Epidemics and other disasters come and go
But the worst side-effects of the Covid epidemic are going to be with us for years.
This was the Raleigh NC Police’s response to a protest against the government’s shutdown restrictions:
And if the people allow this attitude to continue, then they – we – will deserve what follows.
The First Amendment isn’t more important than the broad concept of “order” – but it is certainly more important than the Raleigh PD treats it in this case.
Someone needs to get hauled into court, but good.
The ACLU has been showing some signs of paying attention to actual civil liberties again during this crisis. Here’s hoping.
I doubt if the courts will look kindly on governors ruling by decree with no time limit or check/balance. Or legislators may force the hand of the governors.
MP;
That will depend on who the judges are.
And if you can even get a hearing. Minnesota’s Chief Justice issued orders canceling most court hearings while the Governor’s emergency is in effect.
You don’t have to have a PhD in polisci to see the problem here. Judges defer to the governor & legislators because the Governor and legislators are answerable to the voters. But what if the governor & legislators declare a public health emergency & take actions that make them less answerable to the voters?
How many SITD readers, would have believed, in 2010, that in 2020 Donald J. Trump would be president, and that he would declare that the US was in the grip of a deadly pandemic, & governors would be accused of using the pandemic to start shaving our civil rights?
This is a matter of location. If the group had protested by blocking Hwy 94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul there wouldn’t have been any problems from law enforcement.
Most people are herd animals. They’ll sit within the fence line and chew cud until a bull knocks the fence down and heads out. These few initial excursions are being led by bulls. The rest of the herd will follow shortly, and once the numbers reach critical mass, the shtf. I believe this is especially true of Red states in leftist hands, like NC and VA. There’s a LOT of pent up anger out in the hills.
I’m a huge states right’s enthusiast, I hope this rebelliousness holds over to the next time a leftist degenerate sits in the White House. But when the states are in the hands of leftist reprobates that are flexing their muscles for personal power gains rather than on behalf of the citizens, well, all bets are off.
Yep, Swiftee, governor Blackface McKlan in VA is taking advantage of the distraction by signing a lot of highly divisive measures into law. This goes against everything that they teach you in polisci 101 (yes, I’ve taken it). In a democracy you are supposed to take the time & do the work to build a consensus, or you fray the social contract.
This is another sign of the madness of Progressives; they want a social arrangement where the people have high trust in the government, and they smash that trust to satisfy their power lust, every time.
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