Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said in an interview this week with host Bill Hemmer at Fox News that Abbott has not yet received an apology from United States President Joe Biden for some negative things Biden said when Abbott on March 2 announced the ending of state-level coronavirus-related mandates in Texas.
Maybe it would be nice for Biden to give Abbott a conciliatory call. But more important than this squabble between big-shot politicians, how about Abbott apologize to the people of Texas for putting them through a coronavirus crackdown that imposed draconian restrictions on the exercise of freedom without even providing any measurable net benefit for Texans’ health?
On March 2, Abbott finally rescinded his mask mandate, along with other state-level tyrannical restrictions he had subjected Texans to for many months in the name of countering coronavirus. In response, Biden criticized Abbott’s move toward respecting freedom, calling it “a big mistake” and “Neanderthal thinking” that would lead to deaths from coronavirus. But, it turns out, contrary to predictions of Biden and many other politicians and people in the media, a coronavirus catastrophe did not strike Texas after the removal of the state mask mandate and other restrictions of Abbott’s coronavirus crackdown.
After removal of the restrictions, as Abbott relates in the Fox New interview, common measures of coronavirus problems in the state, such as the numbers of “cases,” hospitalizations, and deaths with a coronavirus connection, have kept falling. It was as if the mask mandate and other coronavirus crackdown measures were useless in protecting people from coronavirus. Indeed, before the coronavirus fearmongering went into full force, such was commonly understood by scientists who had considered whether mask wearing and dictates including forced business closures and occupancy limits designed to isolate people would protect against a coronavirus.
Abbott removed his coronavirus crackdown restrictions only after imposed them for nearly a year on the basis of deceitful or ignorant claims that they would significantly reduce harm to people’s health. He has not apologized for the suffering those restrictions have caused people in Texas. He has not apologized for trampling on Texans’ freedom. Instead, Abbott has claimed his mandates had been needed, declaring in his statement announcing the March 2 recision:
Make no mistake, COVID-19 has not disappeared, but it is clear from the recoveries, vaccinations, reduced hospitalizations, and safe practices that Texans are using that state mandates are no longer needed.
Abbott declared victory and went home. But, in Abbott’s war on coronavirus the victory was against the people of Texas who had their lives forcibly upended based on his whimsical decrees. Coronavirus — the purported enemy — just went about its business irrespective of Abbott’s tyrannical, yet farcical, orders.
When will Abbott admit his fault to the people he harmed?
Would Texans be willing to accept an apology, especially one so late in coming and regarding such a grand transgression?
The most likely time Abbot will apologize to his victims is the same time Biden will apologize for saying something rude about Abbott — never.
