Overnight Editor
HuffPost
Ed Mazza reports for HuffPost:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-spring-break_n_5e72e7e3c5b63c3b648a40a6
Some young spring breakers insist the party’s on and they’re planning to keep at it despite pleas from health authorities to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“If I get corona, I get corona,” Brady Sluder, an Ohio resident on spring break in Florida, told Reuters. “At the end of the day, I’m not gonna let it stop me from partying.”
He was hardly alone.
Footage from Florida over the weekend showed packed beaches even though last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other authorities issued warnings to avoid crowds and keep in small groups as “social distancing” measures to hinder the spread of the virus.
Early reports suggested that younger people may be less susceptible to COVID-19. However, new data from the CDC showed that nearly 40% of those who required hospitalization for the infection were between the ages of 20 and 54. Even if they don’t get sick, people in this age group could pass the virus on to more vulnerable populations, especially older people.
“You have a responsibility ― a societal responsibility ― to protect the vulnerable,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CNN on Wednesday. “You do that, interestingly, by not letting yourself get infected.”
As of Wednesday, more than 9,400 Americans have been infected and 150 have died.
Interviews with some of the spring breakers showed that they didn’t seem too concerned.
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Read the complete article, along with interviews of some of the “dumbest of the dumb” at the link.
How very discouraging! And, to me, rather surprising, yet enlightening. Usually, I’m a “dissenter” when groups of “my generation” criticize the younger generations.
I deal with students on a regular basis as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law, and as a guest lecturer at colleges, universities, and seminars. Many of them are also “in touch” with me through “Courtside.” They form the core of the “New Due Process Army.”
These are the kinds of young people who spend spring break helping migrants at the border, summers in refugee camps, and internships giving “know your rights” presentations in migrant detention centers.
A number of them have volunteered to serve in “high risk locations” where most of us would fear to go, to help their fellow human beings and make the world a better place. Many of them are multilingual and also engaged in research and scholarship in human rights. I remember having interns at the Arlington Immigration Court whose lists of publications and achievements would have made many professors envious.
Indeed, one of our former interns organized an “Alternate Spring Break” at her law school consisting of lectures and panel discussions with immigration experts that I was privileged to be a part of. Another helped start an Immigration Law Group at her school and led them on a spring break trip to the Southern Border to help organizations assisting detained asylum seekers.
I also saw many young migrants who came before me in court. A number of them had made death-defying journeys to get here, had mastered English in a short time, were doing well in school, and also working jobs and helping take care of their families. Some of them even found time to engage in extracurricular activities.
Of course, I also saw a few “bad actors” who had “gone off the path” and gotten themselves into detention. But, these were certainly the minority.
Guess I’m just “out of touch” with the “clueless Spring Break crowd.” Probably just as well. What horrible role models! And, I predict that many of these selfish nincompoops will live to regret the moronic interviews and videos now posted all over the internet.
Due Process Forever. Selfish, Clueless Spring Breakers, Never!
“Clueless Spring Breakers” get this week’s coveted “Courtside Five Clown Award,” marking the first time this prestigious award has ever been given to a person or group who was NOT a member of the Trump regime!
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
PWS
03-20-207
Ignorant idiots they are. But because that is what they are, then why would society expect anything different from them? It is the “adults” fault to have allowed the ignorant idiots to spring break anywhere. The “adults” have indeed joined the group of the “Ignorant Idiots” by not restricting their selfish whims. Send the police to round them up and send them home or where ever they came from.
Obviously, part of the problem was with beach communities who kept beaches open, restaurants, bars, and motels running, and didn’t send a strong “don’t come” message. They obviously put short-term profit above the long-term good of society. These kids will potentially be able to carry the infection back to communities across the U.S. Not to mention that most will have to engage in “non-essential travel” to get there. There is a reason why colleges, universities, and other schools shut down so rapidly. Apparently, though, their curriculum didn’t include courses in basic health, common sense, and social responsibility.
But, we have a selfish sociopath and his party of deniers and toadies in charge of our Government. Even now, they seem much more concerned about the epidemic’s effect on their own re-election than on public health and the common good. So, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that so many young folks acted like their irresponsible elders. But, it’s still disappointing.
PWS