Month: January 2022

Unvaccinated are holding us hostage

By Gary Bennett

This article appeared in the Frederick News Post on January 13, 2022.

So, after all this time, only 68 percent of Frederick County residents are vaccinated against Covid. It seems to not matter that Fredrick Health Hospital has over 100 Covid patients, three-quarters of which are not vaccinated, and is under such intense strain that it instituted “crisis standards of care,” which removes optimal care to patients with serious but more chronic conditions. It seems to not matter that our doctors and nurses are pleading with us to do the right thing. It seems to not matter that with serious outbreaks in nine county schools we’re probably going to have to go back to virtual learning, thereby further harming our children and throwing a wrench into the vexing parental conundrum of working or staying home and caring for their children.

Why do the unvaccinated hold the rest of us hostage like this? The efficacy of the Covid vaccine cannot be disputed by any reasonable person. There are millions of us who have been vaccinated with few or no side effects and have avoided severe disease. What more proof do they need? It’s sad but I’ll admit it’s becoming increasingly difficult to feel bad for wantonly unvaccinated people who are now dying of Covid and are begging for the vaccine. I will also call out people who are not wearing masks in public spaces. We should all do that. It’s the patriotic thing to do. It may be uncomfortable but perhaps these people will think twice next time if there is some shame involved.

We should have conquered Covid by now and relegated it to being a still dangerous but mostly seasonal nuisance like the common flu. But the selfish, inconsiderate, and yes, under-educated portion of our citizenry—the very ones who complain the loudest about wearing a simple mask and who must contend with empty store shelves and closed eateries—have prolonged this crisis with their recalcitrance.

At this point, as the virus continues to mutate, it’s hard to see how we’ll ever put it in our rear-view mirror until, as in 1918, the virus simply runs out of viable hosts to infect. That could take years and mountains of sorrow because of our fellow selfish citizens. My elderly aunt is right. If these selfish, unpatriotic people were around in her day, we’d still have smallpox, polio and countless other communicable diseases.

Response to Reader on My Proposal to Reform Office of Sheriff

Editor’s Note: This article is in response to a Frederick News Post reader who took exception to my call to reform office of sheriff. His comments can be found here: https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/letter_to_editor/no-need-for-change-with-the-sheriffs-office/article_f075f972-8934-5e5d-9df7-db067336a9f1.html

By Gary Bennett

I told you the hue and cry from the current sheriff’s backers would be loud.

I would like to ensure Rick Godfrey and those of like mind that I have no partisan stake in my proposal to scrap the sheriff’s office as lead law enforcement agency in Frederick County in favor of a county police force. This may come as a shock but I can assure him that I would feel the same if Karl Bickel were sheriff right now. (I wonder if Mr. Godfrey’s position would change if progressive Bickel were to be elected sheriff in 2022?)

Mr. Godfrey worries about progressives ending such scourges as no bail arrests and looking the other way on public urination. (Public urination, really?)  But right now, any sheriff, conservative or progressive, can publicly denounce any law he or she disagrees with and pledge not to enforce it. This happens all over the country particularly with gun laws and there is very little anyone can do about it including the governors. We should all shudder at that.

Mr. Godfrey makes the classic mistake of assigning traits to all progressives that are held by those on the fringe. Most progressives do not believe all conservatives are racists or insurrectionists, so why can’t the same benefit of the doubt be given to the other side on crime? I’ve written in this paper before that we’d be better off if we tune out the fringes on both sides and I believe that.

It’s preposterous to think that the five largest Maryland counties have high crime rates because they have county police departments. Does anyone really think that if the sheriff’s office were in charge in these five counties that crime rates would be any different? The biggest driver of crime is population density and these counties have more than their share.

I am accused of being naive in asserting that a county police department would not get bogged down in day-to-day petty politics like a sheriff often does. I would like to ask this paper’s readers when is the last time you heard the Frederick City police chief take to the airwaves to rail about something an alderperson did or about the scourge of illegal immigration? Exactly, you haven’t. There is no reason to believe the same would not hold for a county police chief. What happens behind closed doors would obviously be another matter. 

Voters of Frederick County make their political wishes known when they vote for a county executive and county council. These leaders serve the people on a myriad of issues and should have their say on public safety, too. Unfortunately, the outdated county sheriff model removes that almost completely.

It may be only a matter of time before the political nature of our current law enforcement model gets us into deep trouble. Just ask ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona who has nearly bankrupted his county with lost lawsuits due to profiling of Latinx drivers during traffic stops. We’ve started down that road already.