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As of two days ago there had only been a total of 22 Covid cases in rural Union County, Oregon (pop 26,000). They were doing great it seemed. Then on Monday it was announced that 99 people had tested positive, & then an additional 119 were diagnosed today. https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2020/06/coronavirus-outbreak-linked-to-eastern-oregon-church-surpasses-200-cases.html
Almost all of these new cases appear to derive from one church which held services a few weeks ago, even though they were technically not allowed to do so according to the guidelines established by Gov. Kate Brown.
The folks in Union County hate Gov. Brown because they think she's a tyrant for not letting them gather in their churches for public health reasons. I'm fairly sure they still think she's a tyrant who hates them because she didn't want them to get, you know, sick and die.
How many communities where people have been told by their leaders that the virus is a hoax or "just the flu" will we see outbreaks like this. This could have been avoided if church services had not been held, and would have been far less widespread if folks had taken precautions.
I feel terrible for the people of Union County, and as someone who grew up in a place like that (and there but for the grace of God go I), I reserve most of my anger for the community leaders who thought it was more important to own the libs than follow public health advice.
The leaders of this community (and many like it across the country) have built themselves up by feeding the alienation of their constituency and basically seceding from the process of governance in a complex, modern, interconnected world.
Their self-serving irresponsibility is at fault here, along with the GOP media empire that feeds off the self-defeating cynicism and resentment of the people who live in such places. Fox could choose to tell a different, truer story, but they don't. Because resentment sells.
If you're a progressive and your take away from this is to feel like these folks deserve it, or if you're inclined to make fun of rural people or people of faith, then you can just leave me out of that.
I want the people in Union County to have access to good medical care. I want them to have leaders who aren't con artists. I want them, like all of my fellow Americans, to live lives of dignity and self-determination. I have no interest in "owning" the conservatives of Union Co.
Here's a report from just 4 days ago, where a local journalist sat in on a meeting of Union County "leaders" where they plotted how they would resist public health guidance from the state. https://www.opb.org/news/article/rural-oregon-leaders-mull-covid-19-restrictions-revolt/
