A Poem on the Coronavirus Coverup: ‘The 50¢ Army’ by Bruce Dale Wise The Society February 21, 2020 Covid-19, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry 12 Comments The 50¢ Army by Lu “Reed ABCs” Wei The Chinese Communist regime, has recently dispatched some 1600 online trolls to stifle and to catch. The censors want to stop all sensitive materials, especi’lly those relating to coronavirus tales. The Chinese Communist regime does not want bloggers to blog stories on the Internet from their own point of view. The censors are quite sensitive to stories some may tell. They must not let its netizens describe their local hell. The trolls, known as the Army 50¢, have been unleashed continuously they are tracking dread forms of free speech. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 12 Responses D Robin February 22, 2020 Thanks Bruce, for keeping the surveillance of the surveillance alive. Reply Lu "Reed ABCs" Wei February 23, 2020 The Chinese continue to under report not only the number of coronavirus cases, but also the number of deaths. In addition, it seems now that, despite the government’s desires, some Chinese workers are refusing to go back to work; and even some Chinese scientists are now saying the coronavirus did not originate in the seafood restaurant. What would that mean if it came out of Wuhan’s bioweapon’s program? This weekend the number of cases and deaths is climbing in South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran. Reply Joe Tessitore February 22, 2020 And here I thought it was the corona beer virus … Reply Lu "Reed ABCs" Wei February 23, 2020 Such joking is valuable, especially as the number of deaths grows. [I have admired for some time the humour Edgar Allan Poe frequently evinced in his morbid tales.] I appreciate humour in the most difficult events. A local clerk used that same joke on me a couple of weeks back. Reply Wilbur Dee Case February 23, 2020 This tennos of Lu “Reed ABCs” Wei is not brilliant. Its texture is minimal and its message is simple, that is, journalistic. It lacks metaphoric power, and it is Realist in its execution, tone and hard-hitting attitude, as in the poetry of Stephen Crane (1871-1900). And yet, it does have a few poetic elements of interest: its repetition, its slant rhymes, the metrical, nonpoetic diction, the alliteration, the ironic enemy, and the final spondee, wherein, its final punch occurs. Reply Monty February 25, 2020 Well, that’s a first on these pages, surely; a subjective review of a poem . . by the author himself! Ground-breaking stuff. Reply Lannie David Brockstein February 25, 2020 To the reader at SCP: As much as some individuals might not want to believe this, it is nonetheless a legal fact that it is not against Freedom of Speech for the U.S. government to suppress information, if there is “a clear and present danger” that such information might cause widespread panic. Having said that, have any of you viewed the videos posted at YouTube and that show footage which was allegedly filmed in China, and that purportedly show many examples of Chinese civilians literally dropping dead from the Wuhan coronavirus? Those videos are quite ghastly, not to mention upsetting. If the mainstream news stations were free to broadcast those videos which might or might not be factual, that probably would result in widespread panic, with many residents of every city in their hopelessness and hysteria most likely behaving no less violently towards others—as did happen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina—but when there is not actually a Wuhan coronavirus epidemic (or at least not yet). Is that what any responsibly-minded person wants to happen?—for mainstream society to descend into chaos due to the rumours of fake news and other harmful forms of gossip? Is being against the reasonable limits on Freedom of Speech really what the SCP community is meant to be about? Reply Joseph S. Salemi February 25, 2020 Scratch a left-liberal, find a censor. You’re not part of the SCP community, Lannie. You’re here as a agent provocateur and a troll. Drop the mask. Reply Bic Uwel, "Erased" February 25, 2020 Where Are Fang Bin and Chen Qiushi? Where are Fang Bin and Chen Qiushi? They have disappeared, recording dozens of reports as Covid-19 neared. O, don’t forget the brave truth-tellers, keeping us informed, despite the thought-police that have around such candor swarmed. Beijing has gone to great lengths to track down the honesty on Twitter, WeChat, other formats, letting people see WHAT”S GOING ON both in Wuhan and all around the Globe. How can the naked Emperor disguise he has no robe? And now in Xiantao word has gone out to stop all tweets that do not tow the Party line and propaganda sweeps. Reply Lannie David Brockstein February 26, 2020 To the reader at SCP: The Wuhan coronavirus is technically man-made, because it is replicated by means of its having hijacked the cells of humans. However, that the Wuhan coronavirus is technically man-made does not necessarily mean it is a bioweapon that was engineered by the Chinese military in some radical Leftist plot to murder billions of people. There is simply no evidence of that. Furthermore, hundreds of scientists from dozens of other countries, including the U.S.A., have themselves already studied in detail the Wuhan coronavirus under laboratory conditions, and not once has any of them said that it appears to be a bioweapon which was engineered by the Chinese military. Therefore, if China is censoring the supposed fact that the Wuhan coronavirus is a bioweapon which it engineered, then the U.S.A. and dozens of other countries