Behind coronavirus lockdown protests, questions of whom to trust
| Lansing, Michigan, and Savannah, Georgia
As the owner of Ken鈥檚 Greenhouses in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mark Smit has a roomful of plants he worries will go unsold.
His anxiety isn鈥檛 really about the national all-hands-on-deck response to the coronavirus. It鈥檚 about why, in Michigan, those restrictions have veered into what appear to him to be solitary and responsible activities.
On April 9, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer banned travel between private residences聽and mandated that large stores close areas dedicated to flooring, furniture, plant nurseries, or paint.聽Fishing in a motorized boat is off limits, too.
Why We Wrote This
Should states put more faith in their citizens to do the right thing, even amid a pandemic? It鈥檚 a question with enormous consequences. But many Americans say 鈥測es.鈥�
Lawsuits have been filed, and Mr. Smit says the governor鈥檚 measures are 鈥渁 little overkill.鈥� But his frustration is nuanced. 鈥淚 say that understanding why it was done. I鈥檓 not happy with things the way they are, but I want to be cautious about not standing on a street corner and yelling, 鈥楾hey鈥檙e making a big mistake, and I鈥檓 going under because of it!鈥� We鈥檙e not to that extent yet, but I hope it doesn鈥檛 come to that.鈥�
That line has already been crossed for many protesters who have gathered in recent days from Lansing, Michigan, to Canton, Georgia. The events are part tea party patriotism, accented by yellow 鈥淒on鈥檛 Tread On Me鈥� flags, and part MAGA rally, with blue Trump 2020 banners.
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.
础听聽suggests the number of people aggressively agitating for states to reopen their economies is small. finds only 32% of Americans are more worried about lockdowns not ending quickly enough, rather than too quickly. But encouraged by President Donald Trump, who exhorted Michiganders to 鈥渓iberate鈥� their state, their voice can be loud.
Mr. Smit was not at the rally, and his opinions are not nearly so decided. Rather, like many Americans, he is wrestling with the question of whom to trust most in the time of a pandemic.
For some, the threat of COVID-19 means the government must step in to enforce safe behaviors. But Ms. Whitmer鈥檚 orders have prompted Mr. Smit, like some others, to wonder if there is a different way. Can states have more trust in Americans themselves to do the right thing?
The answer to that question has led to different paths. On the fly, an already divided nation is calibrating the balance between public health, the economy, and the role of government.
Even as Ms. Whitmer doubles down on restrictions in Michigan, a trio of Southern governors 鈥� in Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee 鈥� is scaling back restrictions this week, citing evidence that the pandemic has peaked. Movie theaters, restaurants, bowling alleys, and tattoo shops will all soon be open in Georgia, though some mayors are pushing back.
鈥淭here is a sense that an awful lot of what modern life is doing is not liberating us, but restricting us, and so then you get a pandemic and you get restrictions on steroids,鈥� says Michael Wolff, the former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. 鈥淎nd of course, a big enough match can light a pretty good fire.鈥�
Inside the protests
So far, protests have been small. But Mr. Trump has offered support for the cause, saying some governors were taking restrictions too far.
In Canton, Georgia, combat veteran Shane Hazel organized a small protest where people held signs that said, 鈥淲e will not comply.鈥� Some attendees wore face coverings and carried rifles.
In an interview, Mr. Hazel, a Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, says it is up to Americans to 鈥渘ot walk beyond the firing line鈥� and risk catching the virus.
鈥淲e can either do their one-size-fits-all, or we can unleash the American passion, the American genius, and their will to survive and overcome and triumph 鈥� to the tune of 350 million brains working on the same problem, in their best interest,鈥� says Mr. Hazel.
The protests come as some states are already relaxing restrictions. Floridians began swarming back to the聽water last week after Gov. Rick DeSantis said municipalities could open up parks and beaches if done in a 鈥渟afe way.鈥�
In Manatee County, just south of St. Petersburg, a county commissioner led efforts to reopen boat ramps. 鈥淵ou keep it up and they鈥檙e going to rebel ... [and] we鈥檒l be at the jail for safekeeping,鈥澛燰anessa Baugh told a meeting last week before becoming the deciding vote to reopen the ramps. State officers are policing distancing rules between boats.
鈥淚t is a tough question,鈥� says Ms. Baugh in an interview a few days after the meeting. 鈥淒o you step on the Constitution? And, then, do you really have to step on the Constitution to do what you need to do? I don鈥檛 think we need to, not at this point.鈥�
The protests elicit sympathy from Pamela Huberty, who owns a gift boutique in rural Crystal, Michigan. She joined a Facebook group called Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine that has amassed over 366,000 members in two weeks.
She closed her shop in compliance with the executive orders but is planning to reopen May 1 while determining how to achieve social distancing in a 1,100-square foot area.
鈥淚 call it the COVID-19 monster,鈥� says Ms. Huberty. 鈥淭he fear of this virus is going to kill us before the virus does. I see people turning on each other, and that鈥檚 the big issue right now. We鈥檙e not trusting each other.鈥�
Whose trust?
But that trust is multifaceted, with states still maintaining strict lockdowns and聽worried that their sacrifices could be undone by states now reopening. Anthony Fauci, the nation鈥檚 chief epidemiologist, has warned that failure to contain the disease could mean more deaths and economic havoc down the line.
The balancing act is putting governors in a difficult situation 鈥� particularly in 鈥減urple鈥� states like Michigan, which have strong dashes of red and blue. Governors want to do everything in their power to save lives but also don鈥檛 want to stoke anger.
鈥淚f it looks as if the government is moving too far too fast, then you鈥檝e got sort of a tea party possibility welling up again in opposition to the heavy hand of government 鈥� and [governors] don鈥檛 want to trigger that,鈥� says Cal Jillson, author of 鈥淎merican Government.鈥�
Retiree Alan Marble from Benzie County, Michigan, has confidence in the governor. She 鈥渉as the best information, the best science, and the best input from social scientists and others who know human behavior,鈥� he says.
In the end, the issue is not as black and white as it is often portrayed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much too simple to say that someone who is willing to trade freedom for security deserves neither,鈥� says Mr. Wolff, now a professor at St. Louis University Law School. 鈥淭here is another way to look at it: 鈥業 can give you some of my privacy and my autonomy 鈥� temporarily 鈥� if you鈥檒l keep me from dying.鈥欌��
鈥淭here is some flexibility in the system for the government to break the law in order to protect the public health,鈥� Mr. Wolff adds.
In fact, a 1905 U.S. Supreme Court found that the government could set aside constitutional rights in a public health emergency. That ruling mandated smallpox vaccines. The question is how broadly and bluntly the precedent can be applied during the current pandemic.
For her part, Jennifer Stell of Mattawan, Michigan, is more than willing to curtail her activities. Her daughter lost her job as a waitress in Ann Arbor in late March. So she and her husband are delivering food and money to her by driving across the state, knocking on the door, offering a quick wave and hello before reluctantly departing back to Mattawan.
She鈥檚 鈥�100%鈥� in support of Ms. Whitmer. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel that I have lost any civil liberties,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f I can鈥檛 go up north right now and hang out in a cottage to ensure that other people are going to stay healthier, I have no problem doing that.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.
