"I'm losing my COVID patience. I've tried to reason with the unvaxxed. I've directed some to medical pros. I don't judge but hear them out and steer them to facts. The unvaxxed love to say it's about choice. But do you know who doesn't have a choice? My three kids under 5.
"Blah, blah, blah, you have a right not to get vaxxed. Fine. Then business and government have a right to tell you that you're not welcome to patronize or you can't get on a plane.
"Because what right do you think you have to expose my kids to your COVID? As parents, lets own the outrage. The looney carnival barkers at school board meetings DO NOT reflect where most parents are. Your unvaxxed status is creating new variants. So get your damned shot. Or stay inside your house. But don't mess with my kids." Congressman Eric Swalwell, California District 15
This is a guy who needs to be front and center for Democrats.
He's exactly right. Thank you, Congressman, for standing up and saying so. I've lost my COVID patience as well. I caught it from someone who refused to wear a mask and showed up at work with symptoms, only to find out the next day that he had tested positive. How considerate. He knew enough to go get a test, but not enough not to show up at work until he got the results back. Five people, including me, came down with it over the next few days. I spent eight days of the following two weeks in the hospital, sicker than I can ever remember being. Well, I'm not that far away from being classified as a senior adult, so I guess I can be sacrificed, so that others can have their "rights."
"The Sanctity of Human Life" is Nothing More Than Politics to Republicans
Republicans have been laying claim to the title of "party of righteousness" since Reagan in the 80's, largely because of their support for ending abortion and reversing the Roe v. Wade decision that made it a constitutionally protected right. Their claim, based on the Christian belief that life begins at conception, is that the unborn, once conceived, have a right to life from that point on, and even though they remain in their mother's womb until birth, should be considered as separate persons. They've put the defense of the unborn due to the sanctity of life in their political platform.
But that's not out of any real conviction or belief in the sanctity of human life. It's just a very emotional, easily manipulated issue that can be used to get votes. If they really believed in the sanctity of human life, they would be putting as much effort into protecting people from a deadly virus that is fatal in 2% of the cases, and debilitating in another 6%, as they do into trying to get the Roe v. Wade decision overturned. The fact that many high profile and well known Republicans, who also happen to be Evangelical Christians, are so vehemently opposed to doing anything to protect people from the spread of this virus betrays their hypocrisy.
Someone who believes in the sanctity of human life would be moving heaven and earth, so to speak, to protect the most vulnerable people from catching it, and would be doing everything within their power to keep it from spreading and mutating. Isn't that what they are doing to protect the rights of the unborn? But it goes nowhere after that, which makes them as evil and wicked as they claim abortion supporters are. They are much less concerned about saving the lives of the unborn as they are about electing politicians who support their agenda to office and using an alleged pro-life position as leverage.
So comparisons are off the table in this discussion. You can't be pro-life and anti-vax at the same time. End of discussion.
America, the Land of Oz
I don't want to carry that analogy too far, but we do have a Wicked Witch of the West, and a Wicked Witch of the East in the persons of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, from Colorado, representing the West, and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, from Georgia, representing the East. These two despicable racists are either deserving of an academy award for their acting ability portraying a hateful and deplorable lack of integrity and in their roles as Klansmen Without Hoods, or they really are all of those things. There are people in Congress who play the role that they think their base wants them to play. Ultra-conservative and "pro-life" Congressman Tim Murphy, who represented the 18th district of Pennsylvania, was forced to resign after pressuring his mistress to get an abortion after she thought she was pregnant. So much for being pro-life.
So if I gambled, I'd be willing to bet that both of these shrieking nut jobs are vaccinated. They won't put their own lives at risk, but they don't care about anyone else! And sanctity of human life is out the window. Their involvement in January 6 is an endorsement of attempts to "hang Mike Pence," and their racist rhetoric is violent. Their only regret is that most of the people who have died from the virus in their districts can't vote for them.
Or can they?
Dr. Fauci or Ted Cruz?
"That's OK," said Fauci in a response to Ted Cruz' call for him to be prosecuted. "I'm just gonna do my job, and I'm gonna be saving lives and they're gonna be lying."
Well Trump, after accusing his father of involvement in the Kennedy assassination and calling his wife an ugly whore, did call him "Lyin' Ted." A man of integrity would have turned his back and walked away. But Cruz isn't that man.
So I believe Dr. Fauci. There's plenty of evidence he knows what he's talking about and he's willing to admit when he doesn't know something or when he's made a mistake. Cruz' call to "prosecute" him, aside from making him look like he's a real donkey, is irresponsible and hateful. The only proper reference to the term "prosecute" should be applied to him for his role in January 6th.
Whose Rights are Most Important?
The problem of "equal treatment" here on this issue is that the consequences of not getting vaccinated and of not taking any real steps to stop the spread of the virus is that not doing so contributes to its continued spead. Many of them exhibit an "I don't care" attitude about it. The consequence of that is that some pretty high profile anti-vaxxers are now dead from the COVID infection they caught. But the other consequence is that the virus continues to cause pandemic conditions with a high death rate, continues to spread and puts kids under 5 at risk because they can't be vaccinated and don't have a natural immunity. And that kind of lack of concern for the rights of others is unAmerican, selfish and downright rude, not to mention criminal in that it has cost some lives.
So that's an infringement on the rights of those who follow solid medical advice and get vaccinated. You should not be able to get into my space and infringe upon my rights. It's the role of government to make that determination. I've heard conservatives at the airport complain about having to get on board a plane with a woman wearing a hijab, because she might be a terrorist with a bomb. If you're not vaccinated, deliberately choosing not to be, then you are every bit as much a terrorist as you think that Muslim woman might be. In fact, you are more of one because they aren't going to blow up the plane, but you have the potential to infect everyone on it.
Refusing to get vaccinated puts others at risk of serious illness or death. Getting vaccinated even though you don't want to do it doesn't put you at risk. So it's obvious whose rights should prevail.
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