'Live Free or Die': Protesters march against California stay-at-home rules in Huntington Beach

[Kablooie]

Source: LA Times

A group of more than 100 protesters converged on Huntington Beach on Friday in a demonstration against California’s coronavirus stay-at-home rules, part of a series of national demonstrations organized by conservative groups.

The protesters — some with Trump banners and American flags — mostly were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing by standing at least six feet apart. And they offered views about the spread of the coronavirus that differed sharply from scientific findings and experts’ recommendations.
......
In Huntington Beach on Friday, protesters were quick to point out that California has not seen the level of deaths as New York, which was slower to impose social distancing. Doyle said the relatively low number of deaths statewide should not have led to “drastic measures.”

She saw little difference between COVID-19 and the flu (the death rate is actually significantly higher for COVID-19) and credited much of her information to conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-17/protesters-california-stay-at-home-coronavirus

---

The wisdom of the Trumplodytes is glaringly on display.
Trump is sending his Suicide Squads out to infect as many Americans as he can.

[Wolf Frankula]

1. Then die

Dit maak nie vir my saak nie.

Wolf

[Thekaspervote]

7. Yes yes yes... go ahead and die! Idiots

[Rebl2]

34. I second that!

[Hortensis]

46. Shhh. HB has 100,000 pop, in area of over 3 million.

A lot more people than this will show up for a new chain restaurant opening if it's offering coupons.

[AlexSFCA]

2. transmission rate is much higher than flu

it is likely the most contagious virus we’ve ever seen.

[Kablooie]

3. But Laura Ingram disagrees.

She's on TV and you're not so she wins.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

47. It's "Doctor" Laura Ingram. And "Doctor" Hannity. And "Doctor" Tucker Carlson. And of course,

all three hosts of "Fox and Friends" are doctors. Trump university was busy handing out medical degrees before it was put out of business.

It reminds me of "Doctor Science" on "Ducksbreath Mystery Theater." At the beginning, the announcer would intone:

Announcer: "Doctor Science. He's not a real doctor..."
Dr. Science: "'I've got a Master's degree..."
Announcer: "In Science!"

[marybourg]

6. Measles is the most contagious.

https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/16/coronavirus-can-become-aerosol-doesnt-mean-doomed/

[AlexSFCA]

42. do measles stay in the air for hours and for days on surfaces?

[marybourg]

49. I dont know about surfaces, but

staying in the air - yes. That’s what makes it so very contagious. The particles are apparently just the right size to stay in the air for a half hour or more. Someone can pass it on who is no longer in the room!

[treestar]

33. Yes, and asymptomatic people can transfer it

which makes it much harder to control! These people are too stupid to even learn the basics.

[jmowreader]

4. Great...

After Trump is voted out of office, I want him charged with murder for the deaths of everyone who died from the coronavirus after attending one of those damned rallies. Sending people out to die for the Glory of Donald Fucking Trump is not "policy," it's murder.

[Totally Tunsie]

19. There should be a discrete, but well-placed, inscription on the gravestones

of those who die from COVID: "Murdered by Donald J. Trump in The Great Pandemic of 2020" and every funeral should be paid for by Donald Trump's administration Treasury.

[jmowreader]

37. I don't agree with who should pay for the funerals

“Donald Trump’s administration Treasury” uses tax dollars to do its work. Trump should pay for those funerals out of his personal bank account.

If that means he has to pawn Mar-a-Lago and five golf courses to do it, so be it.

[orleans]

5. protesting is fine

can't they do that at home?

[canetoad]

8. For once

They've stopped being keyboard warriors and are putting their lives on the line. How fucking ironic.

[shotten99]

9. Shouldn't that be "Live free AND die?"

[BadgerMom]

13. Good one!

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Alexandra Petri: "Give me liberty and give me death!"

Yes, I would like things to be worse, please. I do not think things are bad enough, and I would like them to be worse. I look at the number of people who have died in this great state, and I think, frankly, it is a little low. People, if you want to be technical about it, who will never see their families again; people who were not done living; people who cannot be replaced and whose absence will bore an echoing hole through countless other lives — but what is that, weighed against my own convenience and my sense that things should be open rather than closed?

