COVID-19 has the floor right now. But it is not the only virus galloping across America.
Guns are a virus.
Hatred is a virus.
Intolerance is a virus.
Racism is a virus.
Sexism and sexual assault is a virus.
Disinformation is a virus.
White nationalism is a virus.
“Me first” is a virus.
“I got mine” and “we got ours” is a big, nasty virus.
America is awash in more viruses – contagions that seem to spread on the wind – than I’ve ever seen at once in my lifetime.
A good “for instance” are the men who several times now have stalked the halls of the state Capital in Lansing brandishing heavy weaponry. They will tell you, very loudly, that they are striking a blow for freedom. But they aren’t.
They’re striking a blow for their twisted version of freedom where might is right. That’s not democracy, that’s hooliganism. Ask these men what they would think if armed Democrats loomed in the balcony above Republican lawmakers and demanded, say, health care for all. Would that be democracy, too? What if African-Americans took up arms and surrounded the Capital? Or Hispanic Americans? Or LGBTQ citizens? Or women? Or environmentalists?
Conservatives, I’ve noticed, are quick to dissemble when asked questions like that, saying “OK, maybe the protesters were a little over the top, but they were making a point.”
Oh, really? And what would that point be – that if I don’t agree with a rule or law that elected officials enact I can change it at the point of a gun? That it’s perfectly all right to create Facebook pages where people declare all the colorful ways they’d like to assassinate the governor? (How that’s even legal is beyond me. Thank you, Facebook, for giving these people a nice, colorful online home. With emoticons!)
They also like to say that other people doing what they’re doing would be, you know, ahem, harrumph, well, that would be, y’know, different.
Yeah? How? Intimidation is intimidation, and that’s the sole purpose of bringing guns into the Capital or, for that matter, carrying them in public. Are we to believe that the Founding Fathers intended the Second Amendment to mean power goes to he who carries the biggest weapons? I don’t think so.
If responsible gun owners and organizations rose up along with the rest of us and said, “Enough is enough, using guns to scare, bully and intimidate public officials or anyone else is wrong,” this would end.
But they haven’t and aren’t likely to. Armed protests will continue. And, inevitably, one of these yahoos is going to decide to use his bang-bang at some point. Then the dissembling will begin again: “But it only happened that one time! There are good people on both sides.”
Another good “for instance” is Ahmaud Arbery, the young man in Georgia who was allegedly stalked and murdered for jogging while black.
His killers weren’t arrested for two months after the attack. Two months. Imagine how betrayed you would feel if that happened to someone you love and the authorities just shrugged and said, “Well, gosh, his killers said he might have broken into homes, and that’s good enough for us.”
There’s nothing right about that. No way to explain it away. These men hunted and killed Arbery because he was black and he dared to fight back.
It was vigilantism at best, sport at worst, and a clear sign that a pandemic of hatred is spreading through society, with no vaccine or wonder drug in sight.
Welcome to modern America.
Well said!
Guns, guns, guns……….. they cause so many problems in our society.
These hooligans who parade around with weaponry strapped across their bodies are touched.
The woohas that gunned down that poor man in Georgia are touched.
Our current president does nothing to hinder these touched people, he just incites them even more with his statements and actions.
The GOP minions across the country follow the president as they are afraid to lose their jobs if they cross him.
Make it easy for the current president and the GOP lawmakers……… Vote them all out.
Vote in 2020,!
Welcome to Trump’s America. This is exactly what MAGA means.
Everyone is so hateful now I really don’t care if we never “open up” again. I don’t want to go out there in this hate filled society that our president incites and promotes.
The Capitol Commission will study the banning of weapons in the state Capitol, even after the AG said the had the power to ban them. Talk about a cop out. I wouldn’t worry about the Capitol So much as I would worry more about the barbershop in Owosso and the so call Michigan Militia. Shootout waiting to happen. Mr. Manke by the way should be arrested and jailed or every other barber shop or hair salon should open.
So very true and we’ll stated!!
I agree with the shoot out waiting to happen in Owosso. These people just seem to have been waiting for a reason to brandish their weaponry.
Andrew, this is so painfully on point. I wish we could have a do-over and see where would be if we had a president who united rather than divided, who built up instead of tore down. Who modeled the best in us instead of incited the worst. This is just too painful.
In any other “war”, people would be called together to fight a common cause, to unite in a painful, but “righteous” cause. What if Trump had done that, instead of attacking whomever today’s insecurities and narcissistic tendencies targeted. Where would we be as a country? Where would we be as a people?
