If you’re going to listen to anyone in this time of turmoil, let it be a doctor or nurse. Healthcare workers in Denver, Colorado, acted as counter-protesters to a mob of right-wing protesters who believe social distancing violates their constitutional rights. Standing in the midst of traffic, they endured screams, honks, and insults to make their message clear–use social distancing protocols. (1)
“Fascinating Yet Peculiar”
Two healthcare workers, one male, one female, were filmed standing in the middle of a crosswalk in Denver, blocking a truck. A woman, clad in a garish “USA” top screamed at them to “go to China,” since “it’s a free country.” Slapping a “Land of the free” sign across the windshield, written in chunky block lettering, she yelled out “America the free,” before urging the nurses to “go to China if you want communism.” “Go to China” becomes her reoccurring slogan, which, in the video, appears to be taken up by others. The healthcare workers, who have been referred to as nurses, though their exact professions are unknown, stand silent and unmoving through the screams and honks.
Here we see a racist Karen in her non-native habitat telling a hard working Asian American nurse to “go to China.” Such fascinating yet peculiar behavior, since Karen may soon find herself in need of the nurse’s lifesaving care in the coming months. pic.twitter.com/ryvpuawfJ9
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) April 20, 2020
“Here we see a racist Karen in her non-native habitat telling a hard-working Asian American nurse to ‘go to China,’” says Dr. Eugene Gu on Twitter, where he shared a video of the angry woman. “Such fascinating yet peculiar behavior, since Karen may soon find herself in need of the nurse’s lifesaving care in the coming months.” (1, 2)
Denver and the Twitterverse
Dr. Gu is not the only one to find the “racist Karen” and her actions repellant. Steve (@szonyc) says that the healthcare worker’s reaction “was instantly evocative of another iconic hero staring down fascists. These #COVIDIOTS are on the wrong side of science and on the wrong side of history. Their selfish disdain for human life is shocking.”
Some users chose to focus instead on the bravery and integrity of the counter-protestors. Brutum Fulmen (@BrutumF) tweeted: “This nurse blocking anti-lockdown protesters in #Denver, #Colorado is my hero of the day!” (2, 3, 4)
Karen Loves Her Country
Though there are many Twitter users condemning both the vitriol in the woman’s rant and the defiance of the law and social distancing guidelines of the public, unfortunately, there are protests popping up all over the United States. Additionally, some believe President Donald Trump is encouraging the protesters. He certainly is not condemning them. During an April 19th press conference, Donald Trump said, “these people love our country,” and that they merely “want to get back to work.” (1)
Josh K. Elliott, of Global News, rejects this idea. These people value “personal freedom over things like public health, common sense or their own lives,” he writes in an article. Unfortunately, they put more than their own lives at risk. With the highly contagious nature of the novel coronavirus, any of these protestors could pick it up and pass it on to someone forced to come into contact with them, whether at a gas station, a grocery store, or in a hospital. (1)
American Lives
Donald Trump also said Sunday that the protesters “want their life back. Their life was taken away from them.”
Yet, these protesters are content to risk taking the lives of others away in a very real and permanent way. They could be spreading COVID-19 and refusing to participate in flattening the curve. And although President Trump might say, “as far as protesters, you know…I’m with everybody. I’m with everybody,” the reality is that one cannot be with everybody at a time like this. As the leader of a great nation, it is the responsibility of the president to protect their citizens. Even though the uncertainty around the economy and unemployment is extremely high, calls to “LIBERATE MICHIGAN” or “LIBERATE MINNESOTA,” as the president has been tweeting, do nothing to calm the populace, fix the economy, or combat the virus. His tweets and remarks about the protesters directly conflict with the White House’s stated social distancing and gathering guidelines. Perhaps it is time for this administration to pick a consistent policy. Hopefully, it is one that will protect the health and safety of all Americans–and let them have their lives. (5)
