Gym, Two County Supervisors, and KUSI Need COVID-19 Consequences
It hasn’t quite dawned on too many Americans, whether or not they approve of various health measures, that the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon. Even those of us that accept the science being proffered still yearn for the days old (last year!) and fantasize about a future where things are ‘normal’ again.
After all, thinking about things getting worse is just the kind of scenario that only a nihilist (or an end-of-times evangelical) could embrace.
The future does NOT have to be dystopian, but it won’t be ‘the good days,’ either. For a better outcome one thing we as a society need to do is ratchet up disapproval of those who flaunt various safety precautions.
We’re being waaay too polite, sitting in our locked down homes, tsk, tsking at video and news coverage of mass public gatherings, aholes who think wearing a mask is an affront to their freedom, and public figures plying various degrees of denialism.
It doesn’t help that the people we give a license to kill and pay big bucks to to maintain order can’t be bothered when it comes to a real issue of public safety. The SDPD (and other agencies) have proven they’d rather lob tear gas than hurt the feelings of an individual whose self-image is determined by cash flow.
(I can guarantee that if there was a gym on Imperial Avenue flouting a closure order, there’d be a swat team at their doors as soon as the cops could get tv news crews assembled to cover the event.)
For purposes of today’s commentary, I’ve picked out three of the most egregious offenders of common sense and public safety.
I took a stroll by Boulevard Fitness this morning, and, yes, the doors were open. The shades were drawn so passers-by can’t observe those who believe they are worshiping at the temple of Hygeia, the Greek goddess of good health.
Gym operator Shawn Gilbert has become a local poster child for those who claim their self-interest trumps (pun intended) the common good.
From the Washington Post:
In San Diego, Boulevard Fitness’s Gilbert argued that keeping gyms open actually works in the interests of public health. “I don’t want to sound like Hulk Hogan, but that’s fact. You work out, you exercise, you’re going to build your immune system to help fight disease,” he told KUSI, noting physical activity can also help people with their mental health during quarantine.
Contrary to his assertion, many infectious-disease specialists say that working out inside a gym is one of the highest-risk activities to perform, particularly in areas seeing a rapid spread of the coronavirus. Many young people who were otherwise healthy and had no preexisting conditions have also been killed by covid-19.
Since the most recent shut-down order on July 13, the facility has been visited by county staff, followed by a cease and desist order and then an order to close.
Asked by a KUSI reporter what he would tell police if they showed up to fine him, Gilbert said he would gladly pay up. But not without making them an offer first.
“If they want to work out and get healthy,” he said, “their day pass is on me.”
On Tuesday, a $1000 fine was levied against the business. Obviously, he doesn’t give a damn.
So let’s go with that, and give Mr. Gilbert a hand with his marketing.
A Reddit user, dismayed by the lack of compliance with social distancing noted:
I swear, if we were living during the bubonic plague, some of you would be licking rats.
Rat lickers… Sounds like a workable marketing meme, don’t you think?
***
Next up on the agenda of people who don’t care, let’s hear it for County Supervisors Jim Desmond and Kristin Gaspar, who’ve taken to using their perch to argue that there are two sides to the dying from COVID-19 controversy.
Desmond has been especially despicable, giving a platform for just about every science denier and/or quackadoodle with a title out there and presenting them as credible experts. “Businesses and schools must reopen” is his mantra, even as evidence mounts that the pandemic is an unchecked danger.
https://twitter.com/jim_desmond/status/1282753178233008128?s=20
Supervisor Kristen Gaspar’s approach has been to blame Sacramento for the impact of the pandemic on schools and businesses.
https://twitter.com/KristinDGaspar/status/1260363425550528515?s=20
Meanwhile, the people who are in it for themselves, see her (and Desmond’s) efforts as a go-ahead for endangering others.
I’ll let County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher explain why these are bad ideas:
https://twitter.com/SupFletcher/status/1293604914363609089?s=20
Jim Desmond isn’t on the ballot this fall, but Kristin Gaspar is being challenged by Terra Lawson-Remer.
You can help Terra’s campaign here, and see her live at an Invisible Zoom forum on August 22.
***
Finally on my Wall of Shame list is KUSI News. At every opportunity, the station jumps on the #TrumpDeathCamp wagon, with denial, derision and deception about COVID-19.
The day can’t come soon enough when their license renewal gets challenged for all the harm they’ve done to public health efforts.
https://twitter.com/KUSINews/status/1293580977592123392?s=20
This a*hole says Texas and Florida are what?
Here’s Florida’s great job in one chart:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday compared the difficulties of reopening public schools for the 2020-21 academic year during the coronavirus pandemic with obstacles faced by the U.S. Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Here’s Texas:
The Texas Department of State Health Services announced 6,200 new COVID-19 cases and 324 newly reported deaths on Wednesday, bringing the state total of deaths to 9,034.
Texas' new total of deaths puts it fourth in the country for most coronavirus deaths behind New York (23,602), New Jersey (15,890), and California (10,468).
***
Last thought
As a consumer of Diet Dr. Pepper, I’m concerned….
https://twitter.com/Charmin/status/1292913808843968522?s=20
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