Opinion: Is it Abuse And Torture To Continue The Shutdowns And Mandates?

As of July 29^th, 2020, the Portland media has announced that 303 people have died in Oregon from Covid-19⁽¹⁾. Out of a population of 4,301,090⁽²⁾, that is a 0.007% statewide death rate.

The majority of deaths throughout the country are from the elderly and those with underlying conditions, also known as comorbidity. We know this now and the data is easily verified by a myriad of reports.

So, if the actual risk of death is fractional, and the response should be to treat the entire situation like we’re dealing with a bad bout of an influenza virus, why is there still this ever-present reminder that we need to be afraid of dying from Covid-19, and therefore continue shutdowns and mandates with no end in sight?

Regardless of the most up to date facts and figures, government officials in Oregon continue to implement stringent mandates that have forced entire industries to shut down, many businesses to shutter permanently, and our way of life to irretrievably change.

To further cement this new reality, the State of Oregon recently came out with a Covid-19 ad campaign. Oregonians young and old have been subjected to billboards, computer ads, and TV commercials that have some very disturbing messages:

* Don’t Accidentally Kill Someone – Stay Home. Save Lives.

* Keep Portland (‘Weird’ with a slash through it) Alive

* Every County. Every Oregonian. Mask Up.

But is this all truly justified?

Is it right and proper for the government of Oregon, and the office of the Governor, to subject the population to these messages?

Perhaps we can give a pass for the initial response months ago where “out of an abundance of caution” we all acquiesced to the calls to “flatten the curve,” but it has become clear that this virus is nothing remotely close to the fears we were subjected to early on.

To continue on with the relentless pressure to believe this virus is as deadly as initially claimed despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary can only be classified as Abuse and Torture.

• Abuse: improper or excessive use; language that vilifies unjustly.
• Torture: to punish or coerce; anguish of body or mind; to twist or distort.

An anecdote to support the premise that continued mandates to wear masks is Abuse and Torture is summed up in the following:

Children across Oregon have been subjected to watching a commercial that starts with calming music and a montage of different kinds of muzzles, I mean masks, and then finishes with the words: “Don’t Accidentally Kill Someone.” The commercial ends with the official state logo of Oregon, clearly giving the impression that the message has the official stamp of approval from our State leaders.

For a child, to see a message, that tells them that they might accidentally kill someone by not wearing a mask inflicts a kind of trauma and fear that has an effect. Clearly the commercial is designed to have an effect. No one is denying that.

What then is the intended effect of ad campaigns such as the State of Oregon’s? Is it to do what it actually does, that is to produce trauma and fear on a young mind that something so simple as going outside without a mask on means they might kill someone?

We know by now that the actual death rate from contracting Covid-19 is far less than early predictions from our State, National, and International Health Authorities. We started somewhere near a possible 3 to 5% guesstimate and nationally are down to a fraction of a percent.

So if the actual true possible threat of Covid-19 is akin to a bad case of the flu, and entire countries like Holland are doing just fine without muzzle mandates, what is going on with our continued hysteria that inflicts ongoing abuse and torture upon small children? Is it possible that something else is going here?

Is there some other reason that we are being forced to continue this season of dread?

If the CDC is saying that the probability of death for a school aged child is 1 in one million, 5-10 times greater than the possibility of dying from the flu, you have to wonder what is really going on when your local, state, national and international governments all simultaneously change the entire fabric of what it means to be human, such as fear mongering children that they might kill someone by not wearing a mask.

This is Abuse and Torture as delivered by our State officials and the Free and Brave of Oregon should suffer it no longer.

This is as good a time as any to review how the Bill of Rights within the Oregon Constitution begins:

Section 1. Natural rights inherent in people. We declare that all men, when they form a social compact are equal in right: that all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness; and they have at all times a right to alter, reform, or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper.

• Portland Business Journal – July 31^st, 2020 – ‘Portland doctors share their valuable lessons learned’
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