Thank you, Andy…
I carry a gun professionally, and own them personally.
I believe in the Second Amendment’s original intent, in that it transforms subjects into a citizenry and empowers them with protection against the rise of tyranny in a manner unprecedented in all of human history. I also believe that its existence over the previous two centuries has brought about and nurtured a government largely responsive to the voice of its citizens. So effective has it been at this that it enables a belief, sincerely held by its proponents, that its obsolete, perhaps never even necessary in the first place, the abusive government it was created to counter so alien to us that we consider it is no longer even possible in the modern age… I consider a close analogy to this historical dissonance to be the measles anti-vaxxers. Ironically, the previous three years may have provided to these believers the best example, ever, of how precipitously a government can turn in a manner considered beyond plausibility in the blink of an eye.
With parameters of my ideology established, I agree with every word of this column.
Smokers have had all kinds of limitations put on them because they couldn’t smoke in a considerate, courteous responsible manner ——- hopefully the same things will happen with guns —-
Repeal the second amendment!
Apparently, the Michigan Capitol Building will not be open tomorrow when all these Carharts intend to gather in protest. So, good. The legislature will not be in session; the dopuses cannot shoot or infect anybody other than themselves.
An absolute “out-of-the-park home run as your columns go! I am confident that, very many folks share your “common sense”!
It is so very unfortunate to have a complete ignoramus in the White House.
People: PLEASE VOTE BLUE IN NOVEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
R.A.V. I hope there is a lot more common sense than there was in 2016. Scares me to think what four more years of the idiot will be like.
Hey Jim,
Couldn’t agree with you more. I’m hoping unlike 2016, a lot more folks are paying attention and, a lot more will indeed vote. PUL-LEASE: A BLUE TSUNAMI!!!!!!! It’s our only hope.
I can see why people in Michigan may develop an Us-Against-Them attitude on covid disease. Many Michigan counties in the northwestern lower peninsula and in the U.P. have ZERO covid cases. (Take a look at the attached Washington Post map.)
These counties are woodsy, to say the least. Most people who live there probably never have met a black person, never probably even have met a Jew. People there often hunt and fish, own camouflage clothing… Most of the men there probably wear their hats while they eat.
Many of them probably believe the covid epidemic involves Negroes in Detroit and Flint and other exotic places, does not concern them or their own families in any important way. These actually are nice American folks, mostly, but they mostly have no real concept or knowledge of the world outside their own woods, except maybe vague recollections of Fox News.
We have to let these people congregate in Lansing to protest, but we need not let them influence our thinking . They actually are lucky that nobody ever wants to visit their remote, obscure hometowns. Nobody brings the virus to them.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJjb29raWVuYW1lIjoid3BfY3J0aWQiLCJpc3MiOiJDYXJ0YSIsImNvb2tpZXZhbHVlIjoiNWU5OWE3ZTNhZTdlOGEwYWIxMjlmNmJhIiwidGFnIjoiNWViZGFiZmZmZTFmZjY1NGMyZGQxYTY5IiwidXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbnBvc3QuY29tL2dyYXBoaWNzLzIwMjAvbmF0aW9uYWwvY29yb25hdmlydXMtdXMtY2FzZXMtZGVhdGhzLz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249d3BfdG9feW91cl9oZWFsdGgmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImd3Bpc3JjPW5sX3R5aCZ3cG1rPTEifQ.sdvy02FgzKh8r2SU7yn6ne62t1xzIbiP8zEc330J9YY&utm_campaign=wp_to_your_health&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_tyh&wpmk=1
Wow, some interesting liberal bigotry in your post. Don’t fret, the leftist sheep in this tiny echo chamber won’t say a peep about your hypocrisy. Keep in mind that as you stereotype rural Michigan, your hero Andy was raised in the sticks of the U.P. Based on your assessment of that region, what do you suppose he called the blacks and Jews he never encountered? Hmm…….?
Brad, Where do you live? I live in the midst of woodsy Michigan. I actually know these people. This is not some outsider looking down from a liberal satellite. Please come up with an original post that illuminates us, rather than making cliche sourpuss talking points.
Brad,
Bigotry is Liberal? Dear sir, I highly recommend you at least try to expand your perception(s). Anyones’ ignorance and, the refusal to accept or recognize reality, is a certain receipe for failure.
