“Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) has issued an executive order prohibiting public colleges and universities in the state from requiring unvaccinated students to be routinely tested for COVID-19 or wear masks,” The Hill reported on Tuesday, June 15, 2021 (read story here).
This isn’t surprising. Throughout the pandemic, most Republican elected officials have acted like they either think Covid-19 is a hoax (it isn’t; it has killed over 600,000 Americans), or harbor a burning desire to infect all of us. (A Texas official, GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, argued early in the pandemic that senior citizens “should be willing” to sacrifice their lives to keep businesses open; revisit that appalling story here.)
“Public education is a public right, and taxpayers are paying for it. We need to make our public universities available for students to return to learning. They have already missed out on too much learning. From K-12 to higher education, Arizona is supporting in-person learning,” he added, which is consistent with the GOP’s position all along that nothing should have been closed in the first place, the hell with saving lives, but this isn’t about restoring in-person learning; it merely makes in-person learning, which is being restored anyway, less safe.
Frankly, I don’t believe Ducey cares about in-person, or any other kind of, learning; Republicans are famous for embracing conspiracy theories, attacking science and experts, and glorifying ignorance. From all appearances, they only care about business profits, and put that above everything else, including your life.
I’m not suggesting vaccinations be made mandatory, although the Supreme Court ruled over a century ago the government can do that. Trying to make anti-maskers wear masks seems like tilting at windmills. Do like my neighborhood grocery store, just don’t let them in the door; that’s all that’s required to keep the employees and other customers safe (except it doesn’t work against sociopaths with guns).
As for Arizona, my suggestion is don’t go to college there, live there, or visit there, until they get a new governor.
Photo: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey