Viral Content (02/06/2020): Black Lives Matter

So, uh…stuff’s happening.

I’m going to avoid commenting on the wider issue so as not to drown out more important voices, except to encourage anyone who’s able to do so to donate to protester bail funds. Instead I want to focus on one specific topic: the way the protests currently spreading across the US have the potential to impact the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Of the many negative responses towards the protests I’ve seen, one stands out: the claim that the protesters are going to worsen the COVID-19 situation in America, which remains one of the worst-hit countries in the world. To be honest, this is something that occurred to me the moment this all started and as far as I’m concerned it’s the only legitimate criticism of the protests I’m willing to consider. People are currently congregating in large numbers in urban centers, sometimes having travelled long distances, and it goes without saying that social distancing in a protest is not really feasible. The frequent use of tear gas by the police is going to leave anyone infected with a compromised respiratory system, lowering their chances of fighting off the virus.

However, the situation is a lot more complicated than “the protesters are making the pandemic worse”, which is probably the line we’re going to be getting when the second wave hits. Remember, the US dropped most of its quarantine measures (which I assume the government is now regretting) long before the inciting incident of George Floyd’s death occurred. This is not a situation where everyone else is sitting at home observing social distancing measures while the silly protesters take to the streets; if that’s what was happening then we’d be having a different discussion. Instead, employees are forcing their workers back to work and people are flocking to the beaches. Outside of some snarky news stories, this background radiation of exposure isn’t getting put in the spotlight the same way that the protests are.

When the second wave comes, if America is particularly badly affected by it then the fault will lie chiefly with the government’s incredibly poor handling of the pandemic up to this point. Will the protests result in infections and deaths that wouldn’t have happened otherwise? Yes, in all likelihood. But Karen and Aiydyn Smith from Suburbiaville taking their 2.5 children to the beach will have far more of a negative impact in the long run.

Lastly, some people have tried to be clever dicks by pointing out that some of the people (such as myself) criticising the “reopen America” protests are now siding with the Black Lives Matter protests. Again, if America was still in quarantine mode then maybe this would hold some water, but as it is we’re left to consider the moral validity of protesting because you want a haircut versus protesting because the police keep murdering people in your community. Real head scratcher we’ve got on our hands there.