Try posing the question to the protesters about what they need the guns for..do they intend to shoot someone? Do they think this will increase their personal freedom? I hear prison is quite restrictive. Since we rarely if ever see an aggressive enforcement response to protests, it can’t be self protection. I wonder why they don’t respond to my questions.
One cannot grab an assault rifle or a machine gun or an aircraft carrier to fight our plague. Our simple-minded camo & ammo woodsy folks do not get it. They brandish their firearms because they know no other way to fight.
It probably is fruitless to try to convince them of anything. Let us just hope they are just a very few , who cannot affect our elections.
1. AG Schutte also gave the committee a letter advising them that guns should be banned from the Capital, which means they have had quite a while to “review the legality” of the opinion, but that fact gets very little play because it’s not political right now. 2. One poster said “The 2nd Amendment gives us the right to make sure our elected officials toe the line”. So, that makes it OK to stand in the balcony during votes wearing weapons to make sure the legislators know you’re watching. 3. Another poster said “There’s no difference between carrying a sign, shouting, or carrying a gun”. WRONG. A sign is to inform, shouting either means you have bad sound effects or you’re trying to intimidate, and carrying a gun, well, a gun’s purpose is to kill. So if you are carrying a gun in a crowd of people, as a protest, you are threatening people, with a “See things my way or else!” attitude. 4. As for opening those areas with low numbers, first the local officials did PSA’s begging non-residents not to come because they did not have the resources to handle excess people, especially if they brought the virus with them. NOW, we have sheriff’s saying they won’t enforce guidelines. Since I’m not in the medical or science field, I do not know exactly how the decisions have been made, but in other states that have reopened, bars and restaurants have become crowded. (Remember all those promises that “We’re all adults, we know what to do to stay safe?) So, maybe, if Michigan were to reopen some counties, people would begin crowding into those areas, restaurants, bars, stores. 5. And years from now, when all of these protests are over, the children of the protestors are going to say “You talked about freedom to put your boat in the water in the middle of April when it was 30 degrees, you talked about freedom to buy your flower seeds from the store of your choice in April, you talked about the freedom to get your hair cut, you talked about the freedom to go to a bar, but you never talked about my freedom to go back to school, or play sports, or graduate. Why was it all about you?
Very good comment Mama Bear! These folks need to try and think about other folks and, stop listening to the absolute jerk in the White House. Liberate Michigan???? Nothing but of course encouraging these people to cause trouble. These guy guys should take a class or two in civics!!
1. If ANYBODY other than a cop shows up in my neighborhood with a rifle, or even with a pistol in a holster, I will turn away from that fool, go home, stay away. I certainly would not seek to engage that dangerous fool in any sort of debate or even a conversation. Am I just lucky that people do not walk down my street with guns? Out in the woods, it would be different, but not in my town, please!
2. Mama Bear, Great! This is a good part of your post. It BEARS (git it?) repeating:
“You talked about freedom to put your boat in the water in the middle of April when it was 30 degrees, you talked about freedom to buy your flower seeds from the store of your choice in April, you talked about the freedom to get your hair cut, you talked about the freedom to go to a bar, but you never talked about my freedom to go back to school, or play sports, or graduate.”
Biden to blacks……..” If you vote for Trump over me, you ain’t black”
The leftist sheeple in this tiny forum , not to mention liberal media, will say nothing. I love the hypocrisy.
No, that was a stupid comment typical of a lot of old white men so completely immersed in their white privilege that its invisible to them when they display it.
Anything else?
1. You guys are correct. Biden was trying way too hard. But, it was just a mistake in words. Biden’s heart is true.
2. Did you hear Trump’s awful, cynical pandering baloney about the need to open “houses of worship?” Has Trump himself even seen the interior of a “house of worship” in recent years? Churches might spread the plague, obviously. Some American churches already have done so, and at least one prominent fanatical Trump-loving Christian pastor already has died, as a result.
Christians, Trump cares as little about you as he cares about anybody else, other than himself. Please stay home, and pray for an end to the plague. And, think about, pray about a change to better leadership.
Ya know what? I ain’t white. Even though my people came from northern Europe, I have given this a lot of thought, and I refuse to give any credit to anybody who tries to take pride in being just plain White.
It is okay to be Irish-American, Italian-American, Polish-American ,even Dutch-American, and so on, but it is NOT okay to be White-American. Be American. Biden’s dopey comment about not being Black is wrong, because being White, the flip-side, is just plain unacceptable.
I see our governor has opened up Traverse City and points north for use by the people of Michigan. I watched the broadcast of her announcement, to me she seemed to have a slight smirk on her face while making that announcement.
