There continues to be a lot of revisionist history applied to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a very curious example of this coming from Jerome Adams, who served as U.S. Surgeon General under former President Donald Trump.
To hear Adams tell it, the country “never” really locked down in response to the outbreak of a virus that is widely believed to have come from a Chinese lab — then again, Adams offers an interesting take on what “lockdown” means to him. In effect, he seemed to borrow a page from Bill Clinton, who infamously said, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”
Few Americans will forget the “two weeks to flatten the curve” nonsense that extended into nearly two years for many, but Adams chose this hill to die on in a seemingly random Twitter offering.
“Today’s IDK who needs to hear this: ; We will never lock down again,’ is a political campaign slogan- not a real and honest discussion about pandemic policy. We NEVER ‘locked down’ before (especially so in the places that most complain about it) so we can’t do it ‘again…,'” he tweeted.
Today’s IDK who needs to hear this:
“We will never lock down again,” is a political campaign slogan- not a real and honest discussion about pandemic policy.
We NEVER “locked down” before (especially so in the places that most complain about it) so we can’t do it “again…”
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) July 10, 2022
“If your position is, ‘with the knowledge and the tools we have gained we must do all we can to keep from closing schools,’ then I completely agree. Or perhaps ‘we can utilize those same lessons and tools to help keep businesses open- I also agree with this- so let’s discuss!” Adams continued. “Pandemic hyperbole is as rampant and deadly as Covid19. If we want to have sincere and honest conversations about policy, we’ve got to be sincere and honest ourselves. Starting w/ acknowledging we never truly locked down, yet we must do all we can to keep open in the future.”
Pandemic hyperbole is as rampant and deadly as Covid19. If we want to have sincere and honest conversations about policy, we’ve got to be sincere and honest ourselves. Starting w/
acknowledging we never truly locked down, yet we must do all we can to keep open in the future.👍🏽— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) July 10, 2022
In reality, millions of Americans were prevented from going to work or from operating their small businesses. Schools were shut down, as were many retail facilities. Beaches and skateboard parks were shuttered and in some cases, people were arrested if they dared to defy the orders. Hell, in Democrat-run states like Michigan, residents were even told to stay home for the holidays and not allow visitors or limit who they allowed to visit and for how long!
When a now-college student replied to the thread to detail his lockdown experience and what he was forced to sacrifice, Adams seemed to contradict himself somewhat while using prisons to talk about there being varying levels of lockdowns.
“I appreciate what you went through (I have 3 school-age kids who went through the same). I respectfully would suggest people like Brittany Griner, or my brother (who actually WAS in prison in 2020) would argue that there are different degrees of ‘lockdown hell,'” he tweeted.
I appreciate what you went through (I have 3 school age kids who went through the same). I respectfully would suggest people like Brittany Griner, or my brother (who actually WAS in prison in 2020) would argue that there are different degrees of “lockdown hell.”
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) July 10, 2022
Suffice it to say, the feedback was not in Adams’s favor… here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
April 15, 2020: I had to pretend to be homeless (immune from arrest) to visit an empty, fenced-off, guarded Santa Monica Beach during peak COVID lockdown hysteria. Will never see this sight again. Yet @JeromeAdamsMD denies having lockdowns? @ChristinaPushaw @DrJBhattacharya pic.twitter.com/O1Lou6pQF2
— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) July 10, 2022
“Sure, we closed everything from public transit to restaurants and banned gatherings of more than a few people — even in private homes — but we were never technically ‘locked down’ using the bullshit definition of ‘locked down’ that I’ll use to support this ridiculous assertion.”
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) July 10, 2022
they closed down AAA meetings, Jerome. https://t.co/vDSK23Ft5i
— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) July 10, 2022
We were never prevented from seeing friends or family. We were never prevented from traveling. We never had businesses closed. Schools were never closed. Parks and playgrounds were never closed. We never couldn’t sit on a bench. We were never at war with East Asia.
— Matthew Reid (@matthewcreid) July 10, 2022
I live in St. Paul. For about 8 wks in 2020 I was not allowed to leave my home after 7 p.m., for any reason (inc walking the dog). Nat’l Guard were here enforcing. There was a hotline for my neighbors to call if anyone outside my family came to my house.
What do you call that?
— Ann Bauer (@annbauerwriter) July 10, 2022
There are no one-size-fits-all solutions, especially being cast down from cushy Washington DC.
Small businesses got crushed while y’all empowered big corporations to either thrive (Walmart/Target remained open while local shops were closed) or bailed out (banks, auto companies).
— B-Rad or Don’t B At All (@TheBrad3) July 11, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.