Are lockdowns justified?

[Rev. Rye]

Um, what exactly are “Freedom Rallies” and who was charged? And have they exhibited the same sort of relative restraint that the vast majority of BLM protests have, even in the behavioral sink that is the USA? Were they protesting for something that they’ve been trying to get for centuries and still haven’t gotten or are they just trying to beat up the public health of Canada for its milk money and hoping they don’t get sick in the process? And are they at least likely to follow the same protocols that they asked the BLM protesters to follow or (as I’m starting to suspect) are their goals diametrically opposed to such things?

Doesn't matter what they are against and if they are as pure in their goals as BLM is to you. They should be allowed to assemble and protest. They are anti-lockdown and anti-maskers. You give up the moral high ground when you try to prevent these people from assembling to protest outdoors though. You don't prove the people protesting that the government is taking away people's rights wrong by taking away their rights. Duh. Corona is much harder to spread outdoors as well. And even if some people did get Corona at some of those rallies, I highly value the right to assemble and would be willing to accept that.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/fr...-1.5816160

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/st...-1.5817816

https://dailyhive.com/toronto/toronto-an...ly-charged

If they’re anti-mask and anti-lockdown, odds are, they’re just demanding the government do something that’s going to happen in a few months anyway with or without them. And not only that, but making the problems with COVID even worse in the interim. 

Are you familiar with Karl Popper’s Paradox of Tolerance? This is basically that as it applies not just to the health of a democracy, but the actual public health. Even if the rallies are held outdoors, they’re basically arguing that it’s important that the virus be made easier to spread.

If they’re still doing this when public health officials are saying that it looks like the pandemic is finally past, that COVID is no longer a threat, then these arguments would be justified, but they’re not, so they’re not.