Gary Crooks: Protesters pour good sense down the drain

When I was a little dude, I would sometimes fake a bath by filling the tub, closing the door, swishing the water, but never getting in. It took as long as a bath, so what was the point?

Power! I was asserting my sovereignty against a parental authority figure. I guess I showed her.

The tantrums tossed by coronavirus lockdown protesters remind me of this petulance. Sound and fury signifying stench.

Last Friday, Spokane Valley Rep. Matt Shea led a parade of unmasked, nondistancing protesters, including the usual fringe groups that adhere to him, to the Spokane County Courthouse grounds. He called on businesses to defy state-ordered restrictions.

A Spokesman-Review article said there was no counterprotest. But how would that work? A giant Zoom call among the isolators?

It’s a paradox that unmasks a simple truth: Most people have supported the lockdowns. They aren’t thrilled. They aren’t immune to the economic damage. But they far outnumber the protesters. They wonder what’s to be gained by lifting the very measures that have limited the outbreak. They don’t believe the virus will take a siesta while the economy hops out of bed.

There’s no reasoning with noisy protesters who don’t accept the basic facts dispensed by public health experts, but we can explore the issue with the captains of commerce who are quietly lobbying cities, counties and the state to loosen controls more quickly so their workers – not them – can engage in risky business.

Business leaders say we cannot shut down the economy to save every single life, as if that were the goal. But they won’t say how many people they are willing to see die to get America moving again. Let’s see their definition of “success.” How many deaths per 1% gain in GDP? How many lives can we afford to save?

Some say, as a recent Spokesman-Review editorial did, that auto accidents take 38,000 lives annually and we don’t shut down the economy. Let’s disregard the obvious – car crashes aren’t contagious and there is a public benefit to transportation – and take a look at that toll. Is that the acceptable number of deaths beyond what we’d expect under lockdown conditions?

A Trump administration analysis, first reported Monday by the New York Times, predicts 3,000 deaths per day by June 1. That’s up from the 1,500 to 2,000 we’ve witnessed thus far. Moreover, it predicts 200,000 new cases a day, up from the April peak of 30,000. That’s not a trajectory that screams, “Open for business!”

Implicit in the calls for “freedom” is the acceptance of more deaths than would otherwise occur. Wishful thinkers say, “Not if people use common sense.” Oh, like standing shoulder to shoulder at public gatherings and proudly rejecting masks?

Common sense would dictate what experts have called for all along: extensive testing, tracing the contacts of those who test positive and isolating them. Gov. Jay Inslee’s phased reentry will still be guided by the data and public health expertise, as it should be.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence boast about America’s 5 million tests overall. Experts say we may need that many per day to allow for a safe reentry to our normal lives.

The mayor of Las Vegas isn’t sure that isolation has tamped down the death toll, so she’s offered her city as a “control group.” Quite a gamble, and I’d be tempted to go along as long as what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas.

I think a lot of the pushback against isolation makes for interesting stories, but most people have wisely supported the limitations. News articles ought to say so.

According to a recent AP-NORC poll, only 12% of Americans say the restrictions where they live are overkill. A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found that a majority of Americans agree with public health officials. An Elway/Crosscut Poll found that most Washingtonians believe the restrictions have been effective and they are wary of reopening the economy.

Hundreds of people turned out to listen to Shea’s “freedom is the cure” message. Me? I was at home, as were thousands of others who stayed put. We support the restrictions. It’s impossible to capture all of us in one camera frame, so we won’t be getting the same coverage.

No, that attention will go to the next group that fills the tub, swishes the water but refuses to get in. Just remember that most of us would. It’s just common sense.