Article from For Liberty by Norm Leahy.

Naming and shaming those who protested for reopening businesses and loosening social restrictions put in place in response to the coronavirus was a media favorite…right up until the protests and unrest that roiled the country over the weekend.

Reason’s Robby Soave reminds us of some of what the press, politicians, and other scolds had to say about reopening:

A month ago, when Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) ended the state’s COVID-19 lockdown and allowed gyms, restaurants, nail salons, and other businesses to reopen, many in the mainstream media accused him of wanton disregard for human life. The Atlantic described the state’s relaxation of the very strictest social distancing measures as “Georgia’s Experiment in Human Sacrifice.”

When Florida beaches reopened, it was the same story. CNN highlighted the activism of a local man who had dressed as the grim reaper and was warning sun-bathers that people would die unless they went home. Referencing the stereotype of the Florida man as a reckless and moronic thrill-seeker, The Washington Post wrote that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was essentially “standing astride the alligator cage, hollering at the rest of the country to check out what’s about to happen.”

What’s missing from this weekend’s events? The ritual shaming of anyone for violating the social distancing taboo.

Soave writes that government officials, the press, and others who made distancing the key to caring have a lot of explaining to do, because:

It turns out they are willing to make exceptions for their preferred causes. Perhaps those who previously went overboard on the social distance shaming should admit this was a mistake. The current silence of the Karens is deafening.

Image Credit: Delta News Hub / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)