Hooray for these nurses who stood in a crosswalk in Denver to block people intent on violating the state’s stay-at-home order by attending a not-exactly-grassroots protest at the state capital. It reminds me of the brave man who stood in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square in 1989 — except instead of making a statement against a totalitarian regime, these health care workers were asking their fellow citizens to not contribute to the horror they see in their hospitals every day due to COVID-19.
The protestors in Colorado and elsewhere make up an extremely small percentage of their states’ populations. I wish news outlets that report these events would offer some perspective by putting up graphics and headlines saying, “99.9% of people in the state did not endanger the public welfare by standing next to each other while screaming at an empty building today.”
Similarly, when Trump and his acolytes proudly announce that four million people have been tested so far for coronavirus, do the math and report that’s only 1.2% of the 325 million who live in this country.
I understand the workers frustrated by businesses being closed while all but essential personnel are forced to shelter at home. Misinformed daily by Trump, Fox News, talk radio, and the conspiracy theory blog bubble they live in, the protestors are not America’s best and brightest. They are our worst and most gullible.
They are the brainiacs who see no irony in their favorite media loudmouths broadcasting from secure locations while telling listeners and viewers everything’s a hoax. Where’s the protest outside Fox News Channel headquarters demanding that all of its staffers be allowed back to their offices and studios?
They are the kind of people who can’t wait to strap on their guns and take to the streets, just looking to get up in someone’s face for daring to disagree. Every time I see a group of flag-waving, heavily-armed, low-information, non-patriots gathering — for any reason — I always wonder how the police would react (over-react?) if the participants were black and brown, rather than uniformly white. I have a feeling it would not end well.
It should be only a matter of a week to ten days before we get the first reports that some of those who attended these events, but didn’t keep their distance from each other, have tested positive for coronavirus. I hope they’re admitted to the hospitals where those nurses work — and have enough breath left to apologize.