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Lockdown protests begin to materialize as America’s patience over stay-at-home orders wane

April 14, 2020 | | Print Article

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A growing number of Americans are growing tired of the heavy-handed government response to the coronavirus outbreak, which has resulted in a prolonged shutdown of the economy and major restrictions on movement brought about by social distancing guidelines.

The frustration many feel is born out of initial projections of cataclysmic results that have failed to materialize, and the slow trickle of promised economic relief coming in response to millions of Americans having their very livelihoods taken away.

At least 16.8 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last three weeks, according to Fox News, which means one in ten working Americans was out of a job.

(These are largely folks who are accustomed to working and not having to depend on government handouts to feed their families.)

In the blue-collar state of Michigan, home to some of the most draconian restrictions the nation has seen, implemented by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, people are organizing a massive protest.

At least 15,000 cars and trucks are expected to descend on Michigan’s state capital on Wednesday to protest Whitmer’s “tyrannical” guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19, Fox News reported.

The “drive-by” protest, called “Operation Gridlock,” takes place in the state’s capitol in Lansing, is being organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition.

“Quarantine is when you restrict movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people,” organizer Meshawn Maddock said. “Every person has learned a harsh lesson about social distancing. We don’t need a nanny state to tell people how to be careful.”

Whitmer has mandated what businesses can and cannot sell and banned any and all gatherings, no matter the size or family ties.

Maddock said the governor “is making a criminal out of all of us,” while noting that health care as a whole has been “basically shut down.”

“People with issues are having trouble seeing a doctor because everyone is focused on the virus,” she said. “My husband and I are checking in on my in-laws, but even doing that is now breaking the law.”

“People just need to use common sense, we can’t just shut down the entire state,” said Maddock.

The irony here is that the official allowing fear to paralyze an entire state is tweeting that “we can’t allow fear or panic to guide us.”

Many Americans are beginning to believe what President Trump was worried about, that “we can’t let the cure be worse than the problem.”

Former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson shared a tweet about a protest that’s planned for Tuesday in North Carolina.

“Now this is viral growth: a North Carolina Facebook group called began last Thursday and has 21,000 members already; it is calling for a protest tomorrow,” he tweeted Monday. “North Carolina, population 10.4 million, has 81 deaths and 331 people hospitalized.”

As of this writing, membership stands at 26,185. The Facebook group description reads:

“We are residents of North Carolina that stand for The Constitution and demand our officials Reopen NC no later than April 29, 2020. We are losing our small businesses, which are the backbone of our economy. The shutdown is not warranted, nor sustainable for our area. The vulnerable can be isolated or protected in other ways, without sacrificing our entire state economy. It’s important to note, several other states have not enacted stay at home orders.”

 

The protest is far from pitchforks… at least, for now, as the protest rules include: Be Kind and Courteous; No Hate Speech or Bullying; No Promotions or Spam; Respect Everyone’s Privacy.

Berenson also tweeted about the unrest in Michigan:

There has also been discontent in Ohio, according to Fox News:

Last Thursday, dozens of protestors carrying placards and wearing Guy Fawkes masks ignored Ohio’s social-distancing guidelines to demonstrate on steps of the state’s capital building in Columbus against Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, and his administration’s handling of the outbreak. Demonstrators held signs reading “Open Ohio,” “Quarantine worse than virus,” and “Social distancing or social conditioning. We do not consent.”

While DeWine acknowledged that Ohioans had a right to voice their feelings toward his orders, he also pleaded with his constituents to “hang in there,” saying that not doing so would hurt the economy more.

“All the evidence that we have indicates if we don’t hang in there, if we don’t continue to do what we’re doing, it’s going to cost a lot of lives,” he said. “And, it’s going to delay our ability to economically recover.”

 

Ohio protests can be seen below:

There is some talk about reopening the economy, but with certain restrictions to keep mitigating the spread of the coronoavirus. But this is weeks away, at best, and there is little chance the patience of the American people will hold that long.

Here’s a sampling of online responses to the protests, to include a tweet from former CIA intelligence official Buck Sexton expressing disappointment that it didn’t happen sooner.

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