Throughout the “back the blue” craze of the Trump era, one thing became abundantly clear that largely quelled it — police follow orders.
That includes orders that are patently absurd and violate the basic freedoms of individuals. Yes, law enforcement officers generally do good work and are to be respected for that, but if you are expecting them to stand up to their authorities to protect the rights of individuals, they are almost always going to disappoint you. Take that revelation and do with it what you will.
Another example of that has emerged within the Capitol of the United States. Nancy Pelosi has ordered the Capitol Police to arrest people who aren’t wearing masks.
If the USCP weren’t such a ridiculously politicized department, they’d scoff at the notion of using manpower to arrest people for not wearing masks, especially when the edict is coming from a purely political place. There is no science behind the idea of further mask-mandates anywhere. That’s especially true regarding the Capitol Building, where almost every person in attendance is vaccinated and has lasting protection from the effects of COVID. Pelosi put this mask-mandate back into place for one reason — to poke at Republicans. No data exists to actually supports the mandating of masks, much less in the Capitol.
Even still, that doesn’t excuse the USCP from going along with this and allowing themselves to be used as political pawns. But remember, they are the good guys, I’ve been assured of it.
Past that, where’s Mitch McConnell? He is the GOP leader in a 50-50 Senate last I checked. Does he have nothing to say about this absurdity being forced on his members? At least Kevin McCarthy came out on the House side and called this idiocy what it is. Every Republican should choose not to comply with Pelosi’s edict, though, I’m sure we’ll be seeing Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski re-donning their masks. No battle is worth engaging in for a certain segment of the GOP. Well, except working out “bipartisan” deals with Joe Biden, of course.
As an aside, I’ll note that Pelosi is giving this order while at the same time, her defenders are claiming she doesn’t have control over the USCP and therefore is not responsible for the security breakdown on January 6th. That’s all very convenient, right? She can order them around when it suits her but don’t dare look at her when there’s a failure.
Regardless, law enforcement being involved in something like arresting people over masks is insidious. It’s a complete overstepping of the authority that Americans have presumed to give them. It should be condemned, and simply “following orders” is not an excuse.