Don’t snicker at the ‘Herman Cain Award.’ Recipients died of misinformation, not COVID
On Aug. 30, 2020, Herman Cain tweeted: “It looks like the virus is not as deadly as the mainstream media first made it out to be.”
Or at least his official Twitter account did. Because Cain had died of COVID-19 about a month before at the age of 74. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City was diagnosed nine days after attending a rally for Donald Trump’s reelection in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he and many attendees gathered indoors and notably refused to wear masks as the pandemic raged.
In the days after his death, the internet latched onto the irony of Cain’s demise as a result of his own imprudence, leading to the creation of the “Herman Cain Award” message board on the popular website Reddit. The progeny of the notorious Darwin Award is posthumously given to people who “have made public declaration of their anti-mask, anti-vax, or COVID-hoax views, followed by admission to hospital for COVID.”
With about 438,000 members in this Reddit community, there is certainly no lack of audience for sardonic schadenfreude. But it begs a pressing moral question: Should these nominees deserve our sympathy rather than our ridicule?
Look at Cain as a prime example. He fulfilled the American dream by building himself up from poverty to his position at the Federal Reserve and as CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. He rose to prominence in the Republican Party, campaigning for its presidential nomination in 2012. Cain said he registered with the GOP in direct response to a Black man who remarked, “Black Republicans? There’s no such thing.” Perhaps it was this counter-stereotypical identity that found the party mutually attracted to Cain. And perhaps Cain’s utility as a token was the reason he was called to the rally that would result in his demise.
Though Cain himself was responsible for propagating COVID-19 misinformation, he too was a victim. He became a mannequin on stage to garner approval for Trump — and upon his death, he was forgotten when the narrative of his conflicting death no longer fit that of the Republican Party. This begs the question: If the Republican Party could show such apathy to one of its own, what does that say about its concern for its constituents?
By repeatedly refuting the validity of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Trump administration opened the door to conspiracy and conflicting information, leaving Americans caught in the confusion, turning to conservative public figures and social media to sort out answers for themselves. It’s now even gotten away from Trump himself, who was booed by his own audience this week after revealing he’d gotten a COVID-19 booster shot.
It could be argued that the moral justification of the Herman Cain Award is more valid in recent cases such as the passing of noted anti-vaccine televangelist Marcus Lamb, who used his platform to spread his harmful beliefs to others before falling victim himself. But what about those without a platform? What about those friends, family and community members who have been left to wander amid the chaos of misinformation and found themselves in the deep end?
More than a year has passed since Cain’s death, but the pandemic is hardly letting up. Kansas City reported its third-highest peak in cases per week since the beginning of the pandemic for the week of Dec. 4. This resurgence should bring the cautionary tale of his demise to mind.
Those who get sick and die from COVID-19 because of misinformation that is intentionally disseminated by bad actors in a twisted quest for political power deserve our sympathy. Herman Cain deserves our sympathy.
Given the chance, surely all of the nominees of Reddit’s sardonic Herman Cain Award would rescind the “honor” knowing it meant their beliefs took them to the grave. One argument on behalf of the award’s morality is that it could bring light to those who still have time to avoid their own nomination.
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 5:00 AM.