From one who feels that COVID could have been overcome long ago with a solid clamp down on travel in and out of the province, tighter and extended restrictions on gatherings, lockdowns on non- essential business, and the population taking this seriously.
Instead, many are using a tragedy as an excuse to express their disappointment in government and complain that their civil rights are being violated for no reason. Wake up and smell the roses people. You flaunt your defiance, advertise publicly that COVID is nothing but a government conspiracy, while we watch our hospitals overworked and overpopulated and our friends and loved ones either terribly sick or dying much too soon from this virus. Your ignorance and refusal to help squash this virus is endangering everyone.
Your brain is suspended in a dark smelly place while we watch our numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths increase daily. Or do you feel officials are lying to us about that as well?
Any restrictions that are implemented only adds to the restrictions that you openly ignore. Point in case is the regular weekend gathering at the corner of 49 Ave. and 19 St. (Delburne Road). I see the crowd of un-masked nay-sayers gathered there, signs promoting fraudulent claims of conspiracy, prompting others to break the law.
I ask myself why you are allowed to break the law?
Does this happen with obvious violent crimes or drunk driving infractions. Why not? Your actions are likely injuring and/or even killing as many or more people, all in the name of protecting your civil rights. Of course with the courts throwing most COVID related charges that are ticketed to the rule breakers, who can expect you to even care if there was any noticeable level of enforcement, which unfortunately there is not.
As much as I would advocate for police and bylaw to make their attempt to take part in beating COVID with active enforcement of rule breakers, I would also plead with the Crown and judges to refrain from withdrawing these charges. This only wastes law enforcement time and money and benefits no one.
There. I have expressed my viewpoint and would plead that everyone give following the rules a chance and putting this catastrophe behind us before we end up with a lifetime of grief, sickness and deaths.
Eric Sanford, Red Deer County