San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
We were all in this together — until, suddenly, we weren’t
Looking toward the heavens last week, it became clear our fundamental differences might get in the way of our getting past the time of the coronavirus.
Clearly, we are not in this together.
On Monday, someone flew a plane pulling a banner that read “SAYCHINESEVIRUS.com,” presumably in protest of the San Antonio City Council’s resolution against anti-Semitic and anti-Asian hate speech stemming from COVID-19 fears.
The plane, according to reports, spread its message of rebellion over the city. And while flying a plane with a banner is more showboaty than holding a picket sign made with poster board and a Sharpie, it’s a legitimate way to advertise an opinion: Nobody’s going to tell ME what not to say. Even if that sentiment is volatile, offensive or provocative — especially if it’s any of those.
The idea, of course, is to protect Americans’ right to free speech at a time when fear looms from every door handle. If we believe the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, then we should be grateful that someone stepped up to take the coronavirus shift.
But a plane with a banner to defend someone’s right to say “kung flu” seems a bit much a month after the San Antonio Food Bank announced it was running low on food. Remember that aerial photo that went viral? The one with thousands of cars waiting for food? A lot of us do.
The next day, a tornado warning set off phone alerts in the north central part of the city. Take shelter now, the alert urged. Considering that San Antonio has been taking shelter since mid-March, it seemed a bit much.
But many of those who’ve seen what tornadoes can do sat in windowless rooms or bathtubs anyway, because if the National Weather Service makes the effort to rouse everybody, they know something’s coming. A woman at a farmers market later said, while self-consciously tugging at a face mask, that she felt stupid doing so until she heard that others did the same thing.
The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aren’t just sniffing the ground, either; calling for social distancing and face masks aren’t just random suggestions. Yet there are those who protest those messages, too. For some, being asked to follow a few rules to keep flattening the curve is akin to governmental oppression. And across the country, the maskless are getting rowdy when asked to cover up as a courtesy to employees and other shoppers, because nobody is going to tell THEM what to do.
Finally, on Wednesday, the Air Force’s Thunderbirds flew over San Antonio in a military salute to health care workers who have been on the front lines of the battle against the virus. Some have complained it is an expensive, empty show of gratitude, but, for the most part, the locals looked up and gave the F-16s a thumbs-up. Military City, USA, understands putting pilots in the air isn’t just a show; it’s a way to send an “America Strong” message.
Wearing a simple cloth mask — knowing it doesn’t provide enough protection to prevent the wearer from getting sick but does prevent asymptomatic carriers from spreading the virus — sends a message, too.
That little plane was also selling a message.
We keep hearing these are unprecedented times, but we’ve seen what plagues can do. More important, we know what fear and feeling stupid can cause people to do. And it doesn’t matter whether we write “USA! USA! USA!” or “Surrender, Dr. Fauci!” across the sky, because the coronavirus can’t read.
We, on the other hand, can read the messages; we’re just too busy saying those we don’t agree with are stupid.
Compromise would help us all right now. But a bird’s-eye view of the coronavirus battlefield shows we aren’t there. We aren’t in this together.