I look at the strain on our hospital system and I think: It could be greater. I see ambulances going past and I think: They are too unimpeded and will get to the hospitals too quickly. I look at the people in charge of my state who are trying to minimize the cost to human life and I say: Why, though?

I am here to make my voice heard. I am not actively in favor of the virus, but I think there might be good people on both sides of this people-virus question. So I am going to assemble in such a way that my leaders will have no choice but to listen and that through my negligence, more people will die. You might say I’m doing my part. Thankfully, at least, the president agrees.

The problem? On the grounds that there “is a pandemic” and it "is not safe,” I have been briefly deterred from going about my life in exactly the manner I would like. Can you believe this? No, I will not hold. I am here, banging on the window, like the heroes in a zombie film. Listen, I know my rights. I know that among them is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but I don’t care about the first one.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/17/give-me-liberty-give-me-death/

[klook]

16. Great column - she is very funny and captures this narcissistic mindset perfectly.

Given the choice of saving thousands of lives, including, possibly, my own, or getting to buy a can of 730C-2 Sandstone Cove paint now rather than later, I will not hesitate to choose the latter. Do not ask me how many lives I would trade to avoid minor inconveniences, or you will see what a sea of bodies I would be content to wade through to my morning coffee. If I’m willing to die, that should be enough for everyone. No one — as I have established during COUNTLESS interactions with customer service professionals — is worth more than me.



I just want nothing about my life to change, including my indifference to the lives of others. So please stop demanding that I bend to the will of the people or their elected officials. The last time I checked, this was a democracy.
...

It’s time we were liberated! Set me free from this prison (not a literal prison, where people are currently trapped and dying, but a metaphorical prison, where I am being asked to remain safely in my house and not buy potting soil specifically today)!

[rockfordfile]

10. Arrest them

[EarthFirst]

11. I believe that's what Trumps' endgame is with his 'Liberate' comment

He’s hoping to push it just far enough that arrests happen; at which point this will take on a life of it’s own and Trump will no longer have to foment the narrative; and we’re off to the races!

[Totally Tunsie]

32. Of course, he will claim total innocence, that inciting violence was the

furthest thing from his mind, that the media is again out to get him and is purposely misinterpreting his rhetoric. He's so misunderstood, so crucified, so the victim. of course.

[Squinch]

18. No. Ignore them. But when you must speak of them, use the name "Imbecile Parade."

[Hortensis]

45. :) Right.

[Canoe52]

12. I'm calling them the walking dead.

[bucolic_frolic]

15. Die. Good riddance.

How stupid can they be?

[Squinch]

17. Please proceed. But first sign this legally binding "manliness pledge" that says

you and your family will tough it out at home should you contract CV19.

Thanks so much.

Buh bye.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. False choice. Real: Live free AND die vs Be patient and live. . . . nt

[BlueStater]

21. Trump supporters are literally too dumb to live.

Fucking morons. My god.

[SWBTATTReg]

22. A 100 or so people. Wow. I am so impressed with the huge, huge numbers of protestors. Man,

1 city bus worth of protestors in CA managed to captivate an entire nation's worth of headlines, eh? You are going to have idiots everywhere. but the number of these idiots is far far lower than the smart ones staying at home. I'll bet the %s are 99.9% actually paying attention to the stay at home orders versa the .1% that are not paying heed to these orders.

Since these very same people (the tiny fraction of .1%) are probably the same ones that advocate that our elderly citizens (of which I'm one of them) should just get sick w/ the CV and die, my opinion of these idiots is that they should just get sick and die, too, then. Fair is fair.

I'd prefer to read something else regarding the CV, and not about someone that ranting and raving about the stay at home orders throughout the Country. Just quit bitching and go out. Go ahead. If you get sick and die, fine. Do it quietly, pls. All of us are doing the same thing that you are too, staying at home.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Same Here

It's a hundred people. There's 15 million people or so, in that megalopolis.
It's actually an encouragingly low % of idiots.

[SWBTATTReg]

24. A good thing. Most of us do have our crap together. Obviously some idiots don't but they'll ...

find out the hard way, by dying, unfortunately.

[llmart]

30. +1000

100+ people gets a sensational headline. These people are looking for attention and the idiot in the WH wants them to get all riled up so he encourages it. They actually think they're relevant.

