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If you’re in the religious media silos, you’ve seen a steady stream of police chasing people out of church parking lots, trying to “gather” safely — listening t
by Digory 6y ago
If you’re in the religious media silos, you’ve seen a steady stream of police chasing people out of church parking lots, trying to “gather” safely — listening to the preacher on low power FM, in separate cars with the windows up.
Which is no more dangerous than the crowded lots at grocery stores or food banks, or factories, or other “essential” operations.
If it makes no health difference the government can’t privilege food-motivated parking over worship-motivated parking. It’s just penny-ante authoritarianism.
- ceejayoz 6y agoYou die with no food. You do not die missing a Sunday service or a few.
- Digory 6y agoYou do not die from the virus by parking in a lot, all things being equal. And if you don’t die physically from parking in a lot, government can’t tell someone their interest in parking for the spiritual Bread of Life is categorically less important than a desire to ease acquisition of Hot Pockets and Cocoa Puffs. If the lot is unreasonably dangerous when parking, they can mandate grocery delivery.
- fennecfoxen 6y agoYes, but the Sunday service provides nourishment for your soul, which they may decide is more valuable than life itself. Are you going to say they are wrong? Well, you're welcome to say that, and I'd happen to agree with you in practice, but our jurisprudence does not allow us to make that decision for others. Thus there is a strong case that, to the extent to which the government stops these services, it cannot be because they say that this is not essential. Rather, it must be because the measures stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, and that no narrower measures would suffice. (And if you did want to actually make Sunday services happen, you'd be well served by devising narrow measures that do suffice.)