STREET SMART: Let's have a discussion

Two topics from last week’s Ledger prompted this week’s discussion.

Ed Moreth wrote a letter to the editor regarding the Ledger’s exclusion from covering the Foundation for Wildlife Management event on July 24, 2021. Mr. Moreth argued that The Ledger should have been allowed to cover the event and I agree with him, but only to a point. I believe that to understand the decision, we have to look at why the organization felt compelled to bar media coverage in the first place. A July Gallup poll revealed that, “Only 21% of respondents said they had a ‘great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence in newspapers, while only 16% of respondents reported the same of television news. Only Congress fared worse, garnering just 12%.” Clearly, overall trust in the media is low.

I understand the Foundation for Wildlife Management’s distrust. Wolf trapping is a very controversial topic and fair reporting is not what they’ve come to expect from liberal media. I’ve had my own personal issues with the press, and I’ve written about that experience. However, that was a large media outlet in the Los Angeles area, and I learned my lesson. I’ve also learned that comparing large media to our local news is entirely unfair.

I’ve been writing this opinion column now for approximately two years. Never once in that time has the editor/owner tried to influence my writing. On the contrary, with the exception of some minor editing (and sometimes cleaning up my language!), what I write is printed as submitted. The content is never changed. I consider the owner/editor to be a good friend with absolutely unquestionable integrity. I know that she sometimes disagrees with the opinions I express, yet, she willingly prints it anyway. I wouldn’t have continued to do this for two years if I didn’t trust the Ledger’s owner and staff. Moving forward, I think others can too.

Jim Elliott’s opinion column regarding the COVID vaccine and his reference to Typhoid Mary was quite interesting to me. I wasn’t really familiar with the history of Mary Mallon (Typhoid Mary) and Typhoid fever, so I did some research.

If I understand Mr. Elliott’s position correctly, it was that Typhoid Mary was irresponsible and caused a spread of Typhoid fever that could have been avoided if she had acted differently. He was comparing her actions in the early 1900’s to the actions of people who choose not to get vaccinated in 2021. Based on my reading, I think he missed a few points in his discussion.

First, although there was a vaccine available to combat Typhoid fever in the early 1900’s, it’s availability was, unlike the COVID vaccine in 2021, quite limited. Today, anyone choosing to get vaccinated for COVID can do so very easily. That wasn’t the case in 1900. My question then would be, “If people in the early 1900’s could have been easily vaccinated, would they have been in danger of the disease because of exposure to Typhoid Mary?” I guess we can’t really know for sure. However, if we apply what we know today about disease and vaccines, then travel back in time, the answer would be no.

Secondly, comparing what we know about personal hygiene and the spread of disease in 2021 to what was accepted practice in early 1900 is pointless. My research showed that the general public didn’t really understand ‘germ theory’ at the time. Hand washing and bathing practices were quite different then. We now know so much more! We’ll never know how that knowledge might have impacted the spread of Typhoid in early 1900. That said though, common sense tells us that general knowledge regarding personal hygiene would have made a difference. I think if Mary knew then what we know now, her habits in terms of hygiene would have been different.

With respect, although I understand the point he was trying to make, I don’t share Mr. Elliott’s opinion regarding those who have chosen not to get the COVID vaccine. I don’t think they’re irresponsible. I still believe it to be a personal choice. I got the shot and think it was the right decision (for the record, I never did feel sick or sore after the jab). That’s just me. I feel like I made an informed choice and I’m comfortable with that. While I think getting the shot is a good decision, others don’t feel as I do about the vaccine and I’m comfortable with that as well. I don’t agree that a person who declines the vaccine is a danger to me or any other vaccinated person. All of the research I’ve read indicates that unvaccinated individuals are risking their own safety and the safety of other unvaccinated adults. Some will argue that kids may be at risk and I certainly understand that concern. However, the science shows that the risk to young people is extraordinarily low and the symptoms, if contracted, very mild.

As I see it, all of this back-and-forth bickering is the direct result of conflicting messaging from the CDC and the leaderless Biden Administration and Democrat party. Just this morning I read several articles that illustrate my point. One article said that the CDC was now recommending that everyone (even the vaccinated) wear masks because of spikes in the delta variant of COVID. The very next article showed photos of Barrack Obama’s 60 birthday celebration, which was attended by hundreds, where attendees were dancing maskless (One reporter described the attendees as a “sophisticated, vaccinated crowd who were following all safety protocols.” What exactly does that mean?). Another article talked about the immigrants crossing the southern border and then being released into the U.S. despite the fact they had tested positive for COVID. Yet, the northern border remains closed. How can people follow the rules if they don’t know what they are? That’s the problem.

Blaine Blackstone is a retired Los Angeles Police Sergeant who enjoys the simpler life in Thompson Falls.