Coronavirus is scary, so it’s important to take the necessary precautions when you’re out in public. People should only leave the house for essentials and wear gloves and masks when doing so. However, you still see groups hanging outside during quarantine without any protective wear on. It’s annoying how some people think they are exempt from rules, but others shouldn’t use extreme measures to teach a lesson.. There have been several cases reported about the violence that occurs when people see others not taking safety precautions.
The Washington Post reported that a Kentucky doctor, John Rademaker, was filmed attacking a group of teens who he believed weren’t abiding by social distancing rules. While walking with an unidentified woman, Rademaker noticed the group of teens by the lake. Rademaker began cursing at the teens for not practicing social distancing and the situation ended with him choking one of the teens on the ground. The teen didn’t need hospitalization, but the trauma remains. Rademaker exaggerated Rademaker exaggerated and violated social distancing protocol himself. If he really cared about safety precautions, he wouldn’t have physically touched anyone and stayed six feet away.
An early incident reported in March by The New York Post featured a 31-year-old who was hit by a car after a dispute over social distancing.
The incident occurred outside of a synagogue, the suspect believed the congregation shouldn’t meet and he told the victim, “You’re killing everybody with this virus.”
After some more back and forth, the suspect got in his car and clipped the victim. The victim was rushed to the hospital where they confirmed injuries to his knees, back, and elbows. This was an act of fear and ignorance. People shouldn’t gather in large groups, but the conversation should have ended with the two agreeing to disagree. The suspect should have gotten into his car and gone home without hitting anyone. The only person you can control is yourself, so the best thing to do in this situation is state how you feel and not return to the church until you think it’s safe.
The New York Post reported the death of Janie Marshall, an 86-year old woman who was killed after being smacked to the floor and sustaining a head injury. The 32-year-old alleged attacker said Marshall wasn’t standing six feet away from her in the Woodhull Medical Center, so she left her nearby bed to attack the elderly woman.
This is another example of risking your own health by physically touching another person. The suspect was in a hospital surrounded by hundreds of sick patients and believed her biggest threat was an 86-year-old woman awaiting treatment for bowel blockage. Panic prevents people from thinking straight sometimes
I am disappointed when I see people hanging outside when it isn’t essential, but I would never physically harm someone because they want to act like entitled brats. Stay-at-home orders and social distancing rules are in place for the police to enforce. The violence towards people violating the rules isn’t necessary. People who respond to violators with violence deserve the same ramifications as the violators. If you feel strongly about someone not obeying the rules call the police, but don’t physically take the matter into your own hands.