Now you see it, now you don’t. If you go back to May 24, the commandment “Thou shalt wear a mask” came tripping daily off the lips of every Democrat in the country. Holier-than-thou news media on assignment devoted entire segments to who among the local populace was — and wasn’t — practicing social distancing: a pox on the latter.
On May 25, everything changed. May 25 was the day George Floyd died. Instantly the streets were flooded with rioters and protesters, all quite cheek-to-cheek. Scenes like this became commonplace:
LA TODAY!!!!! #BlackLivesMattters #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/Cy5CJU5Lh0
— Ron Kurokawa (@ronkurokawa) June 8, 2020
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Social distancing? Who could be bothered? The message “Black Lives matter” took precedence over everything else — including the risk of infection from COVID-19. Protesters even got the blessing of 1,200 health “experts,” who signed a “letter in response to emerging narratives that seemed to malign demonstrations as risky for the public health because of Covid-19.” Said the experts:
We believe that the way forward is not to suppress protests in the name of public health but to respond to protesters demands in the name of public health, thereby addressing multiple public health crises.
But then something happened on Monday that jogged Democrats’ collective memory of the pandemic and attendant risks. The development was first reported by Politico, which grimly noted, “Trump to restart MAGA rallies this month despite coronavirus.”
Needless to say, the jokesters on Twitter were out in force over the media’s reaction to this announcement. Here are a couple of reactions to an NPR report on the resumption of rallies:
(h/t Leah Barkoukis, TH)