The BLM loophole

On the opposite page, three highly credentialed public health doctors argue that gathering in large groups to protest police abuses amidst the coronavirus pandemic is a-okay despite warning after warning about social distancing from Dr. Tony Fauci to Gov. Cuomo to Mayor de Blasio.

Their contortions to issue a clean bill of health to one type of gathering, just weeks after the widespread condemnation of all others, fails the smell test.

The public health wonks claim that Black Lives Matter protesters are commonly masked and six feet apart. Trust your own eyes: Many, many protesters are uncovered and far too close together. Then comes a claim that while coronavirus kills, so does racism. While clearly true, there are many ways to oppose bigotry’s poison; only one of those ways also spreads a pathogen that has killed 100,000 Americans and climbing.

Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio signed emergency executive order No. 120, continuing the ban on “any non-essential gathering of individuals of any size.” No exceptions there.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the city’s top virus warrior, wrote in court papers supporting the restrictions: “Even if a protest organizer takes precautions (such as attempting to maintain six feet of distance between protesters and encouraging face coverings), such precautions are difficult to maintain for long periods of time in a group setting. Further, chanting and yelling could generate respiratory droplets and spread them more widely and forcefully than typical speech.”

The city’s website urges people to “report a social distancing violation.” This is our complaint.