COVID-19 Lockdown “My Rights are being Trampled on”

As we are in the midst of one of the worst pandemics in our nation’s history and a global health crisis, there are people who are taking to social media and protesting in cities across the country that their rights are being violated by the stay-at home orders.

This line of thinking truly amazes me.

It amazes me because as I sit here in my kitchen at nearly midnight on this Thursday evening with nausea, chest pains, a non-stop dry cough, trouble breathing, dizzy, and weak from having the Coronavirus, there are those who still do not take this seriously and think that it is one big joke, where they are more concerned about how the lockdown inconveniences them than the health side of it.

Simply amazes me.

First off, your rights are not being violated by these lockdowns. These types of lockdowns have taken place before in various parts of the world for different reasons and at different times. Of course, maybe not to this level, but they have taken place on some level before.

Your rights are in tact. You are not under “house arrest” as you do not have an ankle monitor on. You are not “stuck at home” as your doors are not locked from the outside. You are free to get up off your sofa and leave your residence as this is not prison.

Please stop saying your rights are being trampled on because that is not what is happening here.

Of course, the shelter-in-place is hard on everyone, but you want to know what is even harder?

Being SICK.

This is nothing new though. The people saying this are usually the same people who say that their rights are being violated when they actually are doing the violating. Not in all cases of course, but in some. The people who hang out in extreme right wing circles generally are the ones most angry about these lockdowns and usually are the ones who complain about their “rights” being violated when in all actuality, are the ones doing just that to others.

Like, for example, just look at how gun owners act when it comes to gun control.

They say the same thing. They say that their gun rights are being taken away when they are the ones who take away others rights by carelessly carrying their loaded weapons into public places.

They say how their rights are being violated when it comes to gun control when in fact gun control is completely constitutional and the Supreme Court has stated on numerous occasions that the second amendment is not absolute or unlimited , then no, their rights have not been violated.

The same is true with anything they do not like.

They claim that giving immigrants resources is a violation of their civil rights or taking our tax dollars to help the homeless and the poor people in this country is “theft by taxation” or any number or other things those who run in conservative circles claim about their civil rights being taken away, when in reality, none of their rights are being violated.

They complain about their rights being taken, but when people actually lose civil rights then they cheer and think that it okay, when it is not okay and never will be.

These folks do not know what having your rights violated is.

I do.

LGBTQ people being gay bashed for just being who they are is a violation of rights.

Gay and lesbian couples being denied marriage and adoption of children in need of homes is a violation of rights.

Immigrants being locked in steel cages is a violation of rights.

Women being denied their natural right of making decisions over their own body and getting an abortion is a violation of rights.

Disabled people being denied disabled accessible housing is a violation of their rights.

Homeless people being arrested for sleeping on the street is a violation of their rights.

Being fired for being gay, black, a woman, or Muslim is a violation of rights.

Young minorities getting shot by police when they are unarmed is a violation of rights.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture here. Those things I just mentioned are a violation of human rights. Restrictions on guns, being taxed on your wages, and being told that you must stay locked down and not go to certain high risk places during a GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS is not a violation of your human rights.

Never has been, never will be.

So, please, save the sob story about your rights when as of today 886,213 Americans have contracted this virus and 50,780 have died from it and that does not include the many false negatives who have COVID-19 but the test comes back negative despite chest X-ray findings and classic symptoms of the disease.

This is just America. The global numbers put us at a much higher pandemic.

The Supreme Court states that a government (state or federal) can place measures like state of emergency orders, shelter-in-place orders, and even partial martial law orders to protect public health and prevent the spread of an infectious disease.

These are unprecedented times and being inconvenienced from going to the mall, the movies, the beach and so on is a small price to pay for containing this virus that has killed so many and will kill so many more. The economy needs to get better as many are struggling to pay their bills (I am one of them), but protecting people from getting sick and dying is what is most important at this time.

This is hard on all of us, but please stop with the “My rights are being violated” nonsense as that is not the case. You have the right at this very moment to get up from your sofa or kitchen table and put on your shoes and leave your house. I just suggest that you wear a mask and wash your hands and think of others by social distancing as it is NOT just about you and what you want.

Until we can contain this pandemic and monster virus and save lives then these shelter-in-place orders must remain in effect and my suggestion is to stop listening to Trump and think for yourself, this is a life and death situation that we all find ourselves in and we must continue to make the hard choices to save lives and protect our communities and our fellow Americans because a few months under lockdown is much better than what will happen if we reopen — death and destruction.

It is about all of our rights and all of our health and well-being, not just you or some of us.