You refuse to take the COVID vaccine?

Who cares?

(Programing note. No newsletter next week for holiday observing. Back after Christmas.)

A scene in the first Men in Black movie has always been one of my favorites. It’s when the space alien confronts the farmer and tells him to drop his shotgun.

“You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers,” the farmer says.

To which the alien says, “Your proposal is acceptable.”

And he kills the farmer and takes his gun.

Which, obviously, brings us to the COVID-19 vaccine. It was exciting to see the vaccine roll into hospitals this week. Reports are some 40 million doses could be available by the end of the year.

But the good news came with two caveats.

First, 40 million is great, but we are a country of almost 330 million people. This is just a little over ten percent of what we need.

And second, in a story angle that has been whipped into a froth by national media, a certain percentage of people are saying they will refuse to be vaccinated.

This has set off epic hand-wringing. We have to demand that those people get a shot. Businesses should make it mandatory that every employee takes the vaccine. No exceptions.

And that only hardens the resistance. Next you hear someone announcing “There is no way the government is going to force me to take a vaccine against my will.”

To which I would say (and I’d recommend that you read this in your Pete Davidson voice from SNL):

"OK.”

Don’t take it. That’s idiotic, and dangerous, but I am not going to deny your right to be a moron.

Because it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to guess who we are dealing with here. They don’t trust the government and want it out of their lives. They either don’t believe the Coronavirus is real, or think it is nowhere near as dangerous as doctors are saying. And don’t even get them started on the election.

Maybe you’ve tried to argue with some of them, using facts and reason.

And how did that go?

You’re not going to turn them around on this. Instead of chasing them around the room with a syringe, I say step aside and let them go. And while you’re at it, don’t get triggered by the news stories giving the latest update on how many people say they will decline the vaccine.

You’ve seen the polls. Fifteen percent of the country says it will never take the vaccine. Only half of the population is willing to commit to taking a dose.

Let’s take a deep breath shall we?

First, it is going to be months and months — well into next year — before these people are even going to have a chance to turn down a vaccine. As we said, 40-60 million doses is great, but we’re talking hundreds of millions. And don’t forget, each treatment is two separate shots, meaning we need something more like 600 million doses.

It is going to take a long time to get there. And until we do, the vaccine will be in short supply and for at-risk individuals. Forcing someone to get a shot when others need and want it is ridiculous.

Now, you’re going to say that if they don’t get the dose, they could infect others. First, how is that different from now? We don’t have a vaccine for everybody yet, so we’re wearing masks and staying apart. The non-maskers, meanwhile, are associating with each other — foolishly.

Also, if it gets to the point that the anti-vax people have been offered a vaccine, it must be in pretty wide circulation. If it reached the point where they were getting offered, you’d think we would too. We’d take it. They wouldn’t. How do you think that will work out?

Here’s a hint. The Coronavirus clearly has a well-developed sense of irony. We learned that last spring when NBA player Rudy Gobert, mocking concerns over the virus, thought it was hilarious when he intentionally touched microphones and recording devices at a press conference.

When he tested positive for COVID and the entire league had to shut down, it wasn’t so amusing.

Or what about a president who flouts safety protocols for the virus, ignores the danger and tells people to take off their masks? He caught Coronavirus and it was serious enough that he ended up being flown to Walter Reed Hospital for intense treatment. A more self-aware person would have learned something from that.

Or a White House that continues to host indoor gatherings without masks. The list of infected White House personnel and visitors made “The People’s House” into a super-spreader site.

Both former Gov. Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani had such severe cases they were hospitalized for days. We don’t have details, but I’m betting those hospital stays were not pleasant. If you get a bad case, this virus is serious.

The non-vaxers don’t need a lecture from us to be convinced. The virus will convince them. And if, eventually, they are the only people who haven’t been inoculated, they will be the virus’s only remaining targets. Now that’s herd immunity with a vengeance.

Not that this will make a difference. Over the next several months you’re going to hear it a lot:

“I refuse to take a vaccine that has been forced on me by big government. Even though I’ve seen that over 300,000 Americans have died, I prefer to risk my life and health by refusing the cure.”

OK. Your proposal is acceptable.

Happy holidays. I know everyone is saying it, but have you ever been so relieved to see a year end? It’s the kind of feeling that makes you want to look ahead, plan for the future. Like which email newsletters you’ll be getting. Like this one. Subscribe. Do it for the future.

In Marcus Semien, the A’s have a star for the future . . . so sign him.

The Oakland A’s are a difficult team to support. They’re a wholesome, winning group of guys, but you know the problem.

Built with promising young players, year after year, they only pay them until their original contract is up. The bad news comes if the young player blossoms into a star. That’s when the penurious A’s let the player leave for another team that will pay the deserved big money.

That’s no scoop. It’s happened over and over with players who became big stars elsewhere. But as I wrote in my Sunday Santa Rosa Press Democrat column they should make an exception with Marcus Semien.

Semien, a free agent looking for major pay raise, is the perfect signing to show the A’s are actually serious now.

He’s almost comically local, growing up in El Cerrito, attending high school in Berkeley and playing baseball at Cal. A shortstop with pop, he finished third in MVP voting in 2019.

But, as I said in the column, what convinced me was the way his teammates talked about him. They called him the team leader, the captain, “our guy.”

Chad Pinder said he would be very disappointed is Semien wasn’t back next year. Which is telling because if Semien is gone, Pinder will probably be the shortstop. He’s arguing against his best interests.

The A’s say they are ready to be taken seriously.

Prove it.

Did you know that every time you share this newsletter $1 is given to the SpaceX program? Naw, not really, but pretty good cultural reference, right? Share freely without consequences.

We are now at the stage where we feel sorry for Nick Mullens

It would be fair to say that Nick Mullens did not have a good game last Sunday. You really want to root for the guy. He’s trying his butt off. He’s staying upbeat and enthusiastic.

And he just doesn’t have it.

As I wrote in this week's 49ers Insider, this was the low point of the Mullens’ era. The enduring image is of him running frantically down the field, chasing a defender who just took the ball from him.

Nope. Both times the defender scored. That’s 14 points given away in a game where the defense held Washington to nine. Not good.

Worse, both turnover were of the kind that he’s been warned about. He fumbled while holding the ball in one hand in traffic, trying to escape the pocket. It was slapped out of his hand, just as predicted.

And the pick-six interception was a back breaker. It wasn’t just the interception. The line of scrimmage was inside the Washington 25, it was only second down. No reason to make a risky throw. If nothing is there, Kyle Shanahan said, “Throw it away. Throw it to me on the bench.”

So, with three games left, the 49ers quarterbacking situation is turning into a big ball of anxiety. Now what?

Contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Suggestions and compliments cheerfully accepted. Complaints not so much. Twitter: @cwnevius