“You’re a Schmuck”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Tells People Refusing to Get Vaccinated and Mask Up to Go F–k Themselves

A year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, there are two groups of people in the U.S.: those who take the virus seriously and are willing to do what it takes to stop it, and those whose own selfishness and ignorance will ensure we‘re still dealing with this thing for God knows how long. This latter group, among other things, believes protecting the vulnerable is not their problem, that vaccines are for suckers, that wearing a mask infringes on their personal freedom, and that Tucker Carlson knows more about viruses than people who have studied them for their entire professional lives. These people, in a word, are assholes. And as we prepare to enter yet another season of COVID, those who continue to do their part are pretty sick of this—a cohort that includes such diverse constituents as Nancy Pelosi and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In an interview on Tuesday, Schwarzenegger told former National Security Council staffer Alexander Vindman and CNN’s Bianna Golodryga that he’s disgusted with (1) the coronavirus misinformation out there and (2) the Americans who think their actions don’t affect others. “A year and a half later, we are still in a mess and there are still people living in denial, there are still people that don’t believe in masks, there are still people out there who say, ‘Well, we don’t have to do social distancing,‘ and all this kind of stuff. And I just think that people ought to be reminded over and over that the experts are saying that we have to wear masks, especially when you go indoors, the experts are saying that you should still wash your hands regularly, you should still do social distancing, especially now with this new comeback of the virus, which is the fourth round now, that we have to really go and work together,” the Terminator turned California governor turned unlikely voice of reason said. “Look, I am an expert on how to build a bicep…there’s no one who knows more about a bicep than I do because I studied this issue for 50 years. And the same is also with the virus. There are people out there who are experts that studied this year after year after year…Dr. [Anthony] Fauci [has studied viruses] for his entire life, why would you not believe someone like that?”

He added: “I think people should know there is a virus here, it kills people. And the only way we prevent it is we get vaccinated, we wear masks, we do social distancing, washing your hands all of the time, and not just to think about, ‘Well, my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.’ No, screw your freedom. Because with freedom comes obligations and responsibilities. You cannot just say, ‘I have the right to do x, y, and z,’ when you affect other people. That is when it gets serious. It’s like, no different than a traffic light. They put the traffic light in the intersection so someone doesn’t kill someone else by accident. You cannot say, ‘No one is going to tell me that I’m going to stop here, I’m going to go right through it.’ Yeah, then you kill someone else. It is the same thing with the virus. You cannot go and not put the mask on because when you breathe you can infect someone else, and you can infect someone that then gets sick and may die. So this is why I think we all have to work together on this.… We have to come together rather than fighting and always just saying, ‘According to my principles this is a free country and I have the freedom to wear no mask.’ Yeah, you have the freedom to wear no mask, but you know something? You’re a schmuck for not wearing a mask.”

Schwarzenegger has actually been railing against COVID misinformation—which has been coming from everyone from Republican lawmakers to Fox News to the last president—for some time. In January, after he got vaccinated, he wrote on Facebook:

I think a lot of you need to hear this. 

I always say you should know your strengths and listen to the experts. If you want to learn about building biceps, listen to me, because I’ve spent my life studying how to get the perfect peak and I have been called the greatest bodybuilder of all time. We all have different specialties. 

Dr. Fauci and all of the virologists and epidemiologists and doctors have studied diseases and vaccines for their entire lives, so I listen to them and I urge you to do the same. None of us are going to learn more than them by watching a few hours of videos. It’s simple: if your house in on fire, you don’t go on YouTube, you call the damn fire department. If you have a heart attack, you don’t check your Facebook group, you call an ambulance. If 9 doctors tell you you have cancer and need to treat it or you will die, and 1 doctor says the cancer will disappear, you should always side with the 9. In this case, virtually all of the real experts around the world are telling us the vaccine is safe and some people on Facebook are saying it isn’t.

Anyway, listen to Arnold, get your shot, wear a mask, and don’t be a schmuck!

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Italians have a bone to pick with Andrew Cuomo

He can forget walking in this year’s Columbus Day parade, that’s for damn sure! Per the Post:

Cuomo, who resigned Tuesday in the wake of an official investigation that concluded he sexually harassed at least 11 women, was blasted for trying to reframe allegations of unwanted kissing and groping against him as a misunderstanding due to his upbringing in an affectionate Italian American family.

“We’re very affectionate people. When we do kiss, we kiss family, we kiss good friends. The only difference is I don’t stick my hand up anybody’s blouse,” James Bari, who is the co-owner of restaurant Benito One in Little Italy, told The Post…Frank Palmari, 56, who lives in Chelsea on a Green card from Italy, agreed that “there’s a way you do things. Because you’re Italian that doesn’t mean you could touch or kiss women the way you wanted. What about if it was his own daughter? Would you like that to happen to your daughter?” Palmari said. “I find it disrespectful to the culture and to the women,” he added.

Other Italian American New Yorkers fumed that the disgraced governor’s behavior went against Italian values.

“I was raised by Italians…one thing I was taught is that you don’t force yourself on a woman. I was just taught that from day one by the men in my family. So he don’t have no respect,” Gaetano Martello, 25, who lives in Bay Ridge, told The Post.

“The Italian culture, in general, gets so many bad reps that are so untrue—this has nothing to do with being Italian. It’s the man who he is,” Adeline Sessa, whose family owns Ferrara Bakery & Cafe in Little Italy, told The Post. “We Italians refuse to acknowledge Cuomo as a member of la famiglia,” a Twitter user named Malvagio wrote.

Anyone got a billion dollars? Asking for Rudy Giuliani

For his part, Giuilani seems to understand just how very f–ked he is

Given that he’s taken to Cameo where he’s pimping himself out for less than 200 bucks:

Elsewhere!

Secret IRS Files Reveal How Much the Ultrawealthy Gained by Shaping Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Tax Cut” (ProPublica)

California to require teachers and school staff to be vaccinated or submit to regular testing (Washington Post)

Moderna Doubles Kids Vaccine Trial Group After FDA Request (Bloomberg)

FDA Set to Clear Third Covid Shot for Immunocompromised Patients (Bloomberg)

Rand Paul cut off from YouTube for a week following criticism of face masks (Politico)

‘We are in harm’s way’: Election officials fear for their personal safety amid torrent of false claims about voting (Washington Post)

The Bill de Blasio–Andrew Cuomo Feud: A Retrospective (Intelligencer)

Charles and Diana’s wedding cake slice sells for £1,850 (BBC)

Gird Your Livers, Hard Mountain Dew Is Coming (The Cut)

— Inside the Feverish Mind of Postpresidential Donald Trump
— Joe Manchin Ghosts Workers Whose Jobs His Daughter Helped Outsource
— Fauci Tells Anti-Vaxxers to Sit Down and STFU as COVID Cases Surge
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— Venture Capital’s Most Contentious Breakup Just Added a Messy New Chapter
— The 2022 Candidate Slate: Send In the Clowns!
— Of Course Trump Has Scammed Millions From His Supporters
— From the Archive: The Star-Crossed, Politicized, Complexified Romance of Jeff Bezos
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