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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: We’ve got to suck it up and obey the rules even if it hurts

Dec 5, 2020 | 6:49 AM

I WAS STRUCK THIS WEEK by the story of Kamloops dance instructor Krista Faraday. One day, she wasn’t sure if she’d have a business left. The next, her studio was filled with kids after health officials gave the go-ahead for children’s dance classes.

She was never going to break the rules as they were interpreted for her, even though she disagreed with them. Faraday is an example of the roller coaster ride businesses have been going through. She’s also an example of the vast majority of businesses and individuals who are conscientiously following the rules and restrictions from health officials as they’re laid down.

Not everyone is doing that, though. And many who do are becoming more and more frustrated at trying to keep up as the rules are either applied inconsistently, or changed day by day. And, of course, the conspiracy theorists are busy.

We’re hopefully a long way from mass disobedience but we’ve got to guard against it. A perfect storm would include the following:

Those who want to obey the rules become frustrated with trying to keep up or with seeing others who get away with ignoring them, and throw up their hands.

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Those who flaunt the rules start to gain supporters who figure, what the hell, he (or she) is doing it, why shouldn’t I?

The diehard conspiracy theorists gain more converts.

Those who think the rules aren’t strict enough decide they’ll engage in their own protests.

Those who can’t stand being without the good times of old give into temptation, especially on special occasions.

The next special occasion is coming up Dec. 25, and it’s going to be a tough one. But first, some examples to illustrate the point.

There was the BC Student Sick Out this week in which parents kept their kids at home for a day to protest what they feel are inadequate and inconsistent COVID-19 rules in schools.

That modest bit of civil disobedience, if you can call it that, was done peacefully and respectfully but other incidents keep popping up that are much more worrisome.

There are the anti-maskers who make a point of going into stores and refusing to don masks, and there was the anti-mask protest on BC Ferries. There are anti-masking rallies like the ones in Salmon Arm, Vancouver, Penticton, Kelowna and on Vancouver Island.

And don’t forget the Kamloops bozo who hosted a poker night for a bunch of his buddies.

A church in Langley knowingly violated the ban on in-person services, receiving a hefty fine. Two other churches in Chilliwack also defied the order, one pastor insisting Christians are ordered by God to attend services in person.

In Ontario, a restaurant owner was arrested after he refused to close. Supporters gathered with protest signs outside the restaurant, verbally abusing police and reporters. One of the protesters was arrested on a laundry list of charges.

In California, a county sheriff has refused to enforce the state’s COVID restrictions. Health officers have had their lives threatened (that’s even happened here); some have left office.

Loss of compliance with the rules society sets for itself is called anarchy. For good reason, anarchy is a nasty word nowadays but it has a long history as a philosophy of government or, more accurately, non-government. At its root, anarchy espouses a society that operates according to individual conscience rather than authority.

Opponents of COVID-19 rules believe they are people of principle, who choose what they call “freedom” over the threat to life. They regard the pandemic as presenting a choice between two disasters. Even if they believe the virus exists, they think government is somehow using it to control us.

Those who refuse to wear masks or otherwise abide by the directions of the authorities insist they act on conscience, like the original anarchists. It’s a rationale for disorder.

Self-righteousness beckons and Christmas is coming. How many will heed the urgings not to gather at this, the time of year that, for so many, is more about families than any other? How many who normally celebrate with loved ones will stay home and tell friends and family to do the same? We’ve got to suck it up and resist ignoring the rules as they’re being set down — those rules, and this pandemic, are temporary and we must ride it out.

Our leaders are in a tough spot. Every decision must be right, and done at the right time. That, of course, is impossible. They must try to balance what science tells them with the reality of human frailties. That, too, is impossible to get right all the time. Even Dr. Bonnie Henry, in her own way, sounds discouraged at times.

I think this striving for balance explains why those in charge have been reluctant to crack down right from the start. There are positive signs out there (as in the number of people now wearing masks) but nobody said it was going to be easy. There will always be those who don’t listen when they hear the words “We’re in this together.”

Am I being an alarmist? I hope I have no reason to worry, just as I hope we get through Christmas with a minimum of further damage, that vaccines arrive soon, and that 2021 will be better.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.