[Steelrolled]

50. This is a "man bites dog" story.

Makes you think about most of the news stories you see. I saw a story about how society was breaking down in southern Italy. The evidence was a single video on social media.

[SWBTATTReg]

51. You're absolutely right. They are raising far more of a stink then it is worth. Like I said, ...

one city bus worth of passengers vs. an entire metro area. I guess that they think they rule us all by the sheer amount of yelling and screaming over those that advocate reasoned thought and rational actions, instead of rabid and foolhardy acts (go outside into a crowd of people, go ahead). That is, 100 people protesting vs. perhaps several hundred thousand staying put, at all of their protests.

Oh well, my condolences to the protesters' families in advance (in reality, I could care less, they openly put themselves into harms' way).

Look at the churches, funeral services, service industries, infected crowds on beaches, even in WI where they had the first recent protests, CV rates are spiking upwards (these venues have all, at one time, advocated person to person interconnectivity, with big crowds, NOT ANYMORE).

I guess when a few people die, some do listen, but sadly, I think the majority of these idiots won't listen to anyone else.

I have read that in times of desperate survival, only the fittest, smartest, and brightest members of a species will survive and thrive actually. Those that are not fit, will be smart and not expose themselves anymore than need be.

Perhaps this is the break we've all been waiting for, that these RW/rump idiots will expose themselves (its only a matter of time) to the CV (remember their argument that herd mentality leads to herd immunity, and the old and handicapped should die). I think it's the opposite of what these idiots are thinking.

[NurseJackie]

25. Okay. Die. That's fine with me. You asked for it... and you shall receive it...

Okay. Die. That's fine with me. You asked for it...

[Submariner]

26. In Florida I assume the "stand your ground laws" for attempted negligent homocide

will allow the shooting of Trump voters if they cross the 6-foot social distance radius with no mask.

Come to Florida and drop the Trumpie in their tracks to keep them at a safe distance. We can call it 2nd amendment distancing.

[WVreaper]

27. and credited much of her information to conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham.

Excerpt.

[ashredux]

28. What the hell is wrong with these people???

[thecrow]

36. They lack the creativity that the rest of us have

They just don't know what to do with themselves at home.

They can't go to Orangeman's rallies.

They should have a protest sign tattooed onto their foreheads saying DNR.

They don't care about their fellow man.

[groundloop]

29. WHY are small groups of idiots getting so much national attention????

The media is making this sound like a huge uprising when in fact it's just a splattering of morons.

Hell, during World War II everyone's way of life was disrupted for years. These idiots can't handle just a few weeks of inconvenience to get past this pandemic.

[llmart]

31. "These idiots can't handle just a few weeks of inconvenience to get past this pandemic."

Even under normal circumstances these idiots are usually sitting around in their recliners guzzling Mountain Dew and watching endless hours of Faux News, so why is a stay at home order any different for them? I doubt it's even an inconvenience for them.

[lonely bird]

35. Just a couple of things

Your right to free speech, to worship as you wish and to freely assemble is not absolute.

And conservatism has melted down to the morals and ethics of a spoiled 4 year old.

[Kablooie]

40. Seems that may be an ethic worth reconsidering.

[Politicub]

39. I don't understand what they're protesting. A virus? Do they all want to get sick?

I get that they are complaining about nail salons and such being closed.

I guess news of the deaths of workers are meatpacking plants didn't make it onto Fox News. The proximity of one worker to another is what enabled the spread of the virus.

Freedom is a weird concept. Their freedom to be assholes is going to infringe on people's health. Then everyone dies. How ignorant.

[Kablooie]

41. Fox News tells them it's no worse than the flu ...

Their beloved president tells them it's time to open everything up again.
Websites and radio commentators tell them it's a fake government conspiracy to eliminate their Constitutional rights.
Some hold signs proclaiming COVID-19 as fake.

They are immersed in an alternate, conspiratorial universe that has no connection with reality.

[DarleenMB]

43. Wow. A whole 100, eh?

Sounds massive. Definitely a bigly protest.

[Evolve Dammit]

44. Lock them the hell up. Public endangerment or wahtever statutes CA has

[olddad65]

48. Living under a fascist dictator sucks. I miss democracy.