Some are questioning the guidelines that were put in place during the pandemic after social distancing rules were broken during the mass protests that followed the death of George Floyd.
“I’ve always been pretty skeptical of the stay-at-home order,” Rose Laoutaris, a student at American University, told the Washington Examiner. However, she still obeyed the order and only went out when she had to. After the protests, she stopped taking the social distancing guidelines as seriously since it seemed like others stopped social distancing.
“It has definitely affected my feelings on it,” said Michael Avona, a salesman from Maryland. Before the demonstrations, Avona had strict guidelines at his work, didn’t allow his children to go anywhere, and did not visit his parents for fear of getting them sick.
Social distancing guidelines have been in place since March around the country due to the coronavirus outbreak. Although some states are opening back up, most are encouraging masks and limiting how many people can be in a building at a time.
Social distancing is just as necessary now as it was before, said Jacob Viviano, a student at the University of Michigan, but the encouragement of protests while keeping businesses closed will lessen support for the restrictions. “I think the double standard will likely lead to less adherence to the social distancing guidelines,” Viviano told the Washington Examiner.
Other discussions about how to prevent crowding places seem irrelevant after the protests, he said. “The argument over mail-in ballots for the primaries and general election makes even less sense now,” said Avona. “They’re both constitutional rights [protesting and voting], but we were told one was too risky, but the other is worth the risk. I feel like the goalposts are always moving.”
As the weeks go by, people are starting to get less concerned about the coronavirus. The week of June 12th, an ABC News/Ipsos poll found that only 69% of people were worried about getting the coronavirus or someone they know getting it. That was a 9-point drop from just a week earlier. The poll also found that over half of the public is willing to do normal activities such as going to a mall.
“After the protests, my state ended their stay-at-home order, so my family and I drove to New York to go to a restaurant that had opened, and I made plans to hang out with some friends,” Laoutaris said.
Not all agree that the protests affected people’s views on social distancing. “I think many people think that the guidelines and supporting black people are both incredibly important, so they have to decide how to best support their community, whether it be by social distancing or protesting,” said Maya Siegel, founder of Space to Speak, which works toward reducing sexual violence. The social distancing guidelines are essential, and the protests won’t affect how people feel about them, Siegel said.
However, some people have lost faith in their public officials after they encouraged people to gather to protest after telling the public to stay inside for months.
“Many Americans could lose faith in elected officials/public health groups who are subjectively deciding what causes are worthy of violating the guidelines,” said Viviano.
Governors and public officials who preached social distancing and the dangers of the coronavirus for months encouraged or participated in the protests against police brutality that broke out around the country after Floyd’s death.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy participated in a protest while he kept his state under a stay-at-home order and still had businesses closed. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf admitted that going to a protest after declaring social distancing a top priority was “inconsistent.”
“I did lose trust in my governor and other public officials when they praised the protests but still do not allow most businesses to open,” said Laoutaris. Fighting against racism and police brutality is important, but if people gather thousands to protest, businesses should be allowed to be open, she said.
“I’m frustrated that the protesters put themselves and others at risk when we’re all trying so hard [to social distance],” said James Smith from Pennsylvania, whose name has been changed for his privacy. Smith said that the protests were justified, but it was “jarring” that “governors are encouraging any kind of large public gathering when we were just told to stay home for months to protect ourselves.”
