Over the course of the last month or so you may have noticed an increase around the world in anti quarantine sentiments. To the casual observer it might seem like something that is being blown out of proportion and needs to be dealt with. Or, you may have come across some gems that are claiming it’s a bunch of racists.
What is actually happening and what is the motivation behind this movement? Hopefully we can clear some things up for you guys and explain a little bit behind this movement.
These Aren’t Racists or Misogynists and We Should Stop Pretending They Are
Do not mistake this for apathy or empathy towards people that practice neo-nazism. We have no sympathy or empathy for those people and do not support anything that they adhere to in any way whatsoever.
That being said, to blanket statement that this movement was brought on by a racist sentiment is glossing over the big picture. None of these protests, at least to public knowledge, were begun or organized by racists. They were organized by people who were sick of being told to stay home and being punished for leaving their houses.
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Honestly, it’s easy to see why some people are beginning to snap under the pressure. When you’ve already been in lockdown for two months, and now some states like New York plan to extend it, there’s gonna be discontent.
Mix in the vast array of misinformation that is being spread like wildfire, and you have a recipe for disaster. Many people would say things like ‘just shut it down’ or ‘send in the police’ etc. However, it is within the Constitution and the Amendments that peaceful protests are not to be infringed upon.
You might say ‘well this is a pandemic, surely that overrules it’, and you might be on to something with that idea. Here’s the problem, those same people do not want to see a snowball effect. They shut down one peaceful protest and that snowballs into martial law, and while that could be a stretch, tensions are high.
There’s a wealthy organizer behind today’s anti-lockdown protests in California, but they won’t say who: https://t.co/etMVAFmpuc
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) May 2, 2020
Between a Rock and Hard Place
One of the biggest issues facing the anti quarantine movement is that of asymptomatic carriers. Let’s indulge a little bit of fantasy here:
Let’s say that there was no reason for anyone to be that concerned with COVID because no one is gonna die from it anymore. Suppose you’re 22, young and healthy with a great immune system and show no symptoms. That does not mean that you do not carry the virus.
So when you walk around and incidentally spread it to say senior citizens, you may have contributed in their eventual death.
Good enough for a shutdown right? Sure, but when you’re the government and you see just how high tensions are, that snowball effect is dangerously on the edge. All it takes is just one small push and people will go from protests to riots.
What Do We Do?
You’re gonna hate to read this; nothing.
If these people get infected, it will not change anything because of how widespread COVID is at this point. Ultimately we’re all going to get infected, and most of us have most likely already been infected.
Thinking that this is a childish way of looking at a broad issue is understandable, but what is the alternative? Force people to give up their rights and risk actual violence? One person’s lesser of two evils is not the same as the world’s version.
Sadly, there really is no way to say what is going to be changed by this new movement. As states begin to cave to pressure and reopen, there’s not really any stopping it. All we can do is hold our breath, hope in the individual abilities of the professionals and do our best.
