Protest erupts in Michigan against severe Coronavirus lockdown order.

Protesters in Lansing Michigan. NBC News/AFP.

Protests erupt in Michigan against severe Coronavirus lockdown orders put into place by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. NBC News. The conservative led protest was called "operation gridlock" by it's organizers and mostly involved people in their cars. Some people did leave their cars and protested on foot. Whitmer's restrictions are more extreme than many states and include travel bans to vacation homes and banning the sale of hardware supplies and, most notably, gardening supplies. Michigan does have one of the worst outbreaks in the country with 27,000 cases and 1,700 deaths.

My Comment:

I'm of two minds of this. I do think that this protest had the potential to spread the Coronavirus. Though the vast majority of people in this protest stayed inside of their cars and did not put anyone at risk, the people that went outside and weren't wearing proper PPE and staying six feet away from people might have put others at risk. All it would have taken was for one infected person to cough and a whole group of people could have gotten sick. 

And I do think that Michigan is having a rough time of it. They have one of the bigger outbreaks and a lot of people are dying there. It's obviously not under control there yet and something has to be done to ensure that new infections slow down. 

On the other, I think Governor Whitmer has gone pretty far off the deep end. I'm generally supportive of the lockdowns in the short term but Whitmer went way too far with her bans. Though I understand the argument for now allowing people to go to their summer homes, it seems like a blatant violation of civil rights. People have a right to travel to property they own. 

Much more concerning was her banning products that could be critical. Hardware and paint are necessary things but even more concerning was her banning of seeds and gardening supplies. Those are absolutely critical right now as some people might need to grow their own food during this crisis. Though I doubt it will come to it, Governor Whitmer is basically saying that it's more important to maintain the lockdown than it is to have people able to feed themselves. 

Would I have protested if I was in Michigan? I am not sure. I'm a critical worker so I doubt I would have had the time, but I do agree that Whitmer is out of control and that we need to loosen things up there. I wouldn't have gotten out of my car though without a facemask and I sure as hell would not have posed for a crowded picture. 

I do think that these kinds of protests are going to be more common in the future. The people that are working from home (or in a critical industry) don't seem to understand how bad things are for the people out of work. Though the stimulus checks are going out, it's a band aid at best. We are going to have to open things up sooner or later and if it continues people will start to fight back.