Mistake, mistake, mistake.

No wonder governors are in trouble. The COVID rules don't make sense to people anymore. 

Even the people who make the rules cannot obey them.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer apologizes.

"Because we were all vaccinated, we didn’t stop to think about it. In retrospect, I should have thought about it. I am human. I made a mistake, and I apologize.”

On May 15 Governor Whitmer updated the COVID rules in response to rising vaccination rates combined with the spread of a new variant in Michigan--a mixed situation. The COVID war is being won, but it isn't over yet, not in Michigan. She announced that nearly all COVID restrictions would end on July 1, but for now there were still rules in place. There were 50% capacity limits at retail establishments, six-foot spacing at sports events, libraries, and waiting rooms. There are specific definitions of "households," of "contact sports," of what constitutes an approved face mask, of what constitutes "indoors," of gathering densities at residential venues. 

All this took place in an order issued by the Governor, 4858 words of dense, complicated material: CLICK.

Whitmer erred when she did something perfectly natural to do. She went to a restaurant with a small group of vaccinated people--a perfectly compliant act--saw two other groups of also-vaccinated people at nearby tables, and then somebody pushed the three separate tables together to form a single makeshift connection of fifteen to better facilitate cross-talk. And somebody noticed.

Mistake!

Each table individually was fine, but when pushed adjacent they became a violation, as described in item 3 of section three.

Gathering limitations for entertainment establishments, recreational establishments, and food service establishments:

3. Consumption of food or beverages is permitted only where patrons are seated, groups of patrons are separated by at least 6 feet, no more than 6 patrons are seated at a table, and groups of patrons do not intermingle.

She violated that rule. Of course, she is catching hell for it. 

Her photographed error is unmistakeable body language communicating privilege and hypocrisy--even though it was, of course, unintentional. She gave voters--both partisan opponents and friends alike--a basis for rejecting both her legal and moral authority. The rule maker didn't obey the rules. Elitist!. Hypocrite! Phony! Tyrant!  "If high and mighty Gretchen Whitmer doesn't follow the rules, why should I???"

The moral authority of the rule-maker is doubly important here because the rules themselves lack the legitimacy that comes from "making sense."  A 35-mile-per-hour speed limit on a curvy road has the legitimacy of apparent danger and the social signaling that other drivers drive about 35 MPH there, a legitimacy present whether or not the state governor is popular. But COVID rules make solid lines in gray areas of uncertainty and ambiguity, so moral authority matters. Entertainment venues trigger rules when 300 people are in attendance, but not to 290. Exercise facilities are limited to 30% capacity, not 35%. Rules were set up for non-tribal casinos, but not tribal ones. At dining areas of "multipurpose facilities" the dining room must be closed between 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. for some reason. Why not midnight, and why require closure at all? It seems crazily arbitrary. And caught in this tangle was the governor herself: Three tables of five patrons were safe" and legal, but pushing them so they touched created a violation.

It is time for governors to read the room. For better or worse, a critical mass of Americans are done with COVID shutdowns, except in a few places of special concern, i.e. congregant living places for seniors, health care facilities, and dense transportation sites like airplanes and subways--the CDC exceptions. People are accustomed to special rules there, and they "make sense."  Beyond that, Americans trust their own judgement on their risks--same as with decisions on whether or not to ski, eat raw oysters, or smoke cigarettes. Some people will keep wearing masks. Most will not. Suit oneself.

Is this ideal from a public health perspective? No, not ideal. But it is consistent with the American spirit of independence. We are less communitarian a society than some other cultures, e.g. Britain and Western Europe, and less willing to accept authoritarian regimentation than are people in Singapore and China. Governors attempted to hold back the tide for a while, and now Americans will be Americans. People who are vaccinated are probably safe for now; they presume so. People who aren't vaccinated don't want to be. People who are at risk because they cannot be vaccinated are on notice to stay away from other people for a while and maybe forever. That is cruel to them, but it is where Americans are on COVID.

Time for governors to give it up: Declare victory. Say we won the war on COVID, thanks to vaccines and fifteen months of shutdowns. Now do your own thing on COVID. Game over. Olly olly oxen free. 

Or, as we said in my neighborhood near Roosevelt Elementary School in Medford, Oregon, "Olly, olly, in come free."