POLITICO: Suddenly, Public Health Officials Say Social Justice Matters More Than Social Distance

RALEIGH – It became a ubiquitous and all powerful signal of virtue just several long weeks ago to support social distancing in the face of the Wuhan coronavirus. So powerful that it inspired health officials to advise governments to completely shutdown economies, forcibly close businesses. It caused local leaders to support arresting surfers for surfing, whole counties to blockade themselves from the world, and a governor to deny the fundamental rights to worshipers wishing to go to church.

It fueled public shaming, with opponents of lockdowns and social distancing mandates being smeared as selfish, reckless, or even murderers. Not practicing social distancing was tantamount to killing grandma, an act that screamed you didn’t care about healthcare workers.

Now none of it matters (as long as it’s woke). The hypocrisy is deafening.

From POLITICO:

“[…] For months, public health experts have urged Americans to take every precaution to stop the spread of Covid-19—stay at home, steer clear of friends and extended family, and absolutely avoid large gatherings.

Now some of those experts are broadcasting a new message: It’s time to get out of the house and join the mass protests against racism.

“We should always evaluate the risks and benefits of efforts to control the virus,” Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, tweeted on Tuesday. “In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the harms of the virus.”

“The injustice that’s evident to everyone right now needs to be addressed,” Abraar Karan, a Brigham and Women’s Hospital physician who’s exhorted coronavirus experts to amplify the protests’ anti-racist message, told me. “While I have voiced concerns that protests risk creating more outbreaks, the status quo wasn’t going to stop #covid19 either,” he wrote on Twitter this week.

It’s a message echoed by media outlets and some of the most prominent public health experts in America, like former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden, who loudly warned against efforts to rush reopening but is now supportive of mass protests. Their claim: If we don’t address racial inequality, it’ll be that much harder to fight Covid-19. There’s also evidence that the virus doesn’t spread easily outdoors, especially if people wear masks.

The experts maintain that their messages are consistent—that they were always flexible on Americans going outside, that they want protesters to take precautions and that they’re prioritizing public health by demanding an urgent fix to systemic racism. […]”

Healthcare workers “on the front lines” lined up, six feet apart, to counter-protest those rallying to reopen North Carolina. They held signs that said, “Think of Us” and “Help Prevent More Death.” Others just skipped the pleasantries and accused Reopen NC protesters of wantonly risking other people’s lives, equating them to murderers.

Is it any wonder why so many people hesitate to blindly trust “experts”? If trust is their primary currency, how much fewer will listen to them in the future?

Read more about the hypocrisy of woke public health officials here.