The novel coronavirus pandemic rose to over 350,000 (known) cases and 15,000 deaths, globally, as of Monday morning. One of the hardest hit areas remains the epicenter of Italy, where over one-third of the total deaths from the disease have occurred and where a nationwide lockdown took place probably far too late. Now, the beleaguered country’s mayors are frantically racing backwards in time while attempting to convince people to stay inside and take the threat seriously.
This has led these mayors to confront those who refuse to comply with orders. So, there’s a newly circulating compilation video, in which leaders confront citizens who are roaming the streets and clearly not doing so for grocery shopping or pharmacy visits. One mayor, in captions, tells a beachgoer to “go home and play some videogames.” According to translation work from The Guardian, the leaders are also referencing Will Smith’s I Am Legend character while delivering video addresses. Quite understandably, these leaders are exasperated at those who will not cooperate with the lockdown:
– “I saw a fellow citizen amiably jog up and down the street, accompanied by a dog that was visibly worn out. I stopped and told him: ‘Look, this isn’t a film. You are not Will Smith in I Am Legend. So, you have to go home.'”
– “Where the f*ck are you all going? You and your dogs… which must have an inflamed prostate?”
Smith also recently spoke out about Francis Lawrence’s 2007 post-apocalyptic film, in which he and a dog roamed through New York City after a genetically re-engineered virus killed off 90% of the world’s population. Almost all of those who lived became vampire-mutants, and the still-mortal/immune status of Smith’s character made him the title’s “Legend.” Well, a slightly uneasy sounding Smith recently joked that he feels “responsible for a lot of the misinformation” out there now.
Here’s that compilation video. Here in the U.S., we should listen to these mayors and #StayAtHome before it’s too late to flatten that curve, stateside.
