The post that got me kicked off Nextdoor — the post that I wrote because I wanted to get kicked off Nextdoor, ‘cause I was really tired of it, about a month after signing up for the horrible thing — was written in the late spring or early summer of 2020. At the time, at least a third of the content on the page for my town was about the Very Bad Anti-Mask People, who are very very bad!, so I wrote that I agreed completely. But not to worry, because I had a solution: It’s time for us to get these people out of our communities, so we can be safe, I wrote. And the even better news is that we had a place to do it, because the federal government owns a big plot of land a few hours up Highway 395, up there by Lone Pine, where we could put tents and trailers and stuff to make the Very Bad Anti-Mask People have to go live by themselves for a while, so they can’t hurt us.
In the hour or so before my account died forever, I got upvotes. This is a very good idea, people thought, so we can be safe! Be very careful about spoofing people regarding the monstrous implications of their fear-driven politics, because you’ll find them nodding vigorously at you. With a big smile. What a great idea, they’ll say, as you back away into a corner with a kitchen knife clutched tightly in your shaking fist. Heart emoji smiley emoji thumbs-up emoji!
So now comes a Rasmussen poll that…isn’t surprising:
– Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democratic voters would favor a government policy requiring that citizens remain confined to their homes at all times, except for emergencies, if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Such a proposal is opposed by 61% of all likely voters, including 79% of Republicans and 71% of unaffiliated voters.
– Nearly half (48%) of Democratic voters think federal and state governments should be able to fine or imprison individuals who publicly question the efficacy of the existing COVID-19 vaccines on social media, television, radio, or in online or digital publications. Only 27% of all voters – including just 14% of Republicans and 18% of unaffiliated voters – favor criminal punishment of vaccine critics.
– Forty-five percent (45%) of Democrats would favor governments requiring citizens to temporarily live in designated facilities or locations if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Such a policy would be opposed by a strong majority (71%) of all voters, with 78% of Republicans and 64% of unaffiliated voters saying they would Strongly Oppose putting the unvaccinated in “designated facilities.”
So, yes: There are a whole bunch of people would like to put you in internment camps. They’re actually not at all shy or coy about it.
Also, they’re very glad we got rid of Trump, ‘cause he was an authoritarian.
Interesting, but not surprising, that the "we're such good people" commenters didn't get it. One of my posts at work questioning the legality of the mandate noted that the oft-cited Jacobsen v. Mass only upheld a state law as did as did the infamous Buck v. Bell (of, "3 generations of imbeciles is enough" notoriety). I noted the only relevant Supreme Court precedent was Korematsu v. US because it upheld a federal executive order targeting innocent-until-proven-guilty citizens for social hygiene. THOSE are the laws they're defending. It's Jim Crow all the way down with these people.
Oh, and somebody please tell the maskers that, since they're vaxxed, they're not at risk from hospitalization or death, so the only thing they do by wearing a mask is protect the unvaxxed that they hate so much. Best thing they could do to push their own agenda is quit wearing masks to make the rest of us suffer the consequences of our own actions.
It's darkly amusing to see all the people -- people I know personally -- who have been inveighing against Big Pharma and the American medical system for decades*, suddenly all nodding along any time a Pfizer exec or a man in a white lab coat from the government tells them to do something.
(* price of insulin, price of epi pens, health "insurance", anti-woman bias, animal testing, etc. etc. et f***ing cetera)