The Nihilist Smiled: Philosopher Nolen Gertz on Nihilism Right This Moment. "The response to the coronavirus has in many ways paralleled the everyday response to death: as something that we need not really worry about, since right now it only happens to other people, and would only happen to us when we were old enough to actually need to worry about it. And just as we assign others to be concerned about death for us (e.g., military professionals) while we distract ourselves, we now assign others to be concerned about the coronavirus for us (e.g., medical professionals) while we distract ourselves." "There are those who are burnt out by the news and who either want to vent their frustration or who want to be optimistic and share cat videos. There are those who try to be productive, there are those who try to tell everyone to stop trying so hard to be productive. There are those who want to cry and those who want to laugh, but mostly those who want to scream."