The Come-Back, Day 25. The Virus and the Riots.
All is not lost for the summer, or the coming winter. At the moment, that is. Some parents have come and promised they would send their children to me because they are in need of help with the English language. Now, we just have to see how the virus goes. The most pressing problem that comes to mind is that I might have to wear a mask for five straight hours. God help me.
The final count of the dead from the virus may never really be known. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) has measured that there have been over 48,000 deaths from March to May more than at the same time last year. The Ministry of Health says over 27,000 deaths are directly atributable to Covid-19. The difference lies in that there were deaths from Covid-19 that were not counted as such. Also, people who suffered from other pathologies died as a result of the overwhelmed health service. Out of a total population of over forty-seven million, it may not seem like a lot, but they were enough deaths that almost everyone has known of someone that has died from it. Or, from a death that might have been prevented if the hospitals had had their normal numbers of patients.
Slowly, the country re-opens, but the future remains uncertain. Not much is known about how schools, for example, will open in September. Different ideas are bandied about, such as splitting classes in two, and having one half do classes online. Other problems are tourists. We're set to open borders in July, but do we exclude certain countries? How do we make sure no tourist is carrying the virus? Another thing is masks. Do we continue to wear them in public even after the state of alarm is ended?
The virus seems to have been forgotten in the United States, with the protests. Yet, almost two million people have been infected, and almost 110,000 have died. Worldwide, so far, deaths have well exceeded 300,000. With the people on the streets, I'm sure the cases will begin to go up in the next few days. Yet, those protests are so necessary.
This is the thirty-first anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. The protestors were peaceful, calling for a regime change. Yet, the powerful Chinese government decided to finish the protests in a way that would show the world that they wouldn't cower before those students. Fast forward thirty-one years, and we have not-so-peaceful protests in the United States, condemning police brutality and a racism ingrained since before the beginning of this nation. And the American government, led by the Executive Branch, would like to crack down on the protestors in a way similar to how the Chinese did three decades earlier. Possibly the only thing stopping them is the reluctance of the military brass to engage in any unlawful mission on U.S. soil, against its own citizens. That doesn't make the American president and his advisors much better than the Communist party of 1989 China.
To begin, it would be a clear sign of an undeclared civil war. There are bodies equipped to deal with riots in U.S. cities. They go from regular police, to riot police, to the National Guard. To have regular Army engaging in police tactics in the middle of national urban streets, would be the equivalent to the Chinese army cracking down on its citizens, which it has done before, does, and will do. But the difference is that the Chinese army is allowed to do so. The American army is designed to defend the country, not police it.
However, there is an Insurrection Act, which contemplates the use of the Army to help in special circumstances, and it has been used, most recently in 1992 to help quell the Los Angeles riots after the killing of Rodney King by police. But, in that case, the state of California requested it.
The Act allows the Army to be called in in certain circumstances. 1. When requested by a state to address an insurrection. 2. To address an insurrection in a state which is so big, the rule of law cannot be followed. 3. To address an insurrection, or violence, in any state, where the consitutional rights of citizens are threatened by that violence, and where the state is unable, through its own means, of stopping it.
Except for the first circumstance, the president must first issue a proclamation, calling on those leading the insurrection, to disperse. The only times in the twentieth century that the president invoked the Act by proclamation, was to protect students during desegregation in southern states. Every other time it was used, was because the state asked troops to be sent in. The last time troops were sent on U.S. soil to quell riots by proclamation, was back in 1875.
So, Trump would need to declare a proclamation, and things have not reached those heights yet. In fact, violence seems to have diminished in the last hours. The other option is, he goes above everyone's head and sends them in willy nilly. In which case, everything would be up in the air as to what happens next.
So, what's next on the list of disasters? A large earthquake? A category 5 hurricane worse than Katrina? 2020 will definitely be a year to remember.
Life continues.
The final count of the dead from the virus may never really be known. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) has measured that there have been over 48,000 deaths from March to May more than at the same time last year. The Ministry of Health says over 27,000 deaths are directly atributable to Covid-19. The difference lies in that there were deaths from Covid-19 that were not counted as such. Also, people who suffered from other pathologies died as a result of the overwhelmed health service. Out of a total population of over forty-seven million, it may not seem like a lot, but they were enough deaths that almost everyone has known of someone that has died from it. Or, from a death that might have been prevented if the hospitals had had their normal numbers of patients.
Slowly, the country re-opens, but the future remains uncertain. Not much is known about how schools, for example, will open in September. Different ideas are bandied about, such as splitting classes in two, and having one half do classes online. Other problems are tourists. We're set to open borders in July, but do we exclude certain countries? How do we make sure no tourist is carrying the virus? Another thing is masks. Do we continue to wear them in public even after the state of alarm is ended?
The virus seems to have been forgotten in the United States, with the protests. Yet, almost two million people have been infected, and almost 110,000 have died. Worldwide, so far, deaths have well exceeded 300,000. With the people on the streets, I'm sure the cases will begin to go up in the next few days. Yet, those protests are so necessary.
This is the thirty-first anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. The protestors were peaceful, calling for a regime change. Yet, the powerful Chinese government decided to finish the protests in a way that would show the world that they wouldn't cower before those students. Fast forward thirty-one years, and we have not-so-peaceful protests in the United States, condemning police brutality and a racism ingrained since before the beginning of this nation. And the American government, led by the Executive Branch, would like to crack down on the protestors in a way similar to how the Chinese did three decades earlier. Possibly the only thing stopping them is the reluctance of the military brass to engage in any unlawful mission on U.S. soil, against its own citizens. That doesn't make the American president and his advisors much better than the Communist party of 1989 China.
To begin, it would be a clear sign of an undeclared civil war. There are bodies equipped to deal with riots in U.S. cities. They go from regular police, to riot police, to the National Guard. To have regular Army engaging in police tactics in the middle of national urban streets, would be the equivalent to the Chinese army cracking down on its citizens, which it has done before, does, and will do. But the difference is that the Chinese army is allowed to do so. The American army is designed to defend the country, not police it.
However, there is an Insurrection Act, which contemplates the use of the Army to help in special circumstances, and it has been used, most recently in 1992 to help quell the Los Angeles riots after the killing of Rodney King by police. But, in that case, the state of California requested it.
The Act allows the Army to be called in in certain circumstances. 1. When requested by a state to address an insurrection. 2. To address an insurrection in a state which is so big, the rule of law cannot be followed. 3. To address an insurrection, or violence, in any state, where the consitutional rights of citizens are threatened by that violence, and where the state is unable, through its own means, of stopping it.
Except for the first circumstance, the president must first issue a proclamation, calling on those leading the insurrection, to disperse. The only times in the twentieth century that the president invoked the Act by proclamation, was to protect students during desegregation in southern states. Every other time it was used, was because the state asked troops to be sent in. The last time troops were sent on U.S. soil to quell riots by proclamation, was back in 1875.
So, Trump would need to declare a proclamation, and things have not reached those heights yet. In fact, violence seems to have diminished in the last hours. The other option is, he goes above everyone's head and sends them in willy nilly. In which case, everything would be up in the air as to what happens next.
So, what's next on the list of disasters? A large earthquake? A category 5 hurricane worse than Katrina? 2020 will definitely be a year to remember.
Life continues.
That image is rather chilling, Maria. I very much hope the situation will calm down and the protests can be peaceful. It's sad when violence begets still more violence.
ReplyDeleteYes, but change needs to come about, real change. Otherwise, I doubt the violence will stop; on either side.
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