictures are closely cropped? They were each 400+ pounds. When you google a picture of either of them, they are obviously morbidly obese. That is a preexisting condition.
Jake Cutter
April 22, 2020 @ 9:25 am
What’s totally made up is the death rate. To be fair, even the WHO states that the rate is bound to fall, but so few media outlets are talking about this with any context or intelligence. The antibody tests that are starting to come out of Sweden, Iceland, Boston, Stanford University, etc show that far more people have had and easily fought off the virus. Sweden is expected to hit herd immunity next week. What that means is that the death rate is going to fall to an absurdly (relatively) low number. We’re going to start to see more people talking about this in the weeks to come. Governors are going to pat themselves on the back and claim that it was their draconian social distancing measures that brought the numbers down, while Sweden is going to prove an interesting placebo. Of course there is no absolute way to predict what is going to happen perfectly, butI think this comment will age well.
Luckyoldsun
April 21, 2020 @ 6:13 pm
Wasn’t Joe Diffie performing in public, on tour, right up until his short hospitalization before his death?
Would a singer suffering in the final stages of lung cancer really be able to do that?
I’m not inclined to believe the lung cancer theory.
Robert J Stewart
April 22, 2020 @ 4:24 pm
But it’s never really been about the death rate. People get distracted by that but that’s not deep thinking. It’s about the spike, the flash fire or the number of people dying ( whatever their age or body weight). A fast spreading virus with no treatment or immunity can devastate a health care system with a .5% death rate. It’s really not hard to comprehend if one can do basic math.
Robert J Stewart
April 22, 2020 @ 4:30 pm
I’ll do some math for you. Without some kind of pause, distancing and preventative measures, if 50% of the population were infected at a .5% death rate, that’s 750,000 deaths.
Henning
April 22, 2020 @ 2:53 am
In the US, you all drive on the right side of the road. We all agree about that, right?
Now, let’s say, some idiot comes along and claims “No, it’s been a conspiracy! We were always meant to drive on the left side”. This guy from now on drives accordingly. He causes all kinds of accidents and leaves chaos. People are dying. But, with things being the way they are, he gains notoriety and followers.
Next, some TV stations will report about this exiting new discussion over which side to drive on that everyone talks about. Overzealous not to be called biased, they will interview this one idiot alongside one of the hundreds of cops and truckers who implore you to please not be thick and stay in the right lane. Both “perspectives” will get equal airtime, but his frantic rants will be so much more enticing than the straight guys’ indignation. And no matter how idiotic and dangerous this guy’s take is and what a danger to road safety his views pose, his idea has now firmly been planted in people’s heads.
Some extra-thick people, who are naturally considering themselves extra clever, are now going: “Hang on – Have I been a brainwashed sheep for driving on the right all this time? You know what? I won’t let people tell me what to do! I’ll drive on the left from now on! And I’ll be really clever and dickish about it and let everyone know that i did not let BIG MEDIA influence me!”
Those who are more rasonable keep driving on the right.
A third group of people will feel extra smart and go: “Well, actually, it’s not that simple and it’s a grey area. What you wanna do is drive on that line in the middle.”
By now every roadtrip has become an anarchistic festival of random lanechanging, swerving, screeching brakes, congestion, overturning vehicles, fire and death. The left-drivers and the right-drivers are fighting each other with torches on the tarmac. Anyone is lucky to ever reach his destination alive. No on wins. Chaos is where order was.
That’s my little story about conspiracy theories.
Jake Cutter
April 22, 2020 @ 12:48 pm
Do you honestly equate acceptance of “big media” as something akin to driving on the right side of the road? Your example is a false equivalency, in almost every way. Yes you could make an argument about public safety, following accepted rules, the need for some order and conformity via acceptable parameters and means of behavior, via your analogy. But that doesn’t have anything to do with people questioning a narrative by ratings driven, ideologically homogeneous sensationalists. Seemingly smart people, regardless of their politics, from Thomas Jefferson to Noam Chomsky seem to have understood this, all without doing something equating “driving on the wrong side of the road” that leads to “fire and death.”
There are plenty of examples of things that were initially labeled as conspiracy theories that were later proven to be true. Though many conspiracy theories are really dumb, I’d rather have people out there ready and willing to question, than not.
Tom
April 22, 2020 @ 7:13 am
Trigger, thanks for writing this.
I understand you are trying to play the middle ground by showing both sides of the politicization. But by doing so, you are equating an opinion (Trump & his administration are partially responsible for covid deaths) to outright falsehoods (the vast conspiracy theories surrounding covid).
