An Open Letter to Dr. Fauci

“I’m sorry … they’re assholes.”

The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Dear Dr. Anthony Fauci:

It’s unlikely you’ll read this letter, or hear the millions of other voices that support you, voices currently being over-shouted by the braying of rabid Republicans strangely hell-bent on shredding you in the town square, but I feel compelled to write it regardless.

I don’t know everything about you, obviously. You’ve lived a long, storied life of accomplishment and contribution, but up until the Covid pandemic, I wasn’t aware of you. You could be the asshole Rand Paul says you are; you could be a man who kicks dogs, treats women badly, harbors racist ideations, and hates both music and cake, but I don’t think so. What I do know since I became aware of you is that, starting in 2020, you had to stand behind a demented, disinforming fool (who recommended bleach and horse meds) during what would become a devastating pandemic, and attempt to inject truth, wisdom, and scientific fact into tsunamis of politically-tinged fanaticism. Fanaticism that has been on full display this past week in the halls of Congress, bleated from the mouths of Republican zealots like Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Bernie Moreno.

I’m sorry you’re having to endure this onslaught of savage, almost demoniac hysteria from men clearly hoping to distract the American public — shortly before midterm elections — from the true chaos and criminal ineptness of the leader they’re servile to. Smart people can find no other reason for an “urgent” hearing at this particular moment years after the pandemic, or what, beyond distraction, they hope to glean from the public assault on your character, so it’s likely a dog and pony show for Don.

I’m sorry you’ve become their target. It’s undeserved. It’s wrong. It’s repugnant.

Your diary was released to the public. Invasive, violating, inappropriate. I haven’t read any but clips, but it’s said you seemed to enjoy the celebrity you gained from your respected and life-changing scientific work. Wow. That’s heinous. That deserves a congressional hearing. Cue eyeroll. Paul, however, is Captain Ahab-level convinced that not only did you lie to the government and the American public about the origins of the virus, the attendant research, even the protocols mandated once it began flooding the air around us, but did so with malice and intent.

I’m sorry you’re being pilloried by those pernicious accusations, and, in fact, call serious bullshit on them. Given that Paul was handed your diaries by self-aggrandizing anti-science lunatic, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., currently in charge of the health department and singularly responsible for an anti-vax movement that’s caused measles to resurge for the first time in thirty-five years, I have no faith that any truth could possibly eek out of brainstorms between those two.

And, quite frankly, neither of those men, nor any other of the pitchfork-wielding Republicans grilling you like so much steak, can hold a candle to what you’ve actually contributed to the health and welfare of Americans. There is countless documentation of your research, your activism, your undaunted determination to find cures, vaccinations, and remedies for such scourges as HIV and AIDS. Here’s just one, written in December of 2022:

After more than 50 years, Anthony Fauci leaves behind an unparalleled legacy of championing science, particularly HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and cure efforts.

At the end of this month, Anthony Fauci will resign from his post as director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a position he’s held for 38 years. Through more than 50 years of public service, multiple administrations, numerous infectious disease outbreaks — most notably the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics — and many politically motivated controversies, he remains a stalwart supporter of the transformative power of science.

But hey, Rand and Josh and Bernie and other Trump acolytes say you bungled the global pandemic of a heretofore unknown virus by not immediately knowing how it originated or changing your opinion once new information was gleaned … or by daring to recommend masks and lockdowns, mitigation those on the right tantrummed over … or by funding “gain-of-function research” they claim may have contributed to the pandemic … or by simply being part of the “deep state” intent on “curtailing our freedoms.”

Like trying to keep us alive. Damn you.

More than 1.1 million Americans didn’t survive the pandemic, and research shows more of those were from red states that rejected the protocols you recommended than blue.

Damn you, Dr. Fauci.

Rand and Josh are currently on media tours huffing and puffing about contempt charges against you for daring to plead the Fifth thereby depriving them of “gotcha moments” and potential perjury slip-ups. Their smarmy declarations that that strategy implies guilt ignores the fact that their boy Trump pleaded the same 440 times during just one civil deposition. But clearly the legal wisdom of not throwing red meat at these teeth-gnashing dogs of war was a good one, despite, likely, not being easy for a man of your stature and gravitas. But these are strange and unprecedented times, Doctor; I applaud your decision.

Meanwhile — and let’s get back to actual heinous crimes — the Epstein Files, rife with details of hideous abuse of girls and women inflicted over decades involving hundreds of men, some very close to the president, even the president himself, remain under lock, key, and heavy redaction. We’ll see what indefatigable journalist Katie Phang can do about that, but many of those screaming invectives at you for daring to do your job in the face of partisan anti-science insanity seem to have far less interest in releasing those documents.

They’d rather demonize you than take on actual demons.

I’m sorry you’ve become their punching bag. It is undeserved. But MAGA/Trump warriors like Rand, Hawley, Kennedy, et al., have little regard, across the board, for what’s deserved, what warrants legal intervention, what demands prosecution. We see that play out daily, from truly egregious criminality to frivolous retributions, whether killing those protesting ICE or charging those touching paint from the reflecting pool debacle. While they ignore actual, and transparent, crimes of fellow Republicans, including their boss, you’ve become a lightening rod at the behest of their leader, someone who pathologically needs to demonize intelligence, compassion, concern for others, and wise decisions based on science, research, and good common sense.

There is great support for you out in the world-at-large, Dr. Fauci. Know that. Millions who survived Covid, who continue to take care of their health with boosters and sensible habits, who vaccinate their children for their safety and health, who prioritize decades of research and positive results over the frothing of unlearned zealots determined to regress scientific advances at the cost of lives and the advancement of their myopic agendas, applaud you.

You’re clearly a strong guy; you’ll survive this. And you will be remembered for your incalculable contributions to humanity and the gratitude of the millions who benefited from them.

Rand Paul? Josh Hawley? Bernie Moreno? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.? Dustbin of history fodder.

Take care, Dr. Fauci. Don’t let ’em get to you. And thank you, truly and deeply, for a lifetime of dedication caring about our very human race.

Sincerely,

Lorraine