This weekend there were several protests in different American cities against quarantines for the coronavirus pandemic. But one scene in particular in downtown Denver, the capital of Colorado, went viral on social media: a woman yelling at a man dressed as a nurse who was standing in front of the cars.
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“The land of the free … Go to China!”, The woman is heard screaming with half her body out of a van. “If you want communism go to China!” the protester continues, holding a cardboard sign in her hand that reiterates the phrase “the land of the free”, a verse from the US anthem.
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The man dressed as a male nurse standing in front of the woman’s truck remained silent. But it is heard that a passerby begins to refute the woman. “35,000 dead!”, Refutes the man, referring to the dead that until that moment the virus was claimed in the United States. This Monday there are already more than 40,000 deaths from covid-19 in the country, the highest number in the world.
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The video was shared on social networks and went viral and was played millions of times. To such an extent that the phrase “Go to China” was positioned as trending topic on Twitter this Monday morning.
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Politicized pandemic
Many users on networks noticed the symbolic image, a woman screaming against a man dressed as a health worker. This scene looks like a photo of the divisions and confrontations that the pandemic has unleashed in the US: those who bid to reopen the country and describe social distancing measures as a curtailment of freedom and those who seek to follow the guidance of health experts.
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In the protests against the quarantines that began to emerge last week, you can see red caps with the name of President Donald Trump and slogans of the style “Free Colorado” or “Make America Free Again,” a slogan that the White House coined for its proposal to open the country.
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President Trump has harangued these protesters from Twitter with capitalized messages about the liberation of the states.
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“FREE MICHIGAN, FREE MINNESOTA,” the president said in a series of tweets.
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FREE YOURSELF MICHIGAN!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
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“RELEASE VIRGINIA and save its great Second Amendment. It is under siege!” Trump said without argument, referring to the US constitutional amendment that allows the carrying of arms.
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LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
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Precisely, in other protests in Michigan, many anti-quarantine protesters were armed at the State Capitol, Calling Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer authoritarian for her orders to keep people in their homes and limited businesses to stop spreading the virus.
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Means like The Washington Post They indicate that this type of protests are being called by a group of “provocateurs” of the extreme right in favor of weapons.
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A president in times of tragedy
Trump is being criticized not only for underestimating the potential danger of the coronavirus saying – among other things – that it was “going to disappear” at a time when the US had very few cases, but for the escalation in the insults to political rivals in the midst of this health crisis. When it comes to national duels, it is expected that US presidents act as ‘Comforter-in-Chief’, ( ‘Comforter-in-Chief’, expression in English that points out the role of the commander in chief, the president, as a factor of national unity in the face of tragedies).
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The former Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren He pointed out the politicization of this health crisis by the president and said that his leadership is putting American lives at risk.
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On the other side of the American ‘rift’ are those who believe that the guidelines of public health experts must be followed and allowed to return to activities in a controlled way.
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In addition, health experts point out that a key to a reopening is the ability to test for coronavirus on a mass basis, and thus be certain of who is infected and be able to isolate them to prevent the spread.
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