The mistrust in the media and conspiracy theories that gain steam needs to be fully rebuked. Playing the middle man and comparing these to opinions on the other side does not do the job.
Tom
April 22, 2020 @ 7:19 am
This is all to say: I would have left the John Prine business out of the article.
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 7:59 am
The Chicago Reader did not say Trump and his Administration were partially responsible for Covid deaths. It said matter of factly that the Trump Administration’s response directly led to the death of John Prine, and did so while willfully leaving out key facts. I would strongly argue that the “Chicago Reader” article was much worse than the viral Facebook post because it came from a direct media source who is responsible for vetting information before serving it to the public. People (hopefully) know that the stuff they read on Facebook should be taken much lighter than what they read in direct media sources.
Tom
April 22, 2020 @ 8:36 am
I guess I’m (perhaps unfairly) extrapolating on the broader message beyond the Chicago Reader’s piece and the FB post on Joe Diffie.
The Chicago Reader ran one singular sham article.
The conspiracy theories (not just this Joe Diffie one) have made rounds everywhere, and their proponents have been retweeted by The President.
Your Mama
April 22, 2020 @ 7:17 am
And THIS article conveniently leaves out that Prine had cancer.
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 7:23 am
No it doesn’t.
“Fiona later praised the medical professionals who cared for John. Prine also had numerous underlying health conditions, including a previous bout with lung Cancer. “He’s definitely in that vulnerable population,” Fiona Prine said initially. “This would not be a good virus for him to get, or anyone.” “
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 7:44 am
Anybody else find it interesting that those who refer to Trump as a Nazi, are the very same who advocate for censorship? I’d rather encourage people to find the answers on their own, and trust nobody is giving you the truth. The Left wouldn’t exist without people too lazy to investigate the message.
Erik
April 22, 2020 @ 9:05 am
Mike,You are an idiot. Sure, extreme leftists do you want to shut everyone up or censor them that doesn’t have their views, but fake news is a term of the right when facts make them look like the bigoted close minded fake Christians they are.The truth is Jesus was the ultimate liberal. Besides, I can’t trust you because I know you spread your butt cheeks and that layout you did for Playgirl magazine.
Jake Cutter
April 22, 2020 @ 9:47 am
Nah, I’m an Independent, not not the right…and he’s not the one who seems like an idiot here. Stereotyping entire groups of people as “bigots” is not effective at doing anything other than proving your own intolerance.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 10:34 am
Whatever, racist. How am I doing with what the Left terms debate?
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 10:58 am
Folks, we were having some real good discussion here. Let’s please not turn this personal and ugly political.
paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 11:14 am
Hey Mike. Why is everybody calling you an idiot. Is it a conspiracy?
Jake Cutter
April 22, 2020 @ 11:26 am
Why do sheep say baaahh?
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 11:40 am
Well, paddy. The left abandoned logic a long time ago. They argue by calling people who dont agree with their warped reality names like racist, bigot, homophobe, or orange. It’s really a neat way to argue because it requires no thinking or consideration. If you repeat it enough you may even begin to believe it.
thegentile
April 22, 2020 @ 11:56 am
i mean they usually just call people who are racist, bigotted, homophobic, or orange racists, bigots, homophobes, or orange. BUT sometimes they just call him by his name, donald trump.
zing.
Erik
April 22, 2020 @ 11:16 am
Mike,All I have to base my opinion on so-called conservatives is growing up in a small town and being surrounded with lots of people who have felt that way and told me those things my whole life, and every comment by people like that, and everything I’ve ever seen on faux news,& what people called Obama when they were no other black people around.in other words,the truth.not my words or assumptions.these directly contradict the teachings of Christ.if that makes you uncomfortable then you and I share this. I would love to return to a world where it at least seemed like at the heart of it all we are all Americans,But this isn’t possible when a leader encourages division, and can’t take criticism even when warranted like a humble man.plus,I’ve got you on that whole butt cheeks thing
Erik
April 22, 2020 @ 11:17 am
Mike,All I have to base my opinion on so-called conservatives is growing up in a small town and being surrounded with lots of people who have felt that way and told me those things my whole life, and every comment by people like that, and everything I’ve ever seen on faux news,& what people called Obama when they were no other black people around.in other words,the truth.not my words or assumptions.these directly contradict the teachings of Christ.if that makes you uncomfortable then you and I share this. I would love to return to a world where it at least seemed like at the heart of it all we are all Americans,But this isn’t possible when a leader encourages division, .plus,I’ve got you on that whole butt cheeks thing
Erik
April 22, 2020 @ 11:20 am
You’re not doing that well Mike. All my experiences of your kind of people are based on things they’ve told me and I’ve seen with my own eyes my whole life. Plus I have you on that whole butt cheeks thing
Jake Cutter
April 22, 2020 @ 11:52 am
“Your kind of people” has a certain ring to it. I feel like I’ve heard it before somewhere….if only I could put my finger on it.
