Protests against stay-at-home orders are foolish, dangerous and counterproductive to the protesters’ stated cause.
A vast majority of Americans understand this. While most are sheltering in place during the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people gathering to urge the reopening of the economy is relatively small. An estimated 2,500 people ignored safety protocols Sunday at the state Capitol while millions of Washingtonians remained home to protect themselves and others. State Rep. Vicki Kraft, R-Vancouver, was among those who promoted the protest online.
The foolhardy danger involved with such gatherings is easy to see. Through Sunday, more than 40,000 American deaths had been related to COVID-19; more than 750,000 people in the United States had contracted the virus. The disease is easily spread and is much more deadly than the seasonal flu.
Washington was the first state to enact stay-at-home orders, and nearly all states have followed, and such measures have had a demonstrable impact on slowing the spread of the virus.
Despite the common-sense measures of shutting down businesses, preventing large gatherings and urging people to remain at least 6 feet apart, protesters in many states are rebelling. The frustration is understandable; millions are out of work, and stay-at-home orders are emotionally taxing as we struggle to comprehend the end game to this unprecedented disruption of American life.
Rather than demonstrate calm leadership, President Donald Trump has exploited that frustration by urging, over Twitter, citizens to “liberate” specific states. His exhortations have been irresponsible and alarming. On Sunday, Gov. Jay Inslee told ABC News: “To have an American president to encourage people violate the law, I can’t remember any time in my time in America we have seen such a thing. It’s dangerous, because it could inspire people to ignore things that could save their lives.”
It is, indeed, dangerous. Taken to its extreme, the use of the word “liberate” evokes images of armed rebellion.
That careless language might cause some Americans to overlook the federal government’s lax response to the pandemic; it might lead some to ignore Trump’s verbal sparring with governors desperately asking for protective masks, ventilators and testing kits; it might distract some from the White House’s glaring incompetence.
But in the end, most Americans will clearly recognize the administration’s failures when it came to preparing for and countering a global pandemic.
For those who are easily swayed by President Trump’s attempt to deflect attention, the battle becomes a self-defeating one. Choosing to demonstrate their disagreement with stay-at-home orders by gathering in tight crowds and ignoring safety protocols, they likely will cause those orders to be extended.
Because what happens in Olympia does not stay in Olympia when it comes to COVID-19. The protesters will return to their communities and, if they have become infected, will spread that infection. Many states have been effective in flattening the curve of the virus, and projections indicate that Washington is on the downward slope of the pandemic. But a second wave of infections could cause quarantines to be continued.
Protest crowds across the country have been small compared with the number of people who are acting responsibly. But they could have an outsized impact in keeping the pandemic alive.
