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10 | APRIL 30 • 2020 

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Letters from page 6

Protests Were 
Irresponsible
Freedom of speech is one of 
our country’
s greatest assets. 
As a resident of Michigan, I 
wasn’
t surprised by the “Free 
the State” protest April 15. 
But I was appalled by what 
I saw occurring during the 
conservative demonstrators’
 
“Operation Gridlock.” 
 Hundreds of opponents of 
Michigan’
s statewide “Stay 
Home, Stay Safe” executive 
order protested arm-in-arm. 
They were filmed congregating 
in tight groups and handing 
out candy to children with 
bare hands. Few of them wore 
protective masks and even 
fewer abided by the 6-foot 
social distancing rule. Nazi 
symbols and other racially 
defamatory signs and messages 
were openly displayed. Some 
even brandished weapons like 
semiautomatic rifles. The long 
caravan obstructed the main 
intersection of a level 1 trauma 
center, blocking ambulances 
and health care workers from 
entering. 
What prompted Gov. 
Gretchen Whitmer’
s strong 
position was the perilous situa-
tion in the state. The governor’
s 
primary responsibility is to keep 
citizens safe and protect human 
lives. She is dealing with a dif-
ficult-to-control pandemic. By 
limiting outdoor activities, she 
attempted to curb the spread of 
the virus. 
The state has been dispro-
portionally devastated by the 
coronavirus. As of April 20, 
Michigan had the fourth high-
est number of confirmed cases, 
even though it ranks 10th in 
U.S. population. It had exceed-
ed 31,000 confirmed cases and 
had accumulated more than 
2,300 deaths. Its death rate per 
capita is one of the highest, 
and there have not been a great 
number of tests performed.

Perhaps the most infuriating 
aspect of the protest was when 
the president said, “They seem 
to be very responsible people 
to me,” and tweeted “Liberate 
Michigan.” These responses 
encourage Charlottesville-like 
behavior. Valid scientific, med-
ical and public health advice 
should be our focus instead. By 
encouraging people to come 
out prematurely, he is poten-
tially putting the entire state in 
danger. 
If the demonstrators were 
responsible, they would have 
abided by the governor’
s 
statewide edict that was 
intended to protect everyone. 
If anything, they acted 
irresponsibly by disregarding 
the mitigation rules! By 
congregating in a close-knit 
mass, theoretically they were 
contaminating each other — 
and perpetuating the pandemic. 
The way the protest was carried 
out endangered lives because 
this is precisely how COVID-19 
spreads. Their actions will only 
extend the time until all of us 
can safely return to work.
My heart goes out to the 
many small business owners 
who have lost everything and 
may never recover. And what 
about the millions of jobless 
workers? I can appreciate that 
everyone wants to return to 
work so that our economy can 
be restarted. But if you become 
ill or die, you can’
t help your 
family. 
I want the president to be 
successful. But to achieve that 
outcome safely, we need to 
unify the nation. There should 
be adequate testing for the 
virus, and we must listen to and 
follow the prudent advice of the 
experts.

— Bob Matthews

Via website

