We can debate Stanislaus COVID-19 reopening without getting ugly
Respect goes a long way in the bubbling public debate over reopening the economy.
It can be a tall order, asking for common courtesy in a polarized time, when every phrase and action seems politicized. People ascribe dark motives to even the personal choice of whether to wear a mask in public.
Masks were few and far between in a recent rally to reopen in Turlock, where many participants lining the street did not seem bothered by a lack of social distancing. Some handmade signs mocked and ridiculed California Governor Gavin Newsom. But the event seemed peaceful enough.
Reopening meltdown in Fresno
In contrast, a crowd in Fresno a week ago blocked code enforcement officers trying to serve a noncompliance notice to a waffle shop operating in defiance of state and local stay-home rules. Police responded to restore order and detained a man who got physical as the restive crowd yelled horrid things.
Two days later, protesters confronted the Fresno mayor and a councilman at their respective homes. Councilman Miguel Arias said people led by a white supremacist tried breaking into his condominium while his children slept, while police cited Arias for battery in the scuffle.
It’s worth hoping that we can escape such ugliness in these parts.
We don’t have waffle houses in open rebellion, to my knowledge, or hate groups calling out elected officials at home. But we have had public demonstrations — in Modesto on May 1, and the much larger one on May 9 in Turlock. That city has suffered more cases (150 as of Friday) and deaths (16) than any other city in Stanislaus County, because of a tragic nursing home outbreak.
A woman in Pasadena made the news for showing perhaps the most damaging kind of disrespect to others when she showed up at a birthday party coughing and without a face covering. Five people caught COVID-19 from that shocking show of disrespect for people she presumably likes.
God help us if something that egregious already has happened here.
If authorities know how the virus was introduced to the Turlock Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, for instance, they have not yet said. We do know that only three COVID clusters, including the nursing home, account for 71% of Stanislaus’ 23 pandemic deaths. The virus spreads when people are close together.
Meanwhile, the reopening debate rages on — in social media, letters to the editor, TV news shows and anywhere people exchange views.
Where do you come down on reopening?
Reopeners are tired of having their rights infringed upon. They want freedom to work and play as they wish. They’re big on personal choice and accountability and chafe at being told what to wear and what to do and not to do. If others aren’t comfortable going out, they say, let them stay home; no one is forcing them to take risks.
Opponents of reopening put faith in science, which says it’s dangerous to mingle. They wear masks. They accuse the other side of being pious about decisions regarding unborn life while not showing much regard for those already living. They’re willing to suffer inconvenience for the greater good.
Many of us sympathize with both sides. We might fancy ourselves progressive but find it impossible to eat another home-cooked meal staring at the same four walls. We might be freedom-loving and stir-crazed, but reluctant to go out because of a loved one with compromised health. These times are complicated.
We can do this
Public dialogue on these important issues is healthy. What’s not is carrying things to extremes.
If you’re a reopen-right-now proponent and won’t (or can’t) wear a mask in public, don’t invade others’ space. Please stay six feet away. People don’t know whether you’re carrying the virus, and frankly, neither do you.
If you’d prefer to see COVID-19 numbers dip a lot more before the economy reopens, continue wearing masks and even gloves in public. But don’t sneer at people not wearing them, and resist the urge to judge.
We keep hearing variations of “we’re all in this together,” when the truth is we’re very much apart — in physical distance (health officers hope) as well as in political ideology. Such will be the case as long as people are people, so let’s make the most of a difficult situation by rising above petty, self-serving remarks.
Let’s show some respect.
This story was originally published May 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
