Written by Nicholas Vetrisek
State Senator Brian Jones recently spoke about the protests in his district and also expressed his thoughts about reopening.
He explained that he supports peaceful protests, but noted that “as soon as you pick up a rock, a brick, or cause bodily harm or property damage, your protest is moving from a protest to a riot.” He later stated that this is where he believes a line must be drawn and believes that San Diego has done a fairly good job with this and that the protesters have been largely peaceful.
Jones added that any protest that has elements of violence takes away from the power of the message. This was clearly the case in La Mesa, where the initially peaceful protests became violent and extensive damage was done to local businesses.
When asked about County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s comments regarding sending the National Guard home after they were deployed to La Mesa on Wednesday, he said that “Nathan Fletcher doesn’t represent La Mesa and I think it would be a good idea for him to… get out and get exposed to some more truth of what’s happening in San Diego County. And if he had done a tour in La Mesa, I think he might change his mind on that.”
When asked his thoughts on the reopening effort, Jones stated that he believes the coronavirus crisis is essentially over and that no health official can honestly claim that gatherings must be limited while at the same time allowing protests. He mocked them by saying, “You should stay home and avoid going out, unless you’re out protesting.” Jones claims that officials still promoting masks and social distancing have lost all credibility and that the lockdown should be ended.
Senator Brian Jones is correct in stating that the lockdowns must be ended. The protests have shown that the lockdown is indefensible and any health official that tolerates them is a hypocrite.