are censoring that supposed fact, too. What is next for SCP? To publish literature that falsely claims the Wuhan coronavirus is part of a globalist conspiracy that is itself a Jewish/Israeli plot to take over the world? Nazi Germany had many universities, along with its having been technologically more advanced than many other countries, and yet it was not a civilized culture—it was a barbaric culture. Not being able to discern the difference between reality and fantasy (and thus between real news and fake news) betrays a lack of critical thinking, and is symptomatic of a mental disorder, the same way that hate speech betrays a lack of critical thinking, and is symptomatic of a mood disorder. If, God forbid, the Wuhan coronavirus becomes an epidemic, then we humans will need for everybody that is capable of critical thinking to be courageous and thus to freely speak out against fake news and hate speech, because the Wuhan coronavirus does not discriminate against a person’s creed: it infects both liberals and conservatives alike. The microscopic Wuhan coronavirus is larger than the small-minded world of politics. In each democratic country, everybody that is conservative has neighbours whom are liberal, and everybody that is liberal has neighbours whom are conservative. If, God forbid, the Wuhan coronavirus becomes an epidemic, then like it or not, we humans are all in this together, and there is all the more reason for everybody to “love thy neighbour as thyself”. Reply Joseph S. Salemi February 26, 2020 Where in Bruce Dale Wise’s poem did he mention anything at all about militarized bioweapons or a radical leftist plot to kill millions? Where did he suggest anything of that nature? All he said was that the Chinese government was running a heavy censorship campaign to prevent internet discussion of the viral outbreak. Your not just a leftist provocateur, Lannie. Apparently you can’t even read. Reply W. Israel Ebecud February 26, 2020 !, Nobody on this strand has said it was a bioweapon. Mr. Wei only asked what would it mean IF it came out of Wuhan’s bioweapons program. 2. Nobody on this strand implied that the coronavirus is a radical leftist plot to murder billions of people. But historically, of course, it is true that the Chinese Communists were responsible for the deaths of millions of their own citizens during Mao’s dictatorship and before. 3. Mr. Wei’s question remains: Why are young men, like Fang Bin and Chen Qiushi, being disappeared? Where are they? 4. Why would Mr. Brockstein bring up such a horrible thought about the Jews and the Israelis? It is they, of course, who are responsible for such ideas as he espouses: לֹֽא־תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמֹ֑וךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃ 5. I certainly agree with Mr. Brockstein that there was barbarity in many of the Nazi Germans, just as there has been, and now is, barbarity in many of the Communist Chinese. 6. The US CDC representatives have issued warnings about the US being “on the cusp” of a pandemic. Mayor Breed of San Francisco has called a state of emergency. Mr. Wei is simply suggesting we should be aware of as many aspects of the present situation as we can be. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
D Robin February 22, 2020 Thanks Bruce, for keeping the surveillance of the surveillance alive. Reply
Lu "Reed ABCs" Wei February 23, 2020 The Chinese continue to under report not only the number of coronavirus cases, but also the number of deaths. In addition, it seems now that, despite the government’s desires, some Chinese workers are refusing to go back to work; and even some Chinese scientists are now saying the coronavirus did not originate in the seafood restaurant. What would that mean if it came out of Wuhan’s bioweapon’s program? This weekend the number of cases and deaths is climbing in South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran. Reply
Lu "Reed ABCs" Wei February 23, 2020 Such joking is valuable, especially as the number of deaths grows. [I have admired for some time the humour Edgar Allan Poe frequently evinced in his morbid tales.] I appreciate humour in the most difficult events. A local clerk used that same joke on me a couple of weeks back. Reply
Wilbur Dee Case February 23, 2020 This tennos of Lu “Reed ABCs” Wei is not brilliant. Its texture is minimal and its message is simple, that is, journalistic. It lacks metaphoric power, and it is Realist in its execution, tone and hard-hitting attitude, as in the poetry of Stephen Crane (1871-1900). And yet, it does have a few poetic elements of interest: its repetition, its slant rhymes, the metrical, nonpoetic diction, the alliteration, the ironic enemy, and the final spondee, wherein, its final punch occurs. Reply
Monty February 25, 2020 Well, that’s a first on these pages, surely; a subjective review of a poem . . by the author himself! Ground-breaking stuff. Reply
Lannie David Brockstein February 25, 2020 To the reader at SCP: As much as some individuals might not want to believe this, it is nonetheless a legal fact that it is not against Freedom of Speech for the U.S. government to suppress information, if there is “a clear and present danger” that such information might cause widespread panic. Having said that, have any of you viewed the videos posted at YouTube and that show footage which was allegedly filmed in China, and that purportedly show many examples of Chinese civilians literally dropping dead from the Wuhan coronavirus? Those videos are quite ghastly, not to mention upsetting. If the mainstream news stations were free to broadcast those videos which might or might not be factual, that probably would result in widespread panic, with many residents of every city in their hopelessness and hysteria most likely behaving no less violently towards others—as did happen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina—but when there is not actually a Wuhan coronavirus epidemic (or at least not yet). Is that what any responsibly-minded person wants to happen?—for mainstream society to descend into chaos due to the rumours of fake news and other harmful forms of gossip? Is being against the reasonable limits on Freedom of Speech really what the SCP community is meant to be about? Reply
