Enemies of the People

From Norway to the Congo…

In Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play, An Enemy of the People, a Norwegian doctor finds himself excoriated by his fellow citizens for informing them that the town spa’s waters are contaminated and put people’s lives at risk. Because revealing this information beyond the community could crush the local economy, he suffers scorn and abuse.

He and his daughter lose their jobs. His house is vandalized. His family faces eviction. He’s advised to leave town.

The notion of people acting contrary to their own interests, even when health and lives are at stake, cuts across all cultures. It’s not just in fictitious 19^th century Norway where they figuratively or literally shoot the messenger.

It’s also the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018-19, where an Ebola epidemic saw members of affected villages resisting treatment and even attacking and killing medical personnel. Why? “A study conducted in September [2018], less than two months into the outbreak, found that 25 percent of people surveyed in the affected areas did not believe Ebola was real, while 36 percent thought it was fabricated to destabilize the region.”

…to Missouri

And it’s also Missouri in 2020, where Amber Elliott’s fears for her family forced her to quit her position as St. Francois County health director. Her work featured educating and protecting the community against Covid. For many, she became the enemy just for doing her job.

In her own words, as told to the Washington Post:

I’ve had strange cars driving back and forth past my house. I get threatening messages from people saying they’re watching me. They followed my family to the park and took pictures of my kids. How insane is that?…

I go off of facts and evidence-based science, and right now, all the data in Missouri is scary bad. We only have about 70,000 people in St. Francois County, but we’ve had more than 900 new cases in the last few weeks. Our positivity rate is 25 percent and rising. The hospital is already at capacity. They’ve basically run out of staff. We can’t keep up…

At one point this summer, I worked 90 days straight trying to hold this virus at bay, and my whole staff was basically like that…

I have people in my own family who believe covid is a conspiracy and our doctors are getting paid off…

The [county health] board decided to go ahead with the [mask] mandate…but part of the community revolted. We did a survey a few weeks later, and mask-wearing had actually gone down by six percent. We required it, and people became more likely to do the opposite. How do you even make sense of that?…

[A] little while ago, somebody took a photo at a game of me with my daughter. We were outside and social-distanced, so we weren’t wearing masks. The photo got posted all over social media, and it was the usual comments. “Bitch.” “Communist.” “Hypocrite.” My daughter has had some anxiety. My son said to me: “Mom, why does everybody hate you?”…

[A]t some point I have to keep my kids safe. I decided to put in my notice earlier this month. My last day is this Friday.

I’ve already accepted another nursing job. I’m not abandoning the community. I’m going to keep fighting this pandemic, but I’d rather not say anything much more specific. I don’t want that target on my back. I’m ready to be anonymous.

Of course, many Missourians back rather than attack health officials. Still, in light of Ms. Elliott’s experience, it’s ironic that Missouri got its nickname as the “Show Me State” due to “the devotion of its people to simple common sense.”

She’s not alone in stepping down. Public health colleagues from across the state and country have similarly been driven from their jobs by harassment and threats during the pandemic. All for simply seeking to save people’s lives.

Sometimes the enemies of the people are the people themselves.

Finally, the Infection Subsides

As disconcerting as all this is, there are at least three reasons to feel hopeful as we head into 2021 – not just about our health, but for the public health heroes condemned as enemies by some of the people they serve.

First, vaccines are on the way. Distribution will be an incredible challenge. But by a year from now much of the population will be inoculated. And the capacity of fools to contract and spread the disease will be diminished.

Second, January 20 will see the inauguration of competent leadership, evidence-based approaches and consistent messaging from Washington about the pandemic. Many people will still ignore science and common sense. But some will be persuaded by clear, correct information or no longer confused by disinformation.

Finally, even though so many followers continue their cultish devotion to him, January 20 will see the greatest enemy of the people lose his most powerful, deceitful platform as his presidency thankfully ends.

The virus called Donald Trump will linger. But the infectiousness of his lies, at least when it comes to Covid, will subside.