People don't like being told what to do.
Democratic leaders sometimes get noticed not wearing masks.
It is hard to be consistently good.
This blog has made the point repeatedly that the most powerful political language is body language. I argue that the denoted words of a political actor are almost irrelevant, and the only thing that matters is the visible policy actions they take, combined with the emotional signals they project when they take them. Words don't matter as much as physical body movement, tone, posture, demeanor. People want to know what makes politicians angry or happy or fearful, not what their policies are. People infer the policies from the direction of the emotion. My saying denoted words don't matter at all would overstate my point, but only slightly. Actual words mean something, but actions and revealed emotions speak louder than words. Much louder.Hollywood celebrities are perceived as being on the blue team. They were photographed at the Emmy awards crowded together, indoors, maskless. The media could not help but notice. It fed a meme, that Hollywood stars are elitists who don't think the rules apply to them. Worse, they required the hired help at the award ceremony to wear masks, but celebrities did not require it of themselves. It was proof positive of elitist hypocrisy. People noticed.
Nancy Pelosi was photographed without a mask when she got her hair washed. California governor Gavin Newsom ate dinner at a fancy restaurant without a mask. Oregon governor Kate Brown was photographed outdoors near her security detail, all maskless. Mistakes happen.
Democrats are taking the hard path. They say people should be virtuous: Get vaccinated, wear a mask, social distance. Do it for your own health and for the health of others. Be good. And because "being good" helps everyone, the public must be good. Therefore, we mandate it.
One does not need to be a Fox-viewing Trump supporter to resent mask requirements. The San Francisco Mayor, London Breed, publicly urges SF residents to avoid big gatherings, yet she was noticed and called out for dancing maskless at a crowded club. Her response: "We don’t need the fun police to come in and micromanage and tell us what we should or shouldn’t be doing,” Even the rule-makers resent the rules.
Democrats have a lose-lose one. People are on the lookout for cracks in the facade of virtue. Eventually, in a world where everyone has a camera, and where political leaders are always "on," someone will slip. The slip de-legitimizes the person promoting virtue and the causes they promote. It is body-language proof of hypocrisy.
Trump made a virtue out of being bad. Darned right he breaks the rules, and he is proud of it. He sold himself as the guy sticking a thumb in the eye of the Democratic elitists and Deep State tyrants and the fun police with their PC rules about what to say and think. He whipped off his mask and would not be photographed with one. He said it was about freedom, and he sold that idea to his supporters. It was an easy sell. Everyone resents the "fun police" a little, and maybe a lot. The GOP approach makes it easy to be consistent. If you choose to wear a mask, it is because you are considerate, a sign of virtue. If one chooses not to wear a mask or get vaccinated, it is a sign of independence and courage. Either way is on-brand. "Do your own thing" is a "win-win" message.
Democratic "slips" as regard masks go a long way toward justifying the Republican message on COVID as illegitimate over-reach. Ninety-nine percent compliance is not enough. People saw photographs. They saw body language.
11 comments:
Do as I say not as I do...
This is all true, and well said. However, I'll go out on a limb here to ask; "Who gives a f### what celebrities and politicians do"?
I got the message. You are at less risk, not zero risk, if you wear a mask. You are at far less risk if you are vaccinated. Running around unvaccinated and mask less, in a crowd is dangerous, especially if you are fat.
I'm reminded of uber right winger VP "Dick" Cheney who advocated for "100 percent" caution in the War on Terror, yet his acolytes now are going all Wild West. Now, THAT'S hypocrisy.
There is this continual theme from moderates that basically goes like this: "If we can just reason with these people and show them a good example we can convince them to act rationally".
Not so much...
You don't need moral authority to mandate vaccines and mitigation policies; just common sense.
It sometimes (too often) that Democrats are determined to cast the Party, and all the people who put them into office, into the wilderness. The leaders also seem unaware, or uncaring, that a few DINOs like Manchin, or Sinema are seemingly determined to hand the Majorities back to McConnell and cronies, an act which, imho, will signal the ascent of an Oligarchic Dictatorship in the U.S.A.
COVID precautions are still necessary because so many remain unvaccinated. In many cases, they remain unvaccinated because of disinformation spewed by the same crackpots that brought us the “stolen” election. As a result, Trump’s chumps would rather take a horse dewormer than a free, life-saving vaccine.
Everyone is tired of this, but none more than our frontline healthcare heroes. Unvaccinated idiots express contempt for the medical establishment, then come down with COVID-19 and flock to the hospital, depriving other patients of needed services. There oughtta be a mandate.
All you foolish sycophants are being played by the democratic party elitists.
Wearing a mask is about power and control. Dems want to control every aspect of your life. They want you to submit. The first step is wearing a mask like a good little soldier.
If Covid was as deadly as advertised, Then Pelosi, and Obama, and Hollywood would all be wearing a mask, but the virus is a scam, and the elitist know it, which is why they don't wear masks when nobody is looking.
"Mistakes happen."
"Who gives a f### what celebrities and politicians do"?
No, those aren't mistakes, they are actions that demonstrate hypocrisy, and yes, so-called leaders and influencers should lead by example if they hope to be influential.
The broad brush typically here is that only Republicans are "bad".
Unfortunately, the bad includes Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, Conservatives, Progressives, NAVs, Whites, POCs, LGBTQ+, and many, many more.
COVID is a Corona virus, just like influenza. Like the common cold, all will make annual appearances, and some (many?) will succumb.
Some day we can move past the labeling, and accusations, and accept there are things we all can do to minimize the overall impact on humanity. Labeling isn't part of the solution.
It's true, labeling isn't part of the solution.
On the other hand facts are facts, and it's hard to imagine anything stupider than someone thinking a deadly disease that's killed over 670,000 in the U.S. alone is some kind of "scam."
To M2inFLA:
I see that your esteemed governor has appointed an anti-mask, anti-vax "doctor" as Florida's surgeon general. Facts and reason don't seem to be making much of an impression over there, so what is the solution?
I deleted another plagiarized comment, one drawn from a conservative news-site. I presume it is another iteration of Curt Ankerberg's behavior, although it is possible someone else mimics him. It might not be his, although I strongly suspect it. Ankerberg is a Republican and a Trump supporter. He was found of fraud by a tax court. His defense to the charge was mental impairment due to brain disease.
Re: Florida's Governor DeSantis
Yes, he is following current law rather than relying on mandates.
In my county, thanks to DeSantis 65+ are almost 90% fully vaccinated, were going to restaurants, our ICUs aren't full, and people are living normal lives.
Like Oregon, we also have hotspots that are being addressed.
I know how masks work, and don't work. I mask up in public areas, and most of my community does too. I've been successful in getting my neighborhood fully vaccinated, and worked to get others vaccinated too.
The people I know who aren't vaccinated, but with valid reasons not to.
Florida is a big state, almost 5x the population of Oregon. Don't use the broad brush that this Red state is ALL bad.
Here we are in a well run state, unlike my more recent years living in Oregon.
Your points on elitists were well made, but a technical correction is needed. The vast majority of the faces at the Emmys were vaccinated, by mandate of the unions and at the behest of the investors. No one wanted to lose their star and major money maker to a super spreader event.
To M2inFLA:
In fact, Florida's vaccination rate is 56% fully vaccinated vs. 60% for Oregon. Neither is doing so hot, but I think I'll stay here. At least we believe in mandates (except, of course, for the usual suspects).
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