DEE SNIDER: Why So Many Americans Believe In Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories

In a new interview with Finland's Kaaos TV, TWISTED SISTER singer Dee Snider was asked for his opinion on why so many Americans have balked at the most basic safety measures meant to tame the COVID-19 pandemic, including refusing to wear masks and continuing to gather in large groups. Many have also embraced fringe conspiracy theories claiming that the coronavirus death toll has been exaggerated and that the COVID-19 pandemic is part of a strategy conceived by global elites — such as Bill Gates — to roll out vaccinations with tracking chips that would later be activated by 5G, the technology used by cellular networks.

Dee said (hear audio below): "I've got a couple of really good answers here, I think. My wife made this amazing observation, 'cause we travel so much. And she said, 'You know, the United States is still a young country compared to the other countries in the world.' We're like teenagers. And teenagers are very rebellious: 'You can't tell me what to do.' And that's the American attitude. Countries like [Finland] — European countries — have been established for hundreds and hundreds [of years]. We're two hundred years [old]. You guys are a thousand years since the first man was there, and the culture. So you're a more mature people, and it reflects in European cultures — you see it. Not so much in England, but you see it in Scandinavia, for sure.

"The other thing is that there's this lack of awareness of the rest of the world for most people in America," he continued. "I was on social media saying it would benefit everybody to leave their country, travel and see people and understand other cultures. The world would not seem so strange.

"I talk to young people, and they say, 'Oh, yeah. This is a political thing. When the election is over, it'll be gone.' And this was my niece," he added. "I said, 'But we were down in South America. They have [the pandemic there]. And we were in Europe. They have it. And our African safari was canceled because in Africa they have it.' And she said, 'Oh, they do?' She didn't know that the rest of the world has it. She thought this was in America only.

"America is very selfish — very self-absorbed. And the young people especially don't watch the news. In Europe, you're very connected. The borders are right there.

"People need to experience the world more and understand that they're not the only ones on this planet."

Snider, who lives part time in Belize, a tiny Central American nation nestled beside the Caribbean Sea, went on to say that he was impressed with how coronavirus was handled there.

"A little country [like that is] intelligently recognizing that this is a problem," he said. "And they shut the country down. Very difficult to do, but they were very, very strict, and they kept COVID out. [The U.S. is] this big country — we've got all this money, all this power, and we can't get our shit together. It's ridiculous."

Earlier this month, Snider slammed Donald Trump over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying that the president failed to bring the American people together in a time of crisis.

"We've been at each other's throats," Dee said. "The country's been split in two over so many different things. The political divide has been massive. And [this is when] you're supposed to say, 'You know what? We can argue about these other things and disagree, but this is affecting and hurting all of us. We need to come together and fight this as one people,' as Americans have done throughout history. Yet the president's response, the White House response has been to politicize it and separate us more and make it about politics instead of about joining together and helping each other. So this was an opportunity to really bring the country together over something really important, that rises above all the other B.S. in the world. And he failed to do that, and we're seeing the results."

This past spring, a Yahoo News poll found that 44% of Republicans, 19% of Democrats, and 24% of independents believe that Gates wants to use mass vaccination for the coronavirus to implant people with tracking devices. A few weeks earlier, a Pew Research Center study found out that 29% of Americans believe the virus was made in a lab, though scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests it's a case of animal transfer.