A sad level of hypocrisy exists with troopers refusing vaccine

Oct. 5, 2021 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

In 1906 author and activist Upton Sinclair wrote a novel called “The Jungle,” which depicted conditions at the nation’s meatpacking plants. The reaction to the book was so huge President Theodore Roosevelt assigned two men to corroborate the conditions about which Upton wrote. The men were appalled by what they found and the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed to help protect the American public. I’m sure the four large meatpacking companies weren’t very happy.

By the way, the novel still packs a punch.

Here’s something else to consider. The following is from History.com: “When David Hollister introduced a seat belt bill in Michigan in the early 1980s that levied a fine for not buckling up, the state representative received hate mail comparing him to Hitler. At the time, only 14 percent of Americans regularly wore seat belts, even though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) required lap and shoulder belts in all new cars starting in 1968.”

In 1982, a series of murders came involving people using tainted Tylenol that resulted in changes in how the over-the-counter medication was packaged. The manufacturers worked with the Food and Drug Administration to revise its packaging and in 1989 a federal law was passed to ensure these kind of medications were sold in pamper-proof containers.

More recently laws have been passed to discourage distracted driving by making it a crime to text while driving.

Now did any of these interventions restrict your freedoms? In fact, what does that really mean?

Did Massachusetts outlawing happy hours restrict your freedom? Does the fact there is an age limit for drinking alcohol, buying cannabis and engaging in legal gaming restrict your freedoms? Has making sure your child is inoculated against diseases such as polio before entering school restricting your freedom?

Have any of these laws trying to bolster public safety prevented you from your freedom of speech or to practice the religion of your choice or to peaceful assembly or traveling freely? Can you still buy the food that you like or watch what you want to watch on TV or the internet?

The issue behind all of these laws is to protect the public as a whole from mostly preventable events that could otherwise hurt you.

This point is what I don’t understand about the on-going firestorm about vaccination mandates. As you may know Gov. Charlie Baker’s vaccination mandate has resulted in the reported resignations of “dozens” of State Police troopers. The union that represents them wanted to go into collective bargaining about the matter. A Superior Court ruling stopped that effort.

The State House News Service reported Baker said last week, “We believe based on the conversation we’ve had with our secretariats and their leadership that the vast majority of the people who work in state government want to get vaccinated and we're going to continue to pursue that strategy and I believe at the end of the day we'll be able to work it out one way or another for most everybody.”

Some members of the State Police seem to disagree with the governor.

So the trooper who can pull you over for distracted driving, who can fine you for not wearing a seatbelt and arrest you for drunk driving may not agree with the concept of another state-mandated safety regulation: getting a vaccination to lessen the chance of contracting a potentially deadly disease.

There is a sad level of hypocrisy in this issue.

Like most people, I know people who have had COVID-19, both family members and friends. Thankfully, none of passed from it. One person I know asked for the vaccination as he sat in the hospital undergoing treatment for the disease. It was a little too late.

I was very hopeful that by this time we would have the pandemic largely behind us. I had thought people would have positively responded to the vaccines and we would achieve the “herd immunity” that has been the goal for months. Now I wonder if the restrictions we still have are going to be part of the American experience for the future.

It’s tremendously sad and frustrating.

Hey, I know there are readers who naturally believe I’m all wet. Feel free to send me a letter at news@thereminder.com. The limit is 500 words and I won’t publish libel. And if you make a bunch of claims, please be ready to substantiate them.

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