I wonder why she did that.
Could one of the reasons be that her family owns property/second house up in that area?
Lo and behold information has come to the attention of a lot of people of the graduation party for one of her children this weekend. I wonder if they practiced social distancing during the event. They had a good time from what I understand. Well almost a good time.
I have heard from people that go to that section of the state that the spouse of the governor went to the marina where their boat is stored and asked the marina to get their boat ready.
The marina owner told the spouse that they had a 3 week backlog of getting boats ready.
The spouse told the marina owner that it was for the governor’s use this weekend. Request denied. Moved to the very bottom of the list.
Animal farm comes to mind “All animals are equal, some animals are more equal than others.”
Is this info for real??? So, you think Whitmer opened up the north for her daughters graduation party? It also seems to me the marina owner would already know what boat is the governors. I don’t buy this BS and, if it is/was true, I will be one of the first to demand her resignation.
Do not expect the local media to check on this story. If this was a republican governor engaging in such behavior the media would be all over it. Since Whitmer is a democrat, nothing may come of it.
My son, when he was in school, had a teacher who has a place next door to the governor Whitmer’s place in the Traverse City area. This teacher keeps in touch with some of his students and they keep in touch with others.
All I know is even without this story Whitmer is losing votes. Too many of those who voted for her are now out of work and running out of resources to get by on.
The republicans are, in my opinion, are going to really run this the events of the past three months.
And what would you do to combat this very contagious virus? I believe most folks agree ( 72% at last poll) with Whitmer and, hopefully we can start to get back to normal soon. Your comment about the GOP vs. Dems. is pure crap! If she did indeed open up N. Mich. for her daughter, everyone would be all over it, including myself.
In the long run, I believe she will gain support, for being decisive and having the guts to stand up to folks who don’t believe this is real.
BTW: Flu, 2,000 deaths between 2000 & 2020 (Mi.
Covid-19, 2700+ deaths in 1 month!!
One other comment about earlier this month. It concerns those who arrived in Lansing with their guns. We have a constitutional right to carry guns. 2nd Amendment and such, however, their guns should not have been taken to the protests. All it takes is one ignorant , scared individual to cause a huge problem. I do not just mean those protesters who showed up with their guns. One officer of the law could feel threatened enough to start shooting.
It has been reported that there is a law that says that guns can be banned from the Capital building.
Fine, so be it. Enforce it.
We have a constitutional right to carry guns. 2nd Amendment and such, however, their guns should not have been taken to the protests.
Hey!
100% common ground!
Today is a good day.
Seriously, the world would be a much better place if we started from where we agree and, gently, mutually explored outward from there.
We are where we are because too many people do the exact opposite of that.
Do not expect the local media to check on this story. If this was a republican governor engaging in such behavior the media would be all over it. Since Whitmer is a democrat, nothing may come of it.
So this appears to be a somewhat inaccurate assessment. The day after your post, I saw the story, often multiple ones, on MLive, the New York Times, Politico, Fox News, the Detroit News, the Free Press, the New York Post, the Hill, Slate, Gonwer, CNN….
So I mean, yeah, other than it being covered everywhere, you were completely right in saying that no one would be checking on it because she’s a Democrat.
Good call there. Fricken media bias…amirite?
{cough}
Then the Gov comes out and uses the Trump defense of “He wasn’t serious, it was just a joke” (eyeroll)
No, he said it with the intent of attempting to enjoy the fruits of his wife’s power. He might have couched it in a trivial tone, but any of us that have reached middle age can recall dozens of times that we suggested things in a “jestful” manner with the hope that the recipient might actually take it at face value.
He did that here and he rightfully got exposed. Good. It was an idiot move of someone trying to be more significant than they are. People like that often can’t help but reveal themselves when given the chance. Something like this is an act of corruption, a truly minuscule one in the scale of such things, but undeniably one nonetheless. The marina owner was right to make this public, and we are better off for it having occurred.
That’s one of their standard lies – that the media doesn’t cover bad things related to Dems. And since they’re only reading (wait, scratch that- they largely don’t read) watching Fox News crap or worse, they of course never see that media is.
Did you hear what Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said about the floods last week, in Midland, Michigan? She said, “LET’S FIX THE DAMN DAMS!”
Yeah, what we’re seeing is the inevitable result of the libertarian/Ayn Rand brand of Republicanism that has infected the country since Reagan. The disinvestment in public works has been staggering.