Joseph S. Salemi February 25, 2020 Scratch a left-liberal, find a censor. You’re not part of the SCP community, Lannie. You’re here as a agent provocateur and a troll. Drop the mask. Reply
Bic Uwel, "Erased" February 25, 2020 Where Are Fang Bin and Chen Qiushi? Where are Fang Bin and Chen Qiushi? They have disappeared, recording dozens of reports as Covid-19 neared. O, don’t forget the brave truth-tellers, keeping us informed, despite the thought-police that have around such candor swarmed. Beijing has gone to great lengths to track down the honesty on Twitter, WeChat, other formats, letting people see WHAT”S GOING ON both in Wuhan and all around the Globe. How can the naked Emperor disguise he has no robe? And now in Xiantao word has gone out to stop all tweets that do not tow the Party line and propaganda sweeps. Reply
Lannie David Brockstein February 26, 2020 To the reader at SCP: The Wuhan coronavirus is technically man-made, because it is replicated by means of its having hijacked the cells of humans. However, that the Wuhan coronavirus is technically man-made does not necessarily mean it is a bioweapon that was engineered by the Chinese military in some radical Leftist plot to murder billions of people. There is simply no evidence of that. Furthermore, hundreds of scientists from dozens of other countries, including the U.S.A., have themselves already studied in detail the Wuhan coronavirus under laboratory conditions, and not once has any of them said that it appears to be a bioweapon which was engineered by the Chinese military. Therefore, if China is censoring the supposed fact that the Wuhan coronavirus is a bioweapon which it engineered, then the U.S.A. and dozens of other countries are censoring that supposed fact, too. What is next for SCP? To publish literature that falsely claims the Wuhan coronavirus is part of a globalist conspiracy that is itself a Jewish/Israeli plot to take over the world? Nazi Germany had many universities, along with its having been technologically more advanced than many other countries, and yet it was not a civilized culture—it was a barbaric culture. Not being able to discern the difference between reality and fantasy (and thus between real news and fake news) betrays a lack of critical thinking, and is symptomatic of a mental disorder, the same way that hate speech betrays a lack of critical thinking, and is symptomatic of a mood disorder. If, God forbid, the Wuhan coronavirus becomes an epidemic, then we humans will need for everybody that is capable of critical thinking to be courageous and thus to freely speak out against fake news and hate speech, because the Wuhan coronavirus does not discriminate against a person’s creed: it infects both liberals and conservatives alike. The microscopic Wuhan coronavirus is larger than the small-minded world of politics. In each democratic country, everybody that is conservative has neighbours whom are liberal, and everybody that is liberal has neighbours whom are conservative. If, God forbid, the Wuhan coronavirus becomes an epidemic, then like it or not, we humans are all in this together, and there is all the more reason for everybody to “love thy neighbour as thyself”. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi February 26, 2020 Where in Bruce Dale Wise’s poem did he mention anything at all about militarized bioweapons or a radical leftist plot to kill millions? Where did he suggest anything of that nature? All he said was that the Chinese government was running a heavy censorship campaign to prevent internet discussion of the viral outbreak. Your not just a leftist provocateur, Lannie. Apparently you can’t even read. Reply
W. Israel Ebecud February 26, 2020 !, Nobody on this strand has said it was a bioweapon. Mr. Wei only asked what would it mean IF it came out of Wuhan’s bioweapons program. 2. Nobody on this strand implied that the coronavirus is a radical leftist plot to murder billions of people. But historically, of course, it is true that the Chinese Communists were responsible for the deaths of millions of their own citizens during Mao’s dictatorship and before. 3. Mr. Wei’s question remains: Why are young men, like Fang Bin and Chen Qiushi, being disappeared? Where are they? 4. Why would Mr. Brockstein bring up such a horrible thought about the Jews and the Israelis? It is they, of course, who are responsible for such ideas as he espouses: לֹֽא־תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמֹ֑וךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃ 5. I certainly agree with Mr. Brockstein that there was barbarity in many of the Nazi Germans, just as there has been, and now is, barbarity in many of the Communist Chinese. 6. The US CDC representatives have issued warnings about the US being “on the cusp” of a pandemic. Mayor Breed of San Francisco has called a state of emergency. Mr. Wei is simply suggesting we should be aware of as many aspects of the present situation as we can be. Reply
