Vaccine or no vaccine, treatments or no treatments, even as cases and deaths decline, all indications from the left are that ridiculous face-covering mandates and draconian restrictions on the lives and livelihoods of ordinary working Americans will continue indefinitely for years, with no end in sight. Think I’m exaggerating? Read this CNBC article about how the World Health Organization is saying even a vaccine won’t “end the pandemic.” And right on cue, Joe Biden has promised to institute a national mask mandate and impose more lockdowns if he wins and assumes office. Given the fact that that’s FIVE MONTHS from now – a lifetime in coronavirus-time – it’s more than fair to assume that Democrats want to wage an endless, Afghanistan-style "war" on a disease that, like any other cold, will never disappear entirely.
Even in places that should get some relief, the insanity continues as petty, tyrannical politicians and “health officials” purposely put the screws on those they can control. Go to almost any place in the country and you’ll see either a masking requirement or tremendous pressure underway to implement one. No matter the level of infection in the area, you’ll also see absurd coronavirus social distancing restrictions still in place from arrows and six-foot markers splattered across every shopping aisle to closed-off booths in restaurants that inexplicably force their customers to walk the stupidest 30 feet of their lives, from the entrance to the table wearing a face diaper.
Vermont’s statewide mask mandate was put in place on August 1st despite there being all of 1,541 confirmed cases and 58 deaths throughout the entirety of the pandemic and not more than 20 new cases in a day since June 4. Rhode Island reached the far end of their virus curve (see Farr’s law) well before their mask mandate was put in place in mid-May, yet there it remains, with no end in sight. 34 states required a face-covering statewide as of last week, and the rest have been under severe pressure to do so from people with precious little real science, data, or basic logic to back it up. Even cities and counties inside states that have resisted the masking-hysteria have given in, as have most major corporations, with the result that there’s hardly a place in America where one is allowed to walk indoors and breathe free air.
The mask requirements and the ridiculous restrictions on businesses will undoubtedly continue indefinitely in places like New York and New Jersey even though the hardest-hit high-population areas like New York City likely reached herd immunity months ago (which explains the nature of their curve).
Churches are being persecuted. Businesses are being destroyed. People are getting confronted, fined, and even beaten for daring to breathe free air. And if things weren’t bad enough, now the hero who killed Osama bin Laden has literally been banned from flying on Delta for having the chutzpah to take a maskless picture.
Meanwhile, what we’re doing to our kids deserves a book, much less a paragraph in a column. Between the plastic dividers, the strict social distancing, and the unsanitary masks (with all the face-touching going on, flu and cold season is gonna be hell), it’s hard to imagine a lot of learning, much less real socializing, going on. Predictably, the back-and-forth insanity has only just begun and is already off the rails as panic over “muh cases” reaches full tilt every time a student catches “the thing” that poses almost zero danger to them. After presumably running around in circles flailing their hands in the air, school administrators and “health officials” across the country never fail to completely overreact. It’ll be back to school, then back home, then back to school, until most give up completely because someone, somewhere might catch a virus most would likely barely know they had. And now these clowns are saying it could be “years” before the masks and social distancing goes away, even with a vaccine. It’s all a ridiculous joke, but it’s not funny at all.
All of which means, as has always been the case with tyranny, that freedom-loving Americans are probably going to be forced to fight our way out of this. I’m talking about non-violent resistance, obviously (we’re not the left), but resistance nonetheless. Corona fascism in all its forms should be confronted and resisted at every level of our government, from local mayors to state politicians to “health officials” who only see things in light of “muh COVID.” But resist we must, or this nonsense will never end. Even if our leaders and medical overlords are well-intentioned (and my guess is most are not), we are making things entirely too easy for them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and right now the panic-porn purveyors are the squeaky wheel. We need to provide balance via pressure and real data and give our leaders a real, winning alternative to living in fear.
Atilis Gym co-owners Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti have set a brave example. They’ve been arrested, fined, and had their business boarded up – all for the “crime” of trying to make a living despite a tyrannical governor refusing to allow them to do so under the guise of “safety.” But they aren’t taking any of it lying down, instead choosing to the tried-and-true route of nonviolent civil disobedience.
California pastor John MacArthur has provided similar resistance, openly defying Gov. Gavin Newsom’s gathering ban and welcoming thousands of congregants last week to the “Grace Community Church peaceful protest.”
There are countless others I could mention, obviously, but we need even more people with that kind of courage and passion to stand up and be counted.
Maybe you think I’m over-estimating the threat here. Maybe, this is all just temporary and, despite the media’s best efforts, the COVID-panic will go away as people finally start to understand the real data. For the record, I’d actually love to be wrong on this one, but my gut says this is all much more than merely fighting a few “temporary inconveniences.” Indeed, the fight for the return to normalcy could very well be the existential fight of our generation. From where I’m sitting, it sure looks like the left is settling in for the long-haul, so we need to plan to do so as well. Petty tyrants and would-be dictators should never be allowed to use coronavirus, or anything else, as a pretext to trample on our liberties. Because even if COVID-19 went away tomorrow, there will always be the next thing, and the next, and the next. With COVID, we’ve done far more than simply allowing the camel’s nose in the tent. We’ve come damn near close to letting in the whole first hump.
If you’re of the same mind, what comes next is up to you. Maybe you’re someone like this man, who boldly and eloquently castigated local officials at a public meeting (watch it - it’s amazing). Maybe you’ve got the means and the boldness to be like Dan Bongino, who told his local officials exactly what they could do with their mask order. Maybe you can call or write your local lawmakers and government officials, or write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. If you’re the organizing type, maybe putting something together like this amazing anti-mask rally that just happened in Utah is your cup of tea. Whatever it is, do SOMETHING. Everyone can post on social media. Everyone can use real science, data, and common sense to try and persuade their friends and family. And most of all, everyone can VOTE. Anyone, Republican or Democrat, who engages in corona fascism in any form deserves to be voted out of office at the earliest possibility, full stop.
Never, ever forget what kind of ghouls these tyrants are. Denying free human beings the ability to earn a living in their chosen profession is and always will be evil. Quarantining and imposing restrictions on the healthy is and always will be morally wrong. Preventing the sick from being allowed to try a drug that could help them based on politics alone is sick to the core. These things should be resisted by freedom-loving people with every ounce of our being.
Be the kind of antifascist that actually makes a positive difference in society. For this season and however long it takes, be an AntiCoronaFascist!
Follow Scott on Twitter @SKMorefield and Parler @smorefield.