There is no middle ground with Covid
With the Delta variant raging across the state and school systems in every direction hurriedly moving to mask mandates for students before school begins, the Haywood County Board of Education called an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon … to do nothing. Unless creating the illusion of having done something counts.
Here’s what they did in this “urgent” meeting. They discussed the seriousness of the virus and the increase in numbers of COVID-19 cases in Haywood County among school-age children from last year to this year. Then they voted unanimously to recommend that Haywood County students wear a mask at school, but leaving it as an option and hoping that parents would be “responsible” in making the right decision for their children.
What is abundantly, painfully obvious is that a depressingly high number of parents in Haywood County (and around the country) have already made it clear that not only are their children not vaccinated — only four percent of Haywood County teenagers, according to Public Health Director Sarah Henderson — but under no circumstances will they be wearing a mask at school. “Recommending” an option that you already know a significant percentage of the population fiercely opposes is simply posturing. It will be given no consideration whatsoever and will, if anything, be an occasion for scorn and derision from all sides.
In effect, the board has managed to anger both groups in what amounts to a colossal failure of nerve, an empty exercise. Parents who favor a mask mandate are frustrated because Haywood County is now one of the only school systems in the area that is not requiring students to wear masks, putting students at a much higher risk with the virus surging and area hospitals overflowing with COVID-19 patients.
Parents who are opposed are not going to be happy that the board is, at least as a gesture, validating the seriousness of a public health crisis they perceive as a hoax and recommending masks, which they perceive as an attempt to “control them.” Instead of seeing the vaccine, masks and social distancing as a multi-faceted effort to keep people safe and bring the pandemic under control, they perceive any attempt at safety measures to be a violation of their freedoms to do whatever they want, regardless of the consequences to other people, including their fellow citizens, neighbors or even family members.
It has taken me a good while to come around to this conclusion, but it has become evident that while there are two “groups” in this country, there are not two sides. Let’s not pretend that this opposition to the vaccine and to wearing masks is anything other than a malignant outgrowth of Trumpism, for lack of a better term, which is itself the consequence of years of manipulation by right-wing media. There is not one source they trust that is not part of the right-wing media propaganda machine. A Venn diagram of people who oppose the vaccine and masks and those who believe the election was stolen from Trump is a perfect circle.
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If this were an argument over two opposing political philosophies or the proper role of government in American life, then you could make the case for two sides. But it isn’t. It is an argument over the existence of objective reality — Biden won the election, COVID-19 is a real virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, hospitals are currently filled with people sick with the delta variant, etc. — or the absolute belief in and commitment to countless conspiracy theories and a rogue’s gallery of nutcases or charlatans with a YouTube account.
That so many of our friends, neighbors and family members have fallen under the sway of the latter is monumentally depressing and alarming, but I will tell you this much: after four years of arguing about it, I’ve given up. I’d no more argue over whether the vaccine and masks help slow the spread of the virus or whether Biden won the election or whether what happened on Jan. 6 was an insurrection than I would argue whether there is such a place as Italy, or if rain is wet, or if books contain words.
There may be room for compromise between two competing political philosophies or an opportunity for thoughtful, rational discussion, but there can be no compromise between reality and utter nonsense, no rational discussion with people who are willing to believe anything that comes across the rails on the crazy train.
The Haywood County School Board’s vote to remain mask-optional amounts to an effort to find middle ground where none exists. It was an appalling act of cowardice that has literally put the health of our children at risk and the school year in jeopardy. Yes, everyone has a right to an opinion and a right to be heard, but leaders have the responsibility to evaluate these opinions rationally and make judgments based on actual science and the guidance of the leading experts in the field. In this instance, the board has failed miserably to meet that responsibility.
(Chris Cox is a writer and teacher who lives in Haywood County. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
