{"id":50773,"date":"2021-01-28T11:35:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T15:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=50773"},"modified":"2021-01-29T10:20:23","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T14:20:23","slug":"its-not-about-the-economy-its-about-being-anti-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2021\/01\/its-not-about-the-economy-its-about-being-anti-science.html","title":{"rendered":"It’s not about the economy, it’s about being anti-science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

It was never<\/a> about business or the economy.<\/p>\n

\n

The Wisconsin state Legislature is poised to eliminate the only statewide mitigation effort in place against the coronavirus pandemic just as a new, more contagious strain of COVID-19 is expected to become widespread within weeks.<\/p>\n

Republicans in the\u00a0Assembly plan to take up a resolution Thursday passed this week by the state Senate<\/a> that would end Democratic\u00a0Gov. Tony Evers\u2019 latest health emergency declaration, which he issued to mandate face masks through March.\u00a0Its passage would end the requirement.<\/p>\n

The effort\u00a0is leaving health officials scratching their heads.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s because removing the mask mandate doesn\u2019t help\u00a0anyone.\u00a0<\/em>It\u2019s not like removing restrictions on inside dining, or gyms, where restrictions absolute do cut into businesses\u2019 bottom line. In this case, having a mask mandate actually\u00a0helps\u00a0<\/em>businesses, as it reduces spread of the virus with very little cost. In fact, consistent mask wearing actively helps workers and business owners feel that it is safe to remain open or work.<\/p>\n

Mask mandates are arguably\u00a0pro-<\/em>business.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy phone has been ringing\u00a0off the hook,\u201d Sheboygan County Administrator Adam Payne wrote in an email Wednesday to GOP lawmakers representing his county, including Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu of Oostburg.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this time, I don\u2019t understand\u00a0how this action will help combat the virus, help keep people safe,\u00a0or help keep our\u00a0businesses,\u00a0schools and places of\u00a0worship open,\u201d Payne wrote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In April, Republicans frequently opposed health mandates or sought their repeal\u00a0on the argument that they harmed business.\u00a0<\/em>And it\u2019s true! Banning or restricting indoor dining\u00a0does\u00a0<\/em>harm businesses! But, as public health experts were quick to point out,\u00a0so does the unchecked spread of a deadly virus.\u00a0<\/em>The solution was always to provide funding and support to ensure that businesses could meant public health requirements without going under. That, of course, was rarely\u00a0Republicans\u2019\u00a0<\/em>solution.<\/p>\n

But the central point remains: in April and beyond, Republicans have claimed that their opposition to public health measures stemmed from a desire to protect business. \u00a0The Wisconsin GOP\u2019s plan to eliminate that state\u2019s mask mandate in a rejection of the state\u2019s Democratic governor shows that it was never about business or the economy: it was about being anti-science, and about naked partisanship.<\/p>\n

As this long pandemic year has stretched out, I have increasingly felt that Republicans\u2019 response to the pandemic was governed not merely by the narcissism of the demented populist they had front and center for much of it but also by a widespread conservative disbelief in science and distrust of scientists. You can\u2019t spend years arguing that scientists are faking evidence for evolution, or that climate change is a conspiracy theory, without undermining trust in science and, by default, in public health experts.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure which is more potent: conservatives\u2019 ready-to-go distrust of science and scientists, or their knee-jerk reaction to be against anything \u201cliberals\u201d are for\u2014even if that\u2019s public health. Either way, the Wisconsin GOP\u2019s effort to remove the state mask\u2019s mandate, for no real reason, underlines the danger of this milieu.<\/p>\n

I have a <\/b>Patreon<\/b><\/a>! Please support my writing!<\/b><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m not sure which is more potent: conservatives’ ready-to-go distrust of science and scientists, or their knee-jerk reaction to be against anything “liberals” are for—even if that’s public health. Either way, the Wisconsin GOP’s effort to remove the state mask’s mandate, for no real reason, underlines the danger of this milieu.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":50776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[777],"class_list":["post-50773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-channel-politics-blue"],"yoast_head":"\nIt's not about the economy, it's about being anti-science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm not sure which is more potent: conservatives' ready-to-go distrust of science and scientists, or their knee-jerk reaction to be against anything "liberals" are for---even if that's public health. 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