The Return to Normal on Our Terms, Not Theirs – Opinion

Photographs of legislators who enforced unconstitutional and unevidenced mandates against constituents were made public in the hours following the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles. People became very angry and demanded answers from the leaders sitting on their ivory towers. They wanted us to follow mandates which have repeatedly proven ineffective at slowing down COVID-19’s spread.

These politicians, including Governor Gavin Newsom of Los Angeles, and Eric Garcetti the Mayor of Los Angeles, took advantage of the insanity of their supporter, offering excuses that would only have been believed by someone with an intelligence of one bowl of oatmeal. After being exposed in a maskless photo with Lakers’ great Magic Johnson (who by the way is at an increased risk of COVID due to his HIV diagnosis), Newsom suggested that he had only taken the mask off for the picture. As is the case with most things that exit Newsom’s pie-hole, that statement turned out to be total garbage, as other pictures were shown of him sitting in his stadium seat, maskless.

Garcetti’s excuse was equally stupid, as he suggested that he only removed his mask in order to take pictures, during which time he held his breath, so that he could allegedly significantly reduce his chances of being infected or spreading infection.  He released many more photos without his mask, which proved to be a waste of time.

California officials declared that they would be lifting the ban on the use of masks in the state effective February 16, 2022, following the game. Did any data support the decision?  It was not. They believed COVID did not pose a threat other than to their freedoms.  Despite the lifting of the statewide order, Los Angeles County has chosen to keep the mask mandate — despite, again, that evidence is now clear (and has been for quite some time) that masks do nothing to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19.

Imagine my surprise when my children’s school announced that despite the lifting of the mask mandate for everyone else, schools were to remain masked indefinitely. That’s right… As leaders shrugged off their own responsibility to mask, under the directive of their own issued mandates, they decree that children and teachers must remain masked, despite the total lack of any evidence or scientific proof that masks are slowing the spread in schools.

This hypocrisy isn’t lost on our children. My 12-year-old son has had to participate in basketball practices in masks over the past weeks. This is in spite of a requirement that everyone be vaccinated. He is angry that our leaders continue to parade in masks. The Hunger Games.  Even this morning, a good friend of mine had their child refuse to wear a mask at school, as long as California’s elected officials continue to believe they are above their own mandates. This refusal earned them a trip to the principal’s office.

The leaders of the country are engaging in psychological abuse. While many of us have sat by and allowed them to do it to us, demanding that a different standard… one which has not resulted in any lower transmission, hospitalization, or death rates for children…. these kids while they watch their leaders engaging in behaviour that earns them trips from the principal is unquestionably abuse.

Although we cannot hope for the impotent and obstructive leaders in our school districts to defend our children against abuse and protect them, it is up to us to step in and take the necessary steps. This will not happen again. I intend to organize civil disobedience.  Beginning this week, I intend to organize mass civil disobedience action against the mandates at my children’s school. We have had enough. The “return to normal” will be on our terms, not theirs.