JUST Talk

Commentaries on Local Justice by Bill Martin

Tag: denialism

Who’s Exempt from Social Distancing?

April 13, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Social Distancing?

They do it at the Pentagon

Social distancing at the Pentagon

President Macron does it in Paris

Chancellor Merkel does it in Berlin

President Ramaphosa does it in Johannesburg

Prime Minister Conte does it in Rome

But in Washington, not so much:

And locally? Officials preach it, but practice it not so much.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar certainly, repeatedly, appropriately stresses that “if there’s one thing people in Broome County can do is strictly follow social distancing, staying home.” Still, “there is a small percentage of people that refuse to follow the social distancing and just a small percentage of people are going to really make the whole community sick.”

It is puzzling therefore that WNBF produced this photograph as part of its report on Garnar’s press conference last Friday. Here is social distancing as practiced by Garnar, Director of the Health Department Rebecca Kaufman, and Emergency Services Director Michael Ponticiello:

They are not alone. On the previous Friday Garnar was emphatic. We will punish those who don’t follow county COVID-19 orders: “The Sheriff’s office and Broome Security are going to be stepping up their enforcement of emergency orders. No unnecessary travel. You can’t be on playgrounds, athletic fields. There are no gatherings allowed of any size.”

Perhaps Garnar should talk to his Sheriff, who has for weeks been training new recruits without distancing them or giving them any protective equipment, often on public playing fields:

Garnar did announce that he is cancelling the Small Grants Program to save $150,000 to buy protective equipment–perhaps for training recruits? What was cut? Well, the grant gave the grand total of $50k a year ago for health and opioid crisis programming to The Boys and Girls Club, BOCES-Compass Academy High School, Southern Tier Aids Program (STAP) and Truth Pharm. 

Perhaps the county might downsize the jail, expanded in 2014 and still staffed for 600, and now holding less than 300 county residents, and costing the county $30 million per year? And yes the staffing has grown steadily, and budget increased by $millions under Garnar.  Or might the county cut out the new $700,000 garage for the Sheriff’s toys, including his armored personnel carrier? You know, the one used to suppress Black rebellions in South Africa?

Denialism: Infecting First Responders

April 6, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Broome County Sheriff David Harder repeatedly tells the media there is no safer place to be than in his jail.  How safe? Flouting COVID-19 state regulations, he puts his own officers and recruits in deadly danger.

We now hear directly from inside that at least two officers have tested positive for COVID-19. At least 9 persons have been pulled from their general population cells, ill and coughing, and been sent to “medical.”  And this from only one of many pods.

No county official will confirm or deny these reports.  How many persons, staff and incarcerated, have been tested, tested positive, and put in quarantine inside the jail itself? We don’t know. The Sheriff, the County Executive, and the Director of the County Health Department refuse to tell us.  Other counties, cities, the state, and the federal government provide answers to these questions, but not local officials.

Denialism has its costs: you don’t protect persons inside, the virus incubates in crowded cells and dormitories and then spreads out into the community as scores of people move in and out of the jail daily, to and from work, to and from court, and through daily releases.  Indeed one of the infected COs was reportedly a transport officer.

Denialism puts everyone in danger.  Our schools, universities, and playgrounds have been shut down; we must all wash our hands, sanitize, keep our social distance.  If you don’t believe the virus is a threat, you don’t do these things.  And so our Sheriff in the last two weeks continues to train future officers from across the region in closed rank files, with no protection equipment, on the jail grounds, on public playgrounds nearby.  Clusters of persons continue to hang out in his parking lot. Here is the evidence in living color:

The rules don’t apply to the Sheriff.  He gets a waiver to putting his people in danger.

This is denied of course. Listen to Broome County Executive Jason Garner at this past Friday’s press conference (April 3, 2020), held in the Sheriff’s building itself:

The Sheriff’s office and Broome Security are going to be stepping up their enforcement of emergency orders… You can’t be on playgrounds, athletic fields. There are no gatherings allowed of any size. These are state emergency orders. They are going to be enforced… We will do anything we can to enforce them. Anything.  Because it is a matter of saving lives.”

Indeed: it is a matter of saving lives, and local denialists are putting us all in danger.

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