CountryKnight
April 24, 2020 @ 7:13 am
Jesus is not the ultimate liberal. Quit slandering my savior.
Jerry Clower's Ghost
April 24, 2020 @ 7:38 am
Whoa CountryKnight, whoa! He meant classic liberal…
Corncaster
April 22, 2020 @ 10:16 am
We’ve always referred to pathogens by their point of origin. No one had a problem with “Ebola” virus, named after a river in Congo where that virus was first discovered. So we should feel fine calling this the “Wuhan” virus. At this point though, the horse has left the barn as people are calling it “covid 19.” I believe this happened for a couple reasons, but the most common reason is that it’s just easier to pronounce than “Wuhan.”
The other reasons are troubling, though, and it’s no “conspiracy” to wonder about the role of political forces around the world. The CCP in China is, as usual, a dictatorship. They lied about human-to-human transmissibility. They refuse to answer questions about whether a technician at their Level 4 (High Risk) research lab in Wuhan, which is located near the wet market, could have been exposed to a virus there, or unsafely disposed of viral material. Instead, the CCP suppressed information, clamped down on informants, suggested in official channels that COVID-19 could be a US military bioweapon, and is now using this globalized snafu as cover for rounding up the pro-democracy leaders in Taiwan and making them disappear, too.
I am sorry for the loss of Prine, Diffie, and many others, but the blame for all this lies fundamentally on the Chinese Communist Party. They are not our friends, their approach is utterly opposed to that of a constitutional republic, and they should pay an appropriate price for crippling the world’s economy.
Jake Cutter
April 22, 2020 @ 10:30 am
I think you mean Hong Kong, not TW.
Corncaster
April 22, 2020 @ 1:25 pm
Yes, Hong Kong.
paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 11:23 am
Could not agree more. China must be held to account when this is over. Whatever you say about the press here in the West at least they are free to express their opinion no matter how absurd that opinion can be. The Chinese press dare not express any opinion other than the party line. Fox news would go down very well in China, and Russia, and Saudi Arabia etc. All their leaders were friends of Trump not long ago.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 11:46 am
Paddy. I’m going to give you some homework. Research who is paying for the Obama Library. Also, who do Biden’s, Pelosi’s, Heinz-Kerry’s, and Boxer’s kids work for?
thegentile
April 22, 2020 @ 12:10 pm
mike, here’s your own homework. who do trump’s family, friends, and biggest contributors work for?
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 12:39 pm
Do they work for Trump?
thegentile
April 22, 2020 @ 1:45 pm
yeah, in the government. holding jobs they don’t have any qualifications for.
now where do you think these other people work? i’m guessing you think pelosi’s and kerry’s kids are linked to a ukranian gas company, but that isn’t true.
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/oct/10/facebook-posts/pelosi-romney-and-kerry-dont-have-sons-working-com/
Paddy
April 24, 2020 @ 8:25 am
Yes. And they sell Dettol.
Paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 12:18 pm
Mike. I live in Ireland. Could not care less who pays for any library.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 12:42 pm
Why do you care who our POTUS is then? If you refuse to educate yourself on a subject, maybe you should STFU instead.
Di Harris
April 22, 2020 @ 1:39 pm
This.
thegentile
April 23, 2020 @ 6:47 am
the u.s. participates in “global” politics.
Paddy
April 24, 2020 @ 8:37 am
Why do I care. I must. Your darling POTUS is stating we should stuff ourselves with disinfectant. Everybody should listen to this moron. Hopefully his supporters will drink Dettol by the gallon. And that is just one of the ridiculous statements he has made recently. Seriously, everyone should care. He is a candidate for the nuthouse.
tigtigbaby
April 22, 2020 @ 11:57 am
When you consider compromised health as anyone having a BMI over 30, that is well over a significant number, not just a small minority. A quick google search will tell you obesity is a larger risk than anything other than age. As someone who works in Med in NYC, this is not a normal virus, at all.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 12:38 pm
Fat asses stay home, or start eating better. Obesity is controllable Everybody has become a special interest. God forbid people are responsible for their own health.
tigtigbaby
April 22, 2020 @ 1:09 pm
It is amazing the amount of people with a BMI over 30 don’t think they have a preexisting condition. In the US, it is one in three adults. So basically, that is the population that needs to stay home. 1 in 3. Think about who you know, and how you are going to tell them they can’t go work.
