Tom Nichols, obviously safely broadcasting from his home, weighed in on stay-at-home protesters on PBS’s “Amanpour and Company,” saying they, unlike mature people, have a childlike understanding of what freedom means in a democracy. Apparently they’re not protesting because they’ve been out of work for two months with no end in sight and they don’t live in coronavirus hotspots but are still locked down in their homes. They’re just doing things that are bad for themselves just because they can.
“This is freedom in the way children understand freedom.” @RadioFreeTom @hari pic.twitter.com/1FIW0v1THG
— Amanpour and Company (@AmanpourCoPBS) May 15, 2020
Of course, to an expert like Nichols, people protesting to reopen their small businesses or take a walk on the beach seem like ignorant children.
People who are struggling to feed their families love pontifications by condescending elitists with regular paychecks. Really ensures a red election again this fall.
— Kang & Kodos 2020 (@kang_kodos2020) May 16, 2020
Disagree. People need to work to provide for their family. The best example of personal responsibility. This guy is way off and just another form of projecting. Sad people fall for this.
— Dubyafool (@dubyafool) May 16, 2020
Tom has it exactly backwards. Tom has a childish, cowardly, tyrannical understanding of "freedom"—that people are free UNLESS TOM IS SCARED, in which case everyone loses all their freedom!
Our founders fought the Revolution during a pandemic! They didn't HIDE in Tom's basement!
— American Elephant™ (@TheElephantsKid) May 16, 2020
And the truth of the matter is that there MIGHT never be a vaccine! No matter how long we hide.
Meanwhile Tom remains rich and spoiled in his Ivory tower while peasants ARE working, to grow Tom's food, manufacture the things Tom needs, protect the peace for TOM.
Grow up Tom!
— American Elephant™ (@TheElephantsKid) May 16, 2020
As a free man, I get to understand liberty any way I please.
— Joe Pilot, MD (@JoeSilverman7) May 16, 2020
People wanting their private businesses running to feed their families and their employees families is not child like. It's American. Risking a 1-3% chance of dying is worth it to a lot of people who can't sit in their house and get paid. Nobody is forcing anyone outside.
— Jeffrey James (@Jasta1985) May 16, 2020
Antibody testing shows the risk is at most 1%. With early drug intervention (HCQ+Zinc) and not sending Typhoid Mary into rest homes, probably 0.5% or less.
— Maria Romanetti (@WriterRomana) May 16, 2020
That’s another thing people working from home don’t seem to understand: The entire nation is being treated as if it had New York City’s COVID-19 numbers.
*This condescending conversation brought to you by people still getting paid a salary…
— sabrecav (@sabrecav) May 16, 2020
I thought it was childish to expect to live life with zero risks. hmmm… I guess if Big Brother is taking care of me, I don't risk having to worry about risk.
— JusticeHasNoQualifier (@CulDeSacHero) May 16, 2020
Right. These people seem to want us locked down and/or in fear for the rest of time, until we are guaranteed safety and health. We never had that guarantee and never will.
— Kristi Brown (@KristiReneBrown) May 16, 2020
Spoken like a true Democrat who believes he’s our parent and knows what’s best for us.
— The American Media Runs Canada (@infinitehotdog) May 16, 2020
No, Tom, our leaders are fallible and we are not bound to self-destruct at their flawed whims.
— Zombie Claude Rains (@ZombieClaudeR) May 16, 2020
Here's why Tom is an idiot:
His entire point revolves around him being right. The entire orbit is, "at the core of this, my calculus on what's right and best for everyone is true" therefore, when someone protests him pushing his idea and saying, "I'm removing your right…
— The Communist Party Is Responsible For This (@newbury_eric) May 16, 2020
…to disagree" he simply is unable to grasp the concept that they're just not simply agreeing with him but throwing caution to the wind, but disagree with the fundamental principle of what that caution means, or who's allowed to force everyone in line with it.
— The Communist Party Is Responsible For This (@newbury_eric) May 16, 2020
Nobody is saying “I’m going to do things because I can, even if they are bad for me” This is a straw man argument. We are in disagreement about what is “bad for us”
I’m going to do things because I don’t buy the bullshit that it’s bad for me/us.
— Dan Larson (@DanielPLarson) May 16, 2020
Yep just obey the state, works so well for China.
— random thoughts (@musings_n) May 16, 2020
So like he doesn’t understand most things, he doesn’t understand freedom, or nihilism, or democracy. Or the protestors.
— Pudge (@pudgenet) May 16, 2020
He’s just wrong. He might have a point with who refused to conform to any of this from the start but we’ve had nearly 99% compliance for 2 months. You can blame our libertine culture but there was an expiration date on this lockdown whether he liked it or not.
— Drew Kalocai (@DrewKalocai) May 16, 2020
You’re expecting a community response when you’ve taken away the community. You’ve made the “community” the entire nation instead of the local people who care for one another when given the opportunity. You can’t expect a community response through an iron fist of tyranny!
— Secluded Life (NotRealLife) (@NotRealLife1) May 16, 2020
It’s childlike to want to open your business, employ workers and serve customers so all can feed their kids. You guys are so tone deaf.
— Byron (@ByronFackenthal) May 16, 2020
Adults take action after calculating the risks. If your children are going to go without food and you're going to lose your home or business, you assess the risk and make a decision. The adults are going back to work.
— Essential Angie ? (@evangie) May 16, 2020
This is life. Life has risk. Suck it up.
— Real Life Conspiracy Bot (@Eternal_Boar) May 16, 2020
This is not meant to refute the protesters in any proper way. This is meant to change the perception of them. To feed the other side confirmation and somehow make them feel superior for their cowardice.
— AnonSidious (@AnonSidious) May 16, 2020
— vinne (@vinne88755581) May 16, 2020
Freedom applies to everyone, even Tom Nichols, who doesn't know what to do with it and doesn't deserve it.
— Mike Mason (@mmasonesq) May 16, 2020
Why can’t everyone just stay inside until there’s a vaccine, even if it takes years to develop? Just stay locked down and scared until you’re told otherwise.
Related:
Guided by facts and science, Michigan Gov. Whitmer says backlash may necessitate extending lockdown (then admits ‘no proof’ protests have spread coronavirus) https://t.co/oJWWBR5caI
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 14, 2020
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