Surge in cases in 5, 4, 3…
Golly, there was a big ol’ to-do about a religious fanatic who wanted to throw a religious super-spreader event in a Seattle park on Labor Day (this past Monday) but the Parks Department said no you can’t and closed the park.
A prayer rally was planned for Seattle’s Gas Works Park on Labor Day, prior to the city announcing the park’s temporary closure.
On Friday, Sept. 4, Seattle Parks and Recreation issued a notice that Gas Works Park would be closed Sept. 7 “due to anticipated crowding that could
impactaffect the public health of residents.”On Saturday, Sept. 5, worship leader Sean Feucht released a statement on his Facebook page, saying the city announced the temporary closure to “prevent ‘anticipated crowding’ from worship rally organized by local churches.”
“The City of Seattle acknowledged that parks ‘provide critical physical and mental health supports to our community,’ and reiterated their policy guidelines for facilitating ‘first amendment gatherings”, but still chose to temporarily shut down the entire park rather than risk Christians gathering for an open-air worship service,” Feucht wrote.
Bzzzzt, wrong. The Parks Department has been limiting gatherings in parks all along. There are signs in the parks saying this, and saying that crowded parks lead to closed parks. Those signs are still in place. This is nothing special to self-admiring preacher guy, it’s public health policy and has been since March.
“Seattle Parks and Recreation does not allow unpermitted public events to take place in Seattle parks and asks the public to continue to adhere to current public health guidelines so that we can keep our parks open,” the city said in a statement.
See, if preacher guy hadn’t pulled his stunt, people could have enjoyed the park (as long as not too many of them did) that day; preacher guy took it away from them.
So, he did his super-spreader event in the street instead.
Gee, thanks, preacher guy.
Anytime someone tries to make churches follow the same rules everyone else has to follow, they scream about violation of first amendment rights. Churches have been privileged in this country for so long, but like the trans community, they interpret being told other people have rights, too, as an infringement of their rights. And they get away with it, because politicians hate being seen enforcing the law on churches. (Maybe not in Seattle…)
“Do not test the Lord your God.”
Or maybe they’ve further improved those devices that can shoot down the virus at like one hundred miles an hour.
It would not surprise me if the heavens opened and the Archangel Gabriel descended and took charge of the situation himself. Gabby would soon sort Seattle’s churches out. He would probably blow his trumpet so loud on the way down it would be heard from coast to coast and sea to shining sea.
Then, once landed, he might switch to another instrument, like say, electric guitar. Or else preach a sermon; tell them the error of their ways. Stuff like that.
What will the Branch Covidians think of next? Maybe they’ll hire the Proud Boys to form an armed perimeter for their asphalt jamborees in case somebody tries to violate their faces with masks.