Safe Spaces and Our Response to Coronavirus

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Scrolling through social media, speaking with other people, or just watching the news, you wonder why our response to this virus has been so much more different than the past pandemics. Swine flu, bird flu, SARS, Ebola, they all came and went without massive shutdowns and quarantines of healthy individuals. 

It dawned on me the other day while I was standing in line at the local Post Office. Everyone in line was spaced out their appropriate six feet until another person walked in and asked to get by to their PO Box. Now the person in line could not move up because that would violate the six feet rule for the person in front of them, six feet back and they would be violating my six foot radius. So instead the person in line just stood there while the other fumed over him not moving to give them six feet. That’s when it dawned on me. This person didn’t care about anyone else’s safety but their own. As long as their safe space was protected, to hell with anyone else, they got theirs. 

In a world where we see college campuses setting up safe spaces for people where they can hide from dissenting points of view, it is becoming more and more common for these individuals to screech at people who invade their sacred safe spaces. This attitude has now permeated most of society. That which offends/harms me is not tolerable, it must be stopped at all costs. MY safety is of the utmost importance. MY fear that something bad might happen to me is more important than your lack of fear and willingness to take a risk. 

This mindset has come full circle now with the outbreak of this recent pandemic. You see countless people shout down protesters or those who wish to get on with their lives. They phrase it brilliantly to sound like they have compassion. “You wanting to reopen or go back to work puts the whole community at risk!” Change out “whole community” with “my personal health and safe space” and it starts to make sense. These individuals lob ad hominem attacks from their safe spaces like soldiers tossing grenades from trenches at those who might in some tangential way harm them. 

It wasn’t until recently did most people care what others really did. It was not until this notion of safe spaces did everyone start to pry into someone’s personal business. “Your thoughts are hate speech! You must be stopped!” No longer can people live and let live, they now have to stomp out anything they disagree with or find threatening. Which now is the threat that someone going back to work or reopening their business might in some tangential way harm them. Forget the consequences to that person or anybody associated with them, this single person might be harmed and therefore the whole world should bend to their will. 

It sounds ridiculous because it is. Your fear should not have any effect on those who are not afraid to return to some form of normalcy. It is peak selfishness. To presume that an entire community of people have to idly sit by and wait for you to get over your fears so that the rest of us can return to normal is selfish, pure and simple. This is projection at its finest. They hurl insults and accusations at normal people saying they are selfish or not considerate. When in reality, depriving people of their rights simply because you feel threatened is not only selfish, it’s childish.

The ultimate irony here is that no one is forcing these safe spacers to go anywhere. If you feel safe and cozy from this virus in your home, then you are free to remain where you are. No one is coming to drag you out of your safe space. 

But what if their decision to leave their safe space hinges on whether they get to keep their job or not? When the government handouts dry up and the deferred bills start coming due? Well then they might feel something they’ve never felt before, empathy for those they have shouted down.

The Soft Underbelly of Democrats in 2020

There are ample articles and blogs written about the difference between conservatives and liberals when it comes to how they argue. Conservatives usually argue using logic and facts (insert Ben Shapiro’s famous line “Facts don’t care about your emotions”). Liberals on the other hand are swayed by emotion. They go straight to arguments that pull your heart strings. They argue about children at the border in cages, poor refugees fleeing persecution, minority groups being crushed by systemic racism, and other issues that cloud your ability to use logic by pulling on your heart strings. To refute these arguments is to be swiftly met with a “You’re a racist/bigot/misogynist!” Of course in the face of such name calling and emotional attacks, one retreats because they’re emotions get the best of them.

This has been a tried and true method for Leftists for years. It works because using emotion circumvents the logic part of your brain. Your reptilian brain takes over and logic and reason go out the window. They use it because it works. It works to sway independent voters who are on the edge of deciding which way to cast their vote. They will continue to use it for as long as possible.

However, this time they may have over played their hand.

Recently in both New York and Virginia, Democrats in power are now making it legal for abortion up until the birth of the child, and in the case of Virginia allow for the child to be born and then decide whether or not to “abort” the child. To put it bluntly, Democrats are making it legal to kill fully developed, living breathing babies.

This has become somewhat of an issue for Democrats. They were seen cheering the signing of the bill in New York. In Virginia, the sponsor of the bill doesn’t really see any problem with the idea of killing a baby after it’s born. The Governor of Virginia stated in a radio interview that a “discussion” will ensue after the baby is born to decided whether it lives or dies. This might be the worst optics for the Democratic Party since the Klan Bake in the 20’s.

There’s no way to argue or spin your way out of this one. Nancy Pelosi was asked after the SOTU what she thinks of the bill President Trump proposed to ban late term abortions. Her response? “It has to do with the health and well being of the woman.”

That response worked when it came to early term abortion. Sometimes things go wrong. Modern medicine has come a long way to be able to predict whether or not it will be a problematic pregnancy. We know that not every pregnancy goes smoothly. But when it gets to the point of of a living breathing infant who can feel pain, things get trickier.

Ask an independent voter this question; “Do you support killing babies?”

The answer will most likely be “No.”

Now tell them that the Democratic Party supports this idea. Let them know that they not only support it, they cheered enthusiastically for it. Imagine an independent watching the SOTU address and watching Democrats sit on their hands with scowls on their faces when President Trump promised to protect the lives of infants who are fully formed. The optics are awful for Democrats.

There is no way to spin this, this was a bad hand to play right before the 2020 election ramps up. Now every Democrat is going to have to defend this policy, or break with the national platform. You can be sure that Republicans will be pushing this message all the way until voting day.

This presents an incredible opportunity for conservatives. They have found a way to use Leftists’ tactics of using emotional arguments against them. They have exposed a soft underbelly in their national platform that will be exposed and attacked over and over again. They have two choices, try and argue that it’s actually good (incredibly hard to do) or abandon it (which is a win for conservatives, but they will still go after it).

Democrats are in unfamiliar territory. In this particular instance, the roles have reversed. They will have to attempt to use logic and facts to support this policy, while conservatives will be attacking them emotional arguments.

I’m not a fan of emotional arguments because they cloud the real issue lying beneath it, but in this particular instance I think conservatives are smart to hammer it home. It will be entertaining to watch Democrats squirm from now until Election Day and try to downplay this gruesome policy.