Thursday's protest in its early stages (Photo: Michael Lucido)
Have we reached rock bottom yet? Has years of disinvestment in public schools, failure to practice critical thinking and the rise of you-can't-make-me social activism coalesced into critical mass? Is yelling FAKE NEWS at everything that contradicts your world view the way of the new world? Let's check in with Bridge Magazine and see what it has to say:
Freedom. (Photo: Twitter/Anna Liz Nichols)
Several organizers with Michigan United for Liberty, the group that hosted an April 30 protest at the Michigan Capitol and is planning another Thursday, have deep ties to the “anti-vaxx” and “medical freedom” movement, according to a review of online activity and public records by Bridge Magazine.
Some have used social media to promote conspiracy theories about the pandemic and to discourage the kind of widespread testing, contact tracing and vaccine development that medical experts say is critical to defeating the virus and reopening the economy.
You don't say. So there is still bottom yet to find? Wonderful.
An expert quoted in the story, about the various individuals and organizations behind the now-regular protests in Lansing, says their support is no surprise. Well, yeah. You don't have to be Extremely Online to know how these groups interact and intersect. Their latest boogeyman is Bill Gates, the ex-Microsoft founder who now works as a philanthropist, with a focus on health. Gates has said he's dedicated to finding a vaccine for this new coronavirus, which makes him Public Enemy No. 1:
Another protest organizer, Amber Bargabus of Mount Morris, identifies herself as co-founder of Michigan Freedom Keepers, a group that has openly discouraged residents from getting a COVID-19 vaccine if and when one becomes available.
“We have all heard the talk about how life ‘won't be back to normal until there is a vaccine,’” Freedom Keepers said on Facebook. “Are you willing to subject yourself and your children to be guinea pigs for a fast tracked vaccine with minimal safety testing?!”
These groups will be protesting in Lansing again today.
