Disastrous Misery of Public Health Hypocrisy
I've previously written about the impending disaster accumulating within the criminal justice system as a result of the pandemic.
On that note, Politico just had this article: Suddenly, Public Health Officials Say Social Justice Matters More Than Social Distance
For months, public health experts have urged Americans to take every precaution to stop the spread of Covid-19—stay at home, steer clear of friends and extended family, and absolutely avoid large gatherings.
Now some of those experts are broadcasting a new message: It’s time to get out of the house and join the mass protests against racism.
[…]
But their messages are also confounding to many who spent the spring strictly isolated on the advice of health officials, only to hear that the need might not be so absolute after all. It’s particularly nettlesome to conservative skeptics of the all-or-nothing approach to lockdown, who point out that many of those same public health experts—a group that tends to skew liberal—widely criticized activists who held largely outdoor protests against lockdowns in April and May, accusing demonstrators of posing a public health danger. Conservatives, who felt their own concerns about long-term economic damage or even mental health costs of lockdown were brushed aside just days or weeks ago, are increasingly asking whether these public health experts are letting their politics sway their health care recommendations.
It's really weird that this is now the contrarian take. My bona fides on the issue of police misconduct are unimpeachable, so don't even try to fucking go there. I am thrilled at the momentum policy change is building up, but this public health about-face is going to be a long-term disaster.
We spent months in lockdown for good reason in order to mitigate a very deadly pandemic. This has not been Fun. I'm sure that plenty of people in my social circle seamlessly switched to working from home with little to no change in their routine but not everyone has been so lucky. Not everyone qualified for unemployment, not everyone qualified or received the PPP loan, and not everyone received the stimulus check. In addition to the precarious financial situation some were forced into, this entire episode has been psychologically and emotionally draining. We don't know yet how many people on the margins were toppled over by this.
Undoubtedly some of the anti-lockdown protestors had frivolous demands but not all. It's extremely disingenuous to dismiss their concerns as "they just wanted haircuts" when we have record-high unemployment and a severe rise in mental health issues from the despondent isolation we're finding ourselves in.
We could've responded with compassion, even if it wasn't reciprocated. We could've said "look I understand your pain but here is why this is necessary." Instead health officials damaged their credibility by imposing arbitrary orders (e.g. banning the sale of gardening supplies, banning motorized boating but allowing rowing boats, etc.) and the lot was accused of being dumb, selfish, and literally trying to kill grandma.
The risks have not disappeared. There is no meaningful way of enforcing a lockdown except by widespread and overwhelming voluntary acceptance. And that is only possible if the authorities issuing the health orders have credibility. A large portion of the country will trust experts less now. Hell, I trust experts less now. Because what I'm seeing is that they're not staying in their lane and basing their directives on objective science, but instead they are clearly susceptible to whatever bandwagon is currently in vogue. There's no reason to take anything they say in the future at face value.
I'm extremely worried that the second wave we've all been concerned is going to happen far sooner than we've been waiting for and this current nightmare of a lockdown will have to be extended for longer.
I think most of you are unaware of this next part. We all know that crowded indoor spaces are by far the most effective at transmitting the virus. Do you know what is an example of that? Jails. There is no meaningful way to socially distance while incarcerated, so the only way the jail authorities have been dealing with that by instituting strict solitary lockdown orders, allowing only a couple of hours a day to be out of your cell because that is the only way to fit and stagger the schedule. In addition, jury trials are indefinitely suspended for the same reasons and racking up a significant backlog. Anyone who was in jail waiting for a trial with a good chance of acquittal is out of luck. They're now stuck there for the indefinite future, and this is sustained by a continuing lockdown out in the real world.
Maybe all of this is worth it in the end! Who knows! But no one is even trying to show their work on this question and everyone seems to be operating out of fear of ostracization (Yes, thank you Chipotle, Call of Duty, and Netflix for telling me how much you care about black people). One of the groups who happens to be holding out is Black Lives Matter Seattle. They have not participated in the protests because they believe the risks are not worth it. When the death rate for black people from COVID-19 is 3x what it is for whites, maybe they have a fucking point.