This post crossed my feed recently. As one of her constituents, I think her choice demonstrates at best she is an idiot; if not that, she is utterly inept; and at worst, she is obscenely entitled, although I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered some combination of the three.
The whataboutism and moral relativism of this tweet and the other posted below didn’t resonate for me either, nor did it dissuade me from thinking Pelosi is a hypocrite.
As a woman whose first career was in tech in the 90s, I’m well aware of the way some people assert that women have to do everything 2x better and get paid half as much. If that is true, I see it as one of the ways in which life is simply not fair… because it isn’t. Either way, I don’t lower my standards for her just because other “white men” did something else I also don’t support. It isn’t relevant to the conversation and doesn’t dissuade me from believing Pelosi is a hypocrite.
In discussing this matter with dozens of people, it occurs to me that folks who aren’t in San Francisco — Pelosi’s district — genuinely have no comprehension of what has been going on for us here which means they don’t necessarily share the perspective we have about how absurd her actions actually were.
There are 2 main points here regarding her behavior to consider, apart from her ridiculous assertion that “she was set up” — as if that should somehow excuse her breaking the rules she promotes!
No matter how much effort we expend discussing the science of the masks, the truth is, the mask vs no mask conversation has little to do with science. Even if it does work to stop the virus (which the CDC and WHO have both said it does not, only that it maybe slows it), this is a philosophical question.
And the question at hand is what reason does the government have to oppress 94% of the population?
As someone who believes in liberty over life itself, I think her fear mongering and political actions over covid aren’t about mine, yours, or anyone else’s health and I further think her actions in the salon demonstrate that. Consider the facts: This woman is 80 years old. She is statistically high risk based on all “the science” yet she didn’t opt to wear a mask. Why?
For those who are unaware, in San Francisco ordinances dictate wearing a mask when indoors unless you’re in your own pod (which in this case would not include her hairdresser). They put these rules in place, they claim, “for our own good”. While Pelosi didn’t make these rules specifically, she has been peddling the fear based narrative to corroborate the choices of our governor and mayor.
Furthermore, it was In her own district where she would know the regulations. If she didn’t know the rules, it supports the conclusion that at the least, on this issue, she is inept but either way, to encourage the population to mask up and not do it herself points to the conclusion that Pelosi is a hypocrite. Rules for thee but not for me sort of thinking only someone who misuses their power could get away with.
If this is “for our own good” how is it that an 80-year-old woman who is most definitely high risk because of her age would be choosing to not abide by the rules she has been pushing?
Either she should be following the rules in which case you can see why I think Pelosi is a hypocrite…
Or she shouldn’t need to follow the rules the rest of us need. If she shouldn’t need to follow the rules this leads me to believe either the rules themselves aren’t about protecting the old and vulnerable as they claim; she believes in discrimination for government employees where they get special treatment the rest of us do not; and/or she knows this virus isn’t nearly as deadly as the overreaction being foist upon us might indicate. If this pandemic were actually the threat she has been peddling it as, then she of all people should be following the so called science to minimize risk which means rigorously following the mandates they are imposing on us under the auspices of “its for your own good that we choose to tyrannize you” especially considering she is third in line for the presidency.
Whichever combination of conclusions you select, to my eyes, it supports the position that Pelosi is a hypocrite.
The second point to consider is that in San Francisco, when she went to get her haircut, salons were not allowed to open for business. In fact, for those who aren’t aware, San Francisco has been on lockdown for just about 6 months now, had placed restrictions on business before the state did, and has stifled business the entire time. We have been in the strictest lockdown of the country.
As a result, my beloved city is falling apart in front of us. About 1300 of 2600 storefront businesses have closed and we have something over 194,000 unemployed people in a city of just under 900,000 people which is 4x the number of people unemployed as compared to the Great Recession in 2008.
Those of us with the slightest bit of foresight predicted this would happen and here we are, living in the prediction now. I would have much preferred to be incorrect in my prediction, believe me, but when I said we’d be causing tens of thousands of people more problems through our actions than the virus was killing five months ago people thought I was cold and heartless. They falsely compared my position as supporting the economy over people’s lives. It was never about the economy; it was about people’s ability to take care of their Maslow 1 needs. Turns out, I actually was wrong — it’s hundreds of thousands of people who are suffering now, not merely tens of thousands as I had predicted, who face food and shelter insecurity because of the authoritarian rules foist upon us.
This is a direct result of the prohibitive policies enacted by Mayor Breed and Governor Newsom and as the representative for this district, Madam Speaker ought to be well aware of the limitations on doing business Sadly, we get to watch our city fall and crumble before our eyes as our “leadership” sits there and flaunts their power, engaging in business they promote prohibiting while they are not wearing the compelled attire the rest of us are required to wear. Even now, weeks after the haircut incident, salons are only able to do outdoor haircuts which further supports my belief Pelosi is a hypocrite.
Most service base businesses have zero path to freedom at this point (in a so called liberal progressive city — how’s that for regressive, authoritarian, and painfully ironic!) because the city has not actually created an opportunity for us to go back to work. The mandates have no end date. And many of us are, apparently, “non essential.” The disgusting nature of that discrimination is in every possible way in opposition to precisely what this country is fighting against right now.
Meanwhile, to add insult to injury, did you know gyms in the city can’t open… EXCEPT in government buildings where the government gyms are open? Please, read that again.
Worse still, not only are government gyms open now in San Francisco they’ve been open the whole time while the rest of us are not allowed to either open our businesses if we have a gym or attend a gym elsewhere.
To recap: Our economy is tanking. Unemployed people are at a high for this millennium. Government workers are allowed to workout in the gym and citizens are not. Government gyms can open and civilian gyms can’t. And Pelosi is a hypocrite supporting this unequal treatment in her own district while deflecting from her own abuse of power claiming to be set up. If this is how she treats her constituents, do you think she cares much for anyone else?