The Right to Fatten the Curve
Michigan is the tenth largest state in the United States, the country with the largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths on earth. Michigan also comes in at third place in deaths and fifth place in confirmed cases, with the virus’ prevalence being highest in the city of Detroit. The state is facing the threat of the coronavirus disproportionately compared to most of the country and the world.
In response to the first two confirmed cases in Michigan on March 10, the state’s governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency. And since cases and deaths began to accelerate, the state has taken a variety of other measures in order to contain the virus’ spread. Colleges have moved their courses online, K-12 schools ended the year early, and almost everything from movie theatres and ski resorts to dine-in bars and restaurants have been closed down.
The governor started to attract criticism when part of the lockdown measures started to appear as arbitrary. One example of this is the banning of the use of motor-powered boats for recreational purposes such as fishing. Governor Whitmer has also been criticized for preventing landscaping, lawncare, tree service, irrigation, and related outdoor maintenance companies from operating at this time. President Donald Trump soon after began to echo these concerns to the nation.
Before long, thousands of protesters (hundreds on foot) began to gather to advance their message that the Stay Home, Stay Safe order is unnecessarily hurting our citizens and businesses. They are making the claim that governor Whitmer’s response to the coronavirus outbreak is an overreaction.
Exercising one’s first amendment right to peacefully protest in large gatherings may not be the best idea during this time because of the current state of Michigan and how contagious COVID-19 is. But if one is going to protest, it is important that they continue wearing a mask and social distancing. Judging from almost any photograph one can find, that’s not what most are doing. Conservative editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire Ben Shapiro made the same critique of protesters:
If you want to protest to re-open, wear masks and social distance. Your point is that you’re responsible enough to go back to work in a free society while taking care not to infect others. So why give your opponents the ammo to argue otherwise?
But the mainstream right-wing continues to justify and even promote these protests across the country. Take Fox News’ coverage of them as “rallies/protests to reopen the economy.” And this is on top of the swath of misinformation the news channel has pushed since the start of the pandemic. But it would be a mistake to think that they are alone in encouraging dangerous protests while acting as an authoritative source of information. Even president Trump has downplayed the protests by noting that he believes that they’re “responsible” and are “just expressing their views.”
In contrast, Michigan’s governor has some words for those who are out protesting:
I support your right to free speech and I respect your opinions. I just urge you: don’t put yourself at risk; and don’t put other’s at risk either.
From president Trump’s coronavirus response team, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci was interviewed by ABC about the protests. Dr. Fauci stated that these protests will prove to backfire in the coming weeks, contradicting what the president himself has forwarded. “Unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery economically is not going to happen,” he said.
Of course, despite protesters chanting “fire Fauci,” and Trump retweeting a tweet advocating for his firing, the doctor is correct. Dr. Fauci is right because if we open everything up right away, after only a few weeks of social distancing, we run a major risk of experiencing a second wave of the virus which is likely to be even worse than the first. Before we open, we need testing to be far more widespread than it is today.
We have started to see anecdotal evidence of the coronavirus spreading in protest-like settings already. For example, some states have decided to allow voters to line up in person on election day in order to have their voices heard rather than vote by mail. In Wisconsin, we have now confirmed at least 7 new cases that were traced back to the day they voted on April 7.
As of yesterday, April 24, governor Whitmer has extended the Stay Home, Stay Safe order through May 15. The new order requires that citizens wear a mask when in an enclosed public place and that employers provide them to their workers.
Whitmer has addressed her critics and lifted restrictions on landscaping, lawn-service companies, and nurseries. Stores can now open up certain areas that were previously banned such as garden centers and one can now use motor-powered boats as they please. All of these lifted restrictions apply only with adequate social distancing, of course.
I’m with the majority of Michiganders when I say Governor Whitmer is doing the right thing. It is nearly impossible to write legislation that is perfect across the board. While there are legitimate criticisms of Whitmer’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, she has done an outstanding job overall. Because of her willingness to take on COVID-19 early on and hard, lives will — and have — been saved.
