Call me old-fashioned, call me sentimental, call me a proud American, but please, please explain to me how one’s “rights” are being restricted by keeping our citizens alive and healthy (and to minimize the economic impact of the Trump virus). A group of good citizens of Sussex County, with their handlers from upstate and elsewhere, stormed the beach over the weekend to express their displeasure with actions that very well made it possible for them to actually wake up that morning to “storm” (note to the handlers: the term “Storm” is ominously reminiscent of “Storm Troopers” of the Nazi era in Germany, which I am certain the organizers of this charade did not intend to emulate or glorify) the Rehoboth Beach.
I don’t get it. Their stunt was utterly irrelevant as the beaches were open (with nothing to do with the “Stormers”) so it’s difficult to grasp what it was they were protesting. Perhaps it was the social distancing and face mask rules. Perhaps they have an issue with healthy lives and living. Bored children who were dragged out to carry signs they probably didn’t understand were not wearing masks. Neither were most of their storming parents. Very few of the indignant were keeping the appropriate social distance. End result: welcome committee for the virus and great marketing for the companies that make ventilators.
There are only two logical conclusions: First, the Stormers and their ilk have a deep-rooted and resilient death wish - and are working their hardest to fulfil their needs of a self-extinction form of Darwinism (the term might well be an anathema to many in this crowd, but the concept of Creationism has no equivalent; there you have it). This of course not only diminishes their numbers, but also endangers those who fervently wish themselves, their children and families, friends, neighbors, elected officials and total strangers to live, be healthy, be happy, get a great tan on the beach and spend hours at Funland - and to do so, grasp fundamental public health initiatives of infection. Surely the stormers understand they are endangering non-believers of their particular dogma, or perhaps they are of the mindset that the Lord has a special place in Heaven for them and those who die for the great cause, and are just being hospitable. Beats me.
Bottom line: there are no parts of the Constitution nor are there any laws (secular or divine) that give anyone the right or obligation to knowingly endanger the lives of anyone else. This is why we have traffic laws, why we prosecute murderers, why we keep people away from toxic waste sites, why we imprison drug dealers, and why we restrict people with documented mental health issues from buying and owning automatic weapons and hence diminish their ability to massacre hundreds of innocent school children … oops, scratch the last one.
The weekend stormer stunt is both a stain on the reputation and core values of Rehoboth Beach as well as a bucket of cold water in the face for anyone who does not have a death wish and does not believe the pandemic is overhyped and/or some sort of hoax. Make no mistake, those of us non-stormers must do everything possible to act in a responsible, ethical and American manner to help diminish the ravages of the Trump virus, and to accelerate our economic recovery. We should all pray for the stormers. They will most certainly need it.
Matthew T. Hastings
Rehoboth Beach
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