Israeli COVID Behavior Somehow Not Militating Against Nanny State

“Essentially, people are morons.”

Jerusalem, December 28 – Opponents of intrusive, controlling measures on public and some private behavior to prevent the spread of a deadly pathogen have faced an uphill battle in their campaign to convince government figures not to impose draconian restrictions that undermine civil liberties, activists acknowledged today, given that the way Israelis of all stripe have acted during the pandemic leaves little room to argue that individuals can in any way be trusted to act with any shred of responsibility.

Libertarians and advocates of broad personal freedom conceded in interviews this week that trends in Israeli behavior make it nigh-impossible to present a compelling case against mask mandates, school closures, curtailed movement, business closures, and other lockdown-related measures aimed at curbing the SARS-CoV-2 virus that has killed thousands of Israelis and sickened tens of thousands. The activists and thinkers touting the supremacy of certain basic freedoms observed that the rampant, criminally negligent non-adherence to some of the most basic epidemiological mitigation behaviors has undermined every claim that the activists an muster in favor of a more relaxed response to the crisis that would exert a less traumatic impact on the economy.

“Essentially, people are morons,” summarized Roi Zohar, a conservative commentator and Twitter personality. “All the talk of pointing to Sweden as having embraced a more open model, of public mask and distancing mandates not making a statistically significant difference, falls into ineffectiveness when Israelis seem to have a compulsion to gather in large numbers for extended periods and breathe one another’s air.”

“It can be an anti-Bibi demonstration, a Hasidic tisch, a Muslim wedding celebration – stupidity seems more contagious than COVID,” lamented restaurateur Lior ben-Zikri. “I’d like nothing more than to trust my customers to behave responsibly so they can enable one another to enjoy eating out, and help my business prosper and my employees earn a living. But You know what? I’m no longer convinced that’s anything resembling a good idea. Have you seen the carelessness and nonchalance with which people treat the situation? Hello, there might be a vaccine, but that doesn’t mean things can’t get much worse before they start getting better. When this is all over I’m not sure I even want these people’s business. Who know where’s it’s been?”

A casual survey of passersby revealed widespread belief in the effectiveness of masks worn on the hand, hanging from one ear, or covering the mouth but not the nose.

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