Anti-Quarantine Protests Come to Albany
Over the past week, state capitals across the country have seen relatively small but very loud protests against the stay-at-home orders put in place by governors to combat the current pandemic. The protests started in Michigan, the state with the third-highest COVID-19 death toll in the country.
On Wednesday, one of these protests came to Albany, which its organizers called “Operation Gridlock.” Protesters mostly remained in their cars, blasting horns and creating as much noise as possible, while notably still observing the social distancing guidelines.
In a state that has seen a quarter of a million cases and over 20,000 deaths, the protesters argue that the ramifications of the economic shutdown are worse than the pandemic. They argue that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “NY On Pause” executive order is too draconian, especially for Upstate New York, which hasn’t been impacted by the virus to the scale that New York City and its suburbs have.
These protesters are loud, but they are also in the distinct minority. New York is a state of 19 million people. There were possibly a few hundred at the various protests in Albany and other Upstate cities on Wednesday. The “ReOpen New York State” facebook group has just over three thousand members. According to a recent Morning Consult poll, only 10% of Americans say the country should stop social distancing while 81% want to continue social distancing for as long as necessary despite the economic consequences.
Attempts to interview organizers of two leading “ReOpen” facebook groups in New York were declined. The administrator of the main Facebook group is also affiliated with the Libertarian Party of New York. The administrator of the second Facebook page said they would not be attending the Wednesday protest due to concern about large crowds, saying “I know that sounds contradicting but I’m not taking chances.”
These Facebook groups, which are open to the public, frequently include posts from conservative news outlets such as Fox News and OANN, as conspiracy theories about Bill Gates, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). As seen across the country, some protesters on Wednesday had Confederate flags and militia paraphernalia, alongside Trump-Pence 2020 flags. The sentiments expressed in these groups usually range from believing the entire pandemic is a hoax to the false belief that COVID-19 is no worse than the seasonal flu.
The protesters also do not appear to represent the groups most affected by the pandemic and social distancing policies. While race and income figures have not been reported in every jurisdiction, those that have show that minority groups (especially African Americans) and low-income workers are those most affected by COVID-19, alongside seniors. The protesters in Albany and across the country were almost exclusively white and most cars involved in these protests, like those seen in this Buffalo demonstration, are newer and expensive models, implying the protesters driving them have higher incomes.
Typically, high-income earners have been able to work from home during the pandemic while many low-income workers have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced. One of the most common signs that can be seen at these protests says some variation of ‘I just want a haircut.’ This isn’t arguing that they themselves should return to work in a potentially dangerous environment.
The anti-quarantine groups, both in New York and across the United States, appear to be operating under the notion that state governments relaxing social distancing rules will automatically return the country and economy to normal. But, according to polling from Morning Consult, 57% of Americans would not feel comfortable eating at a restaurant or cafe in the next three months.
“If we try to reopen businesses too soon and then we have another wave… then it’s going to be much more of a prolonged downturn and could be very, very costly,” said Charles Evans, the President of the Chicago branch of the Federal Reserve.
