A mask isn't a medical procedure and the fact they became politicized to begin with was completely uncouth.
3. Do the policies have anything to do with results or is it about control?
4. When do mandates end and what would be considered a bridge too far considering this is being sold under the guise of public health?
I think it is worth considering these two statements together as to the reasons behind the mandate.
The fact that one political party has tacitly and not-so-fucking-tacitly pushed anti-vaxxing / no-masks as a legitimate political viewpoint, instead of leaving it as what it is, fringe black helicopter / new world order / sovereign citizen conspiracy idiocy means that there are significantly more idiots buying into this than there should be. (And thanks from the rest of the world for exporting this horseshit too, btw.)
So I would suggest to you that turning this into a mandate rather than relying on the 'honour system' is a response to that.
And that it's not about control - it's about business owners and employees having to deal with these chucklefucks on a daily basis, people who are inherently completely unreasonable in their manners and behaviour.
This isn't about local mom and pop diners letting regulars in on the downlow sans masks getting raided by the cops for a city fine shakedown.
It's about organised groups of obnoxious, self righteous, and in many cases violent 'protesters' shitting up peoples businesses, and the businesses being left to handle it on their own with no real authority to deal with things, which is where you see the stories of minimum wage staff being assaulted, spat on, and abused.
Making it a legally enforced mandate means some of that pressure is off of the businesses and employees that also want some semblance of normal; they can now call the cops on these dickheads.
E:
FWIW I think there is a really fine line between jumping into legal remedies for expediency and accidentally over reaching with bigger implications, and there is discussion to be had there, and I also don't think vax-checks / passports are actually as preventative as things like track and trace or tests at entry would be.
But this isn't just a business related situation. The government is mandating that all citizens get vaccinated. Say whatever you want but a government entity mandating a medical procedure is just wrong, full stop. I find it to be equivocally the wrong solution. Where's the line? What else can the government mandate me to do if they don't want me to have control over my body? If the vaccine worked to the point where it outright prevents Covid, I could see it. But it doesn't! It just gives your immune system a boost on the off chance you get it so you can hopefully fight it better so comparisons to things like Measles vaccination mandates don't work tit for tat either.
Essentially the state is requiring the populace to have our bodies altered on a
maybe. A
what if.
Another consequence of mandates is that not all people can even take the vaccine currently. What about them? Do they get an exemption?
You say it's not about control but what about the curfews? Over the past summer they lowered the 12 am curfew at Washington Square Park (my favorite park outside of Central and Prospect) to around 9 pm. The least likely to be vaccinated are racial minorities. The state says it cares about racial inequality, but is applying a wide sweeping mandate which targets certain racial groups by proxy. Their response? Oh, we just need to specifically target those groups least likely to get vaccinated and place a racial hierarchy on who gets Covid treatment. That's their solution!
The consequence of these actions are highly problematic from an American standpoint. Where does safety over liberty end exactly? Because from the links I've shared you should see that it never stops once it's rolling. It's a continual erosion.
On Reason this was timely posted and it strikes to crux of my argument.
https://reason.com/2022/01/02/the-lockdown-showdown/If executives of local, state, and federal government can achieve these kind of sweeping mandates what's stopping them from activating them in bad faith? After all, according to Democratic Party, Republicans currently are fascist right? But you're mandating things. Often American politics act as a push and pull. California achieves sweeping anti-gun laws and Texas responds with sweeping anti-abortion laws. Currently Texas and Florida are doing their own flavor of anti-mandate laws but if the Republican Party are as dangerous as liberals say, going by this executive overreach what's stopping Republicans from achieving more heinous proposals through the same means?
Furthermore as an extension, given the already polarized nature of American politics, how is this
not a control move? Did they really think all Americans would comply, much less Republicans? But it's more than Republicans that disagree with the mandate. I'm pro-vaccine and I've been against mandates from day one. This has only achieved more division and turmoil. Frankly, it makes Biden's case for Presidency forfeit and makes argument for voting out the current incumbents. It reeks of bad leadership. America is
not Europe, but good or bad. Someone like me that supports vaccines is now considered anti-vax because I'm against mandates. It naturally politicizes and pushes people like me naturally to the right.
Say what you want about the "they're mostly vaxxed" but Japan's decision to
not discriminate against the unvaccinated was an excellent move in smoothing waters. If Joe Biden's Administration had any sense they would have pushed for people getting vaccinated and making a case that doesn't have the stench of propaganda while humanizing and understanding the concerns of people that hadn't taken the vaccine. Instead their messaging was Winter of Death and Disease, et al. This is from the government that
mandates a medical procedure? Death and disease? Imagine if we are on the wrong side next time given this obvious case of dehumanization?
Japan's health decree reads:
“Although we encourage all citizens to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, it is not compulsory or mandatory.
Vaccination will be given only with the consent of the person to be vaccinated after the information provided.
Please get vaccinated of your own decision, understanding both the effectiveness in preventing infectious diseases and the risk of side effects.
No vaccination will be given without consent.
Please do not force anyone in your workplace or those who around you to be vaccinated, and do not discriminate against those who have not been vaccinated.”
See? Reasonable leadership through good will and a helping hand. That is how government should act. Many have argued,"well Japan is smart and they're vaxxed and they do the right things to help their neighbors" but that doesn't take into consideration that the White House has this on their website:
Would you trust such a government or do what they tell you to? I wouldn't!
So basically, within the confines of American politics, a vaccine mandate makes shit
worse. Not only in terms of bodily autonomy and liberty, but also politically. I am very, very against a vaccine mandate and will vote Republican just to counter it in response. Both Trump and Biden are doing the same things in reverse: Trump came out with anti-mask rhetoric and Biden has come out with anti-unvaccinated rhetoric. We've seen both sides have their chance to fix this without blowing the nation up and both fucked it up majorly. They both participate in language that dehumanizes the other side. At least Trump is playful and open about it and didn't campaign on "uniting the nation".
