Jacob Waring – News Editor
The world is in the middle of a pandemic. We are all hunkering down at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with the desire goal of returning to life as it once was. Well…
Some of us anyway because all over America there are people protesting the stay-at-home orders and trying to pressure their elected officials to open businesses up early. They are trying to liberate their states from their oppressive government who are stripping their rights as citizens by having them stay at home.
To stay at home and not die from COVID-19. To stay at home and not suffer the recovery that comes from COVID-19. To stay at home to not contend with the nightmarish scenario of being infected and passing the virus to your friends and family.
These protesters have convinced themselves that the shutdown across the United States is oppression. The protestors who think U.S. Governors are using the virus as a cover to strip rights away from Americans. That the media made the virus a bigger deal than necessary.
The protester’s ignorance will prolong all the progress this country has made against COVID-19 and government offices who succumb to their pressure will most likely see a surge in the virus. It is common sense; at least it is to me.
Those protesters are protesting in willing ignorance. There will be blood on their hands. Some of that blood will be their own due to becoming infected by COVID-19. Some of that blood will by the medical professionals they are putting at risk as they would now have to treat them.
These protestors are putting their surroundings love ones at risk. Their putting our families at risk. They are putting everyone at risk. Even if some of the protests are protestors in their cars then they are dangerously stalling traffic. There are doctors and nurses who are needed at their facilities and they are delayed who are just thinking of themselves.
I understand the anger. People are losing their jobs, bills are pilling up. Everyone is not able to see their friends and family due to the stay at home order. This virus has been a massive inconvenience and changed life as we know it. This is hard on everyone.
My perspective is this: I rather be six feet away from people then six feet under from people.
The curve in various states are going down. Yet, that curve can and will shoot right back up if people go back to interacting on a mass scale as before. This virus is extremely contagious that even the best equipped healthcare professional can still be infected with COVID-19.
Opening up the state’s economies and businesses due to the curve being down makes no sense. Yes, the curve is down but by going back to business prematurely will make the curve go back up. It is like jumping out of a plane and saying the parachute slow your descent then you decide to cut the parachute off which leads to you crashing brutally into the ground.
The curve is our parachute and we have yet to safely land. These protests is cutting that parachute off prematurely. These protests will lead to people becoming infected. It will lead to more deaths. It will also prolong the stay-at-home orders and society will continue to be shut down. If everyone can do their part, stay home and do our best to social distance then that will expedite the timeline towards normalcy that we all knew.
It just takes one person. Just one to mess it up for the rest of us. Each person that protests is messing it up for the rest of us. I do not wish the protestors to become infected as some do as some karmic payback because if these protestors get infected then those in their circle or healthcare professionals tasked to take care of them are them put at risk.
There is a cautionary tale involving South Korea and Patient 31. You see, 30 other people with COVID-19 followed the South Korea’s Government Guidelines. The government was on their way towards containing the virus and avoiding an uncontrollable spread. Until Patient 31 went to their church and cases exploded from that point onward.
The lesson is that it takes only one person to potentially cause a chain reaction where thousands could become infected, and many people would die. I have seen signs by protestors proclaiming, “Their body, their choice,” when their choice to not follow the government guidelines will lead to many more infections and death.
