I may not have spoken as eloquently as I would’ve liked, or articulated the reasons why protests are harmful in as detailed of a way as I would’ve liked, but hopefully the emotional pain that these protesters are causing for patients will get just one supposed “patriotic” crusader to see the carelessness of their actions.
If you’re a protester watching this, I get that you believe that your government is imposing stringent restrictions upon you. I get that you feel that businesses being paused and social distancing being required is hurting citizens and their pocket books. That you think it’s an overreaction and that your civil liberties are being attacked. I get it.
I get that the issue at the core is that because businesses are shut, access to money and food are becoming increasingly limited for some. And I understand how it’s a horrifying predicament when you have a family to care for and no sense of when money will begin flowing in.
But please understand that if states are opened prematurely and without tight requirements on how to appropriately reopen in a SAFE way (via a staggered, monitored approach, etc.), getting food onto your table will be the last of your worries.
You’ll be too busy dealing with dying and chronically ill, suffering loved ones, who will have little that can be done for them because we’ve reopened states without FIRST understanding the virus. You assume a reopening is safe because we have a name and some basic, short-lived data from the virus. You think that means we understand it and are controlling it, and can predict what recovery looks like for those that get Covid-19, if they’re lucky enough to eventually recover. But you’re wrong. We are ACTIVELY learning about the virus from patients as each day progresses.
If we reopen now, more cases will flood in. More cases that will be in the same position as me: cases that are advising science, and not the other way around.
That is not what you should want for your family or yourself. That is why patiently waiting for more to be understood about this virus is imperative before any reopening.