A 93-year old man who survived the Great Depression and World War II was sitting at an open beach in Oxnard, California enjoying the day with his wife. [1] They were not alone. There were other people on the beach spread out at safe distances obeying the social distancing orders. Uniformed police officers riding on 1,000-pound horses showed up and interrupted their peaceful day by ordering them out of their lawn chairs. The 93-year-old man was allegedly violating public health rules that prohibit lawn chairs on the beach during the coronavirus crisis.
In normal times, a lawn chair at the beach is not a problem. Apparently, during a time of “emergency,” the same chair is a violation to the public safety of the community. If so, how? Do beach chairs help spread the coronavirus faster? Is a chair more contagious than a towel? So you can lie on the sand with your towel or you can sit on the sand but you can’t sit on a chair on the sand? How does this even make sense?
This is a 93 year old man! Most older people cannot sit on the ground without someone assisting them. This is the reason for the chairs. When you force fragile citizens to sit on hard sand, it is an abuse and overreach by law enforcement. Why? Because the police can sit in their comfortable saddles on the beach, which is a type of chair; but a 93-year-old man has to sit on the sand. This is shameful, disrespectful and discriminatory.
Senior citizens are no longer allowed to bring their illegal contraband (chairs) to the beach. Do we feel safer now? Is our world a much better place? Thanks to the Oxnard Police Department in California, we can all sleep better at night knowing that we are now much safer. Who cares if local politicians are dehumanizing their citizens with their ridiculous rules. Who cares if law-abiding citizens are treated like common criminals. In times of emergency, individual freedoms are eroded. And once the government assumes new emergency powers, rarely do their new enforcement powers go away.
God forbid a disabled elderly man appear on the beach in a wheelchair. The Oxnard Police Department may confiscate his illegal wheelchair and leave the poor soul to fend for himself.
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