Politicizing the virus harms the community at large

Duplicity and political opportunism by prominent business leaders tears the fragile fabric of our community. It weakens the cohesiveness of a strong and vibrant and caring area like ours. We are seeing this in the efforts to discredit science and our governor, who is following science to protect us all from a virus that has no political agenda.

Those taking the opportunity to attack the career guardians of our public health under the guise of personal freedom or businesses being targeted unfairly by the directives of the governor are not heroes. They are not doing a public service. They are not advocating for the little guy. They are exploiting the fear and financial fragility of those in the food service industry, using their positions to instigate fear and distrust and division.

They are deliberately ignoring the epidemiology that guides the directives that some businesses meet the definition of essential and others do not, attempting to recast that science-based decision making as personal targeting or unfair singling out of their businesses. That is false and misleading. It is no coincidence that many of those leading the attacks against our governor and healthcare advisors were in the opposing political camp before the virus appeared.
It is cynical and duplicitous that some have used a public health crisis as a cudgel against those working to reduce the rates of infection and protect our public health against a virus that has no political affiliation. Attacking the efforts of the healthcare community while at the same time raising funds to provide barriers and tents for restaurants needing help is not altruistic, it is duplicitous and it takes advantage of this situation in a political manner.
There is no dispute that this virus has caused tremendous hardships, and businesses have been hit hard, with some likely not able to survive. There is a health side, but it seems you only hear of the effect on their businesses, which is simply a proxy for their political opposition to the governor.

This is not how community leaders help. This is how political opportunists cynically utilize human suffering for their own agendas under the cover of being victims. Passing out some cash, tents or food while at the same time working to undermine the efforts of the experts and publicly castigating every science-based move the governor makes is duplicitous.
Some of these folks have attempted to bully others into silence in the public square by insisting that those who have been fortunate to have been able to stay partially open or have other means of income have no right to be in the conversation. This is false, cynical and without merit. Public health is everyone’s business.
It’s wrong and needs to stop. Our community is not served by partisan attacks against science, which is neutral and has no agenda. We are not served by attempts to advance political preferences using a public health catastrophe through duplicitous and opportunistic ploys.
Bernie K. Digman is owner of Milagro Coffee Shop in Las Cruces.