A few thousand people demonstrated in Montreal on Saturday against health measures to fight COVID-19. Similar protests have also occurred elsewhere in the world.
A few days ago, in Israel, hundreds of thousands of Hasidic Jews gathered, in defiance of the directives of the Israeli authorities.
Evangelists in the United States are loud and clear that God decides who gets sick and who doesn’t. In India in February, religious festivals that brought together millions of Hindus caused the number of COVID-19 patients to jump. In the United States, Donald Trump held political rallies that made the pandemic worse, just as Narendra Modi’s rallies in India increased the pandemic.
Conversely, the wearing of the mask, the distancing and the confinement have pushed back the pandemic.
All of this is known and documented.
Why then do some persist in denying these obvious facts?
The first reason that pops into your head is that they lack judgment. And it is true that in Quebec, one of the political leaders of the demonstration, Maxime Bernier, did not invent the four-hole buttons; it’s the least we can say.
But beyond stupidity?
Invulnerable
Another possible explanation is that these people think they are invincible. For example, some 20-year-olds, at the peak of their physical abilities, have the illusion of some kind of invulnerability. It is enough to observe certain cyclists oblivious to the danger slipping through automobile traffic to understand the phenomenon.
Likewise, very religious spirits believe themselves protected by a god, or worse, imagine that if they die, it will be by divine will, a pledge of eternal life in the hereafter or of good karma.
Third possible explanation: the very rough political understanding of some people, and their association through social media encourages them to be outraged for bad causes and to mobilize against bad targets.
The recovery of these misconceptions by smart politicians like Trump or Modi is particularly abject.
Before the courts
However, if it is possible to assemble freely for all conceivable causes, this right implies a responsibility for the organizers of these gatherings. They can be held responsible for the damage their gatherings have caused. They could be prosecuted in court.
If it turns out that the pandemic is experiencing an upsurge in Montreal in the days following the demonstration on Saturday or if it is possible to demonstrate that people who participated in it were infected, if these participants or their loved ones fall seriously ill or dying, the organizers of these gatherings should bear the responsibility.
Likewise, political or religious leaders who incite their flock to adopt behaviors that risk spreading death should be held legally responsible for the direct and indirect deaths they cause.