So I watched 1984 last night in part thinking about dystopian societies can be really much worse that what we have today. Watching Winston Smith's rewriting history in his cubicle at the Ministry of Truth makes you think of the press office in our current White House and the President. It seems like many times in the last week we have heard things from the podium and on TV shows that contradict things we have on film. It is hard to not see the comparison. Today the new Press Secretary who is so unqualified for this job in a real administration when asked if she would lie to the press, stated emphatically she wouldn't and less than two minutes later lied. It was this kind of news this week that made me want to write something funny to get our minds off of the complete and utter cluster that is the Executive Branch of this government. You know like describing your Zoom (Room) 101. But then I saw this.
These were taken at a anti-lockdown rally in Illinois. They should not be confused with the fake posters circulating from a Pittsburgh rally earlier. Every indication is that these are real. IN fact I believe a news agency spoke with the woman with the Arbeit Macht Frei one who explained "I am not racist, I have Jewish friends". So here we are. One person using a slogan that was meant to taunt so many as they marched to their deaths at the hands of a tyrannical government and the other protester likening a Jewish Governor to Hitler. Both of which are disgusting on many many levels.
First, a rule of thumb. Being asked to stay home, to slow the spread of a disease which is literally killing people at an alarming rate, does not equate with being dragged from your home, your property seized, your clothes, shoes and gold fillings in your teeth surrendered and then put into a gas chamber to be killed, or made to dig a ditch that would become your grave. In fact the government is providing resources to help all who are struggling during this time.
Secondly, carrying Nazi symbols and slogans will not win most people to your cause. Most Americans are in favor of the measures directed at keeping people safer from the virus and if you want to convince people to change their minds you might want to use for your model something that isn't so hated.
Now, the point of the shutdowns was to slow the spread of the virus, in part, to not overwhelm the healthcare system. This is a highly virulent, and for a percentage of those that get it, a disease that is highly destructive, requiring intensive care and a great deal of equipment that could not handle the numbers. Staying at home, limiting contact between people and of course making large crowds forbidden has done its job in many places. But we aren't over the hump in those places and every rally will make it less likely that we can loosen up the restrictions. Many people who are going to these rallies say that the models were wrong and it is not that contagious. But it was the very things they are arguing to end that made the numbers smaller in many places. Think of it this way.
Imagine you are living on street that for a long time was fairly quiet but started to get busier. At the corner there are a series of near miss accidents and then a big one that kills a family. A four-way stop is added. It backs up traffic, it makes people have to leave earlier for work or be late. It slows you down getting home. It is a nuances. It makes life more difficult and when there is extra traffic it is infuriating by reason. But no more accident occur. So people start to protest the stop signs. Instead of asking for a round-about or a traffic light they want to be free to go back like it was. They argue that there was only one deadly accident and they are adults and work it out on their own. This is a good analogy to what these people are asking. They aren't looking for a way to balance safety and freedom, they just seem angry that their vision of freedom is being curtailed. Science, facts and danger to anyone and everyone is not relevant because they don't believe them. That is the scary thing and the President of the United States appears to have their backs.
I think this pandemic sucks on many levels. I go out rarely, I can't get all the things I want, I have less money for fun things, my vacation is on hold. There are days I am scared for myself and Dianne and for so many other people. But the alternative to staying home, missing out on fun and even some things that we might have thought essential, is not nearly as bad as being a Jew in the 1930s and 40s in large parts of Europe. That is just privileged ignorance at the highest level. Knock it off.
These were taken at a anti-lockdown rally in Illinois. They should not be confused with the fake posters circulating from a Pittsburgh rally earlier. Every indication is that these are real. IN fact I believe a news agency spoke with the woman with the Arbeit Macht Frei one who explained "I am not racist, I have Jewish friends". So here we are. One person using a slogan that was meant to taunt so many as they marched to their deaths at the hands of a tyrannical government and the other protester likening a Jewish Governor to Hitler. Both of which are disgusting on many many levels.
First, a rule of thumb. Being asked to stay home, to slow the spread of a disease which is literally killing people at an alarming rate, does not equate with being dragged from your home, your property seized, your clothes, shoes and gold fillings in your teeth surrendered and then put into a gas chamber to be killed, or made to dig a ditch that would become your grave. In fact the government is providing resources to help all who are struggling during this time.
Secondly, carrying Nazi symbols and slogans will not win most people to your cause. Most Americans are in favor of the measures directed at keeping people safer from the virus and if you want to convince people to change their minds you might want to use for your model something that isn't so hated.
Now, the point of the shutdowns was to slow the spread of the virus, in part, to not overwhelm the healthcare system. This is a highly virulent, and for a percentage of those that get it, a disease that is highly destructive, requiring intensive care and a great deal of equipment that could not handle the numbers. Staying at home, limiting contact between people and of course making large crowds forbidden has done its job in many places. But we aren't over the hump in those places and every rally will make it less likely that we can loosen up the restrictions. Many people who are going to these rallies say that the models were wrong and it is not that contagious. But it was the very things they are arguing to end that made the numbers smaller in many places. Think of it this way.
Imagine you are living on street that for a long time was fairly quiet but started to get busier. At the corner there are a series of near miss accidents and then a big one that kills a family. A four-way stop is added. It backs up traffic, it makes people have to leave earlier for work or be late. It slows you down getting home. It is a nuances. It makes life more difficult and when there is extra traffic it is infuriating by reason. But no more accident occur. So people start to protest the stop signs. Instead of asking for a round-about or a traffic light they want to be free to go back like it was. They argue that there was only one deadly accident and they are adults and work it out on their own. This is a good analogy to what these people are asking. They aren't looking for a way to balance safety and freedom, they just seem angry that their vision of freedom is being curtailed. Science, facts and danger to anyone and everyone is not relevant because they don't believe them. That is the scary thing and the President of the United States appears to have their backs.
I think this pandemic sucks on many levels. I go out rarely, I can't get all the things I want, I have less money for fun things, my vacation is on hold. There are days I am scared for myself and Dianne and for so many other people. But the alternative to staying home, missing out on fun and even some things that we might have thought essential, is not nearly as bad as being a Jew in the 1930s and 40s in large parts of Europe. That is just privileged ignorance at the highest level. Knock it off.
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