Saturday, March 21, 2020

Hey, I never said that I would not hide under the bed!

Michael Lumish

I simply refuse to do so under the command of some petty bureaucrat in Alameda County.

The various counties in the San Francisco Bay Area have decreed that people may not leave their homes without sufficient reason and, needless to say, it is those petty bureaucrats who get to determine what sufficient reason means.

They are, in my opinion, local authoritarians exercising their little fascistic muscles and I absolutely refuse to be told under what circumstances I may be allowed to leave my own home.

But for those of you of a slavish nature, keep your trembling self-righteous indignation in check.

I will come and go as I please, but that does not mean I refuse to self-quarantine or follow necessary precautions when out on the street. I have no intention of gathering amongst crowds for the purpose of sneezing on them.

What I object to -- as someone who values individual liberty just as my countercultural forbears did -- is the authoritarian nature of these dictates. We are such lambs. Such sheep. So easily frightened by the media and authority figures.

I will keep a reasonable distance between myself and people on the street. I will not go to bars or restaurants or large social gatherings. I will not bang on your sister's door and give her a big sloppy, just for the hell of it. And, yes, I promised my mother when I was ten years old that I would wash my hands regularly.

So, of course, I will follow basic guidelines, but I am not going to allow the government to deny me essential liberties, such as freedom of speech, freedom of movement, and freedom of assembly, on their insistence, even as they wreck the economy and ruin people's lives in the process.

We need to be focused on the virus, but we also need awareness concerning how our reaction to the virus will cause people to lose their jobs and homes. We need to be concerned about how a severe international financial downturn, which we are already beginning to see, might be just as devastating as the virus, itself. In fact, it might turn out to be considerably worse than the virus.

The thing is, we do not know.

We are therefore taking extreme measures, toying with people's lives and livelihoods, based on insufficient data.

We need to calm the fuck down and quit with the hysterics.

I do not like the fact that the various local governments are shutting down the bars and restaurants and beaches, but it is a momentarily reasonable reaction to a pandemic.

But, once again, as a matter of principle, unless I am under arrest via due process, I will not allow anyone to tell me under what circumstances I may be allowed to leave my home.

9 comments:

  1. Typhoid Mary said the same thing. And, of course, you don't know if you are carrying the virus nor will you know until you become symptomatic. But I'm sure you are more of an expert than Doctor Fauci so just ignore his warnings and advice.

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    1. How about we call you "Coronavirus Joe?" Jovid-19? Is your constant misinterpretation intentional or poor due to poor comprehension skills. Experience tells me it's most likely the former.

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    2. ignore the first mention of "poor."

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    3. It is an accepted truth that one who is reduced to obscenities and name calling has lost the argument. But let us return to your post:
      "But, once again, as a matter of principle, unless I am under arrest via due process, I will not allow anyone to tell me under what circumstances I may be allowed to leave my home." There may be many ways to interpret that statement, but it seems obvious to me that it is a libertarian battle cry, a position I find morally repulsive. The notion that you, and by extension any individual, can decide what rules he is going to follow and not let any government, doctor or society dictate the rules for him leads inevitably to a ethically obnoxious conclusion that an individual makes decisions based on his well being and everybody else be damned. We are supposed to stay home not merely for ourselves since most people will be carriers, not patients. We do these things for the betterment of others, for society in general. Maybe you have a different explanation for your statement, but I don't see it.

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    4. Listen, dummy, I think that you deserve all the obscenities that you get, before I ban you, entirely.

      The reason for this is because you accused me of being something akin to a "Typhoid Mary," despite the fact that I favor self-quarantine.

      I wrote very clearly:

      "I will come and go as I please, but that does not mean I refuse to self-quarantine or follow necessary precautions when out on the street."

      The hysterical part is that in California, on both the local and state levels, the government allows you out of your house so long as you are going for a walk or some exercise.

      What this means, obviously, is that anyone can go anywhere for any reason whatsoever and all they have to do is tell a friendly officer that they were going for a stroll for reasons of exercise.

      In other words, these rules and mandates and decrees are entirely meaningless.

      But, yes, I agree with you, people should be complete submissives to local bureaucrats... because that represents the spirit of Enlightenment liberalism and a reasonable balance between the rights of the individual versus the power of the state.

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    5. "It is an accepted truth that one who is reduced to obscenities and name calling has lost the argument."
      If that's the case, you lost the argument as soon as you started it.
      It's hard not to notice how you project.
      It's now become apparent you're a fan of government running rough shot over the rights of the individual, and martial law. Believe me, this surprises no one here. You value neither freedom nor liberty. You purposely misinterpreted Mike's statements and intentions in order to pick a political fight - favorite technique of the most irrational and virulent Trump haters and antisemites. So who cares what you find morally repulsive?

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  2. "As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assesses tightening social distancing measures aimed at stemming the coronavirus outbreak, the government is reportedly considering imposing a full lockdown on elderly Israelis.

    The measure would forbid all men aged 70 and up and women aged 65 and up from leaving their homes, Channel 12 reported Monday.


    https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-may-order-just-elderly-to-stay-at-home-instead-of-full-lockdown-report/

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  3. "Do not leave home unless it is for vital medical reasons, for food, or to help the Palestinians"

    Some wag posted somewhere.

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  4. So, if you are a fan of Bob Dylan and JFK lore, this songs for you.

    https://variety.com/2020/music/news/bob-dylan-releases-17-minute-song-jfk-kennedy-assassination-murder-most-foul-1203546713/

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