Mike Honcho
April 22, 2020 @ 1:19 pm
I’m not telling anybody they cant work. Our Constitution says says rhat it’s our choice. I cant find the ammendment that hibernate the Constitution if there is a virus.
Paddy
April 22, 2020 @ 1:33 pm
It is in Obama’s library.
Colter
April 22, 2020 @ 12:41 pm
I hate the whole world
Trigger
April 22, 2020 @ 12:42 pm
Folks, this is my final warning. Please post only on-topic comments here, or I’m going to start deleting stuff or temporarily close the comments section.
Di Harris
April 22, 2020 @ 1:43 pm
Gentile,
You are not researching.
Research takes quite a bit of time.
Takes a lot more than clicking on google.
Keep going.
thegentile
April 22, 2020 @ 1:53 pm
di, how is linking you directly to two articles that debunk your “theory” bad research? one that is from the william barr led DOJ, no less. i would love to see the thoroughly vetted research you have done on the subject. unfortunately, you can’t even properly reply to a comment correctly nine times out of ten, so i’m not going to be holding my breath.
Di Harris
April 22, 2020 @ 3:10 pm
Use your mind, Gentile.
Delve in, do some research.
Paraphrase what you have found while doing the research.
Not coming at you.
It is good to actively engage one’s mind.
Will not comment further on this thread
Red Cloud
April 22, 2020 @ 5:26 pm
This comment section is exactly what I thought it would be.
I’m going fishing.
Paddy
April 23, 2020 @ 4:28 am
Then why bother reading it.
Red Cloud
April 23, 2020 @ 4:40 am
Curiosity I guess, I don’t know.
Di Harris
April 23, 2020 @ 11:42 am
Gentile,
In your apparent need to spew venom, you are letting anger cloud your senses.
Meant exactly what i said.
Ted Kennedy/Fauci connection.
You might want to look under Ted’s Christian name of Edward.
Research takes dedicated time, of which you have plenty of.
Being lazy is just that. Being lazy.
I am not a conspiracy theorist.
I am a realist.
Again, not coming at you.
Your angry words, do not hurt anyone, but yourself.
There is much in life to be happy about.
The simple things.
The most important things.
Good family, friends, love.
Helping a neighbor, etc.
Paddy
April 23, 2020 @ 1:20 pm
I thought you were going to make no further remarks.
Di Harris
April 23, 2020 @ 5:35 pm
Gentile, since you are fond of links, …
Don’t stop with this link.
Research.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/apr/11/bill-gates-anthony-fauci-unelected-destroyers-free/
Realism, as opposed to conspiracy theories
Jake Cutter
April 23, 2020 @ 6:56 pm
God bless you Di….for being such a free spirit, or something. But seriously, it would help if you replied to the comments in the thread you intend to reply to.
Di Harris
April 23, 2020 @ 7:20 pm
You are right Jake,
Thank you.
Was trying to help the Gentile not feel so singled out.
This is probably the perfect time for an eye roll.
Trying to keep someone’s heart safe, while at the same time disseminating information.
Don’t want to break anyone’s spirit
Jake Cutter
April 23, 2020 @ 8:58 pm
No prob. I think he’ll live.
Trigger
April 24, 2020 @ 8:49 am
Comments on this article are now closed for the time being. I have respectfully asked people to keep their comments on topic, and that request has been ignored. Meanwhile I have people from BOTH side of the political spectrum emailing me, telling me they will never read this site again due to the content of some of these comments. People need to respect each other, people need to respect the topic being discussed, and also understand that they’re not just representing themselves, but the Saving Country Music community with their words. At the same time, everyone needs to understand this is a free and open forum. Comments ARE deleted when they cross a line, and problem commenters are sent to moderation or blocked if needed. But to keep these comments sections open, it’s going to take the active participation of everyone. Otherwise, there may not be comments on certain topics, or people who consistently disrespect the spirit of these comments sections will be barred from commenting.
Bubba N.
February 11, 2021 @ 1:31 pm
Joe Diffie died from obesity and alcohol abuse.