Boston Mayor Kim Janey Invokes Slavery to Denounce Vaccine Mandates
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Boston Mayor Kim Janey invoked slavery and birtherism to decry the idea of vaccine mandates like the one planned for New York City.
Bill de Blasio announced indoor vaccine requirements for NYC starting this month , saying, “If you want to participate in our society fully, you’ve got to get vaccinated.”
WCVB reporter Sharman Sacchetti asked Janey about similar potential vaccine mandates for Boston on Tuesday.
Janey responded by saying, “There’s a long history in this country of people needing to show their papers.”
“During slavery, post-slavery, as recent as what immigrant population has to go through here — we heard Trump with the birth certificate nonsense. Here we want to make sure that we are not doing anything that would further create a barrier for residents of Boston or disproportionally impact BIPOC communities,” she continued .
Janey became acting mayor after former mayor Marty Walsh left to become Secretary of Labor in the Biden administration. She announced in April she’s running for a full term .
Other mayoral candidates criticized Janey for her comments, and the mayor put out a statement Tuesday saying, “Earlier today, I pointed out several hurdles facing communities of color with lower vaccination rates. These hurdles should not be excuses, but we must consider our shared history as we work to ensure an equitable public health and economic recovery.”
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I'm not familiar with this mayor, but her approach sounds nuts.
How can that be? She fits all the far left checkboxes
I dont follow any checkboxes
That's because it is.
Maybe it's time to check your privilege.
I have no problem talking about slavery or birtherism when they are applicable. She is way off base on this one.
Is she? Or does she just maybe understand the issues in the black community better than we do?
It's highly questionable whether or not the NYC mandates will stand, anyway.
Well , first off she seems to think that black people will feel uncomfortable about having to "show their papers" (in this case vaccination papers). But blacks were singled out in Jim Crow to "show their papers" or be considered vagrants, ne'er do wells, etc. They will not be singled out in NYC to show their vaccination papers, everyone will have to. That is too obvious a difference to have actually escaped her.
That may be among the worst rationalizations I've ever heard.
Based on that reasoning, if we used the word n****r to refer to everybody, black people should have no cause for offense. I'm not sure that actually works.
I have no idea what the "logic" behind your argument is supposed to be.
We dont call everyone "ni--er" and it is extremely extremely unlikely that we ever will.
Everyone will be required to show their vaccination card though if they want to partake in NYC public indoor events.
The point is that universally applying something we formerly used for discrimination does not make it OK.
The other point is that she understands this better than you or I do, so maybe we should defer to her judgment.
She is out of her depth. Talking about "papers" and linking that to slavery is not a bridge too far. It has nothing contextually to do with a 100 year pandemic running amok and the requirements and emergency tools that can be deployed to end it! It is foolish to engage in 'open politically warfare' when a dumb ass virus is being allowed access to breaking away for its 'corraling' and sickening and killing potentially millions in this country. And do not forget the dumb virus is going after children now and they will get sick, die, or suffer chronic health issues potentially for decades (into their own childbearing years). All of this heaved on suffering, because 'the adults' had to be overly-indulged with "fool's liberty" (not liberty in truth at all)!
She spent a day trying to walk it back after a potential challenger called her out on it.
You have the right film up there.
"invoked slavery and birtherism to decry the idea
That goes without saying, doesn't it?
My guess would be that she just lost herself an election.
I would think equating it to slavery is taking it a step too far. But NYC does seem to be following a fear that was voiced earlier, making the non-vaccinated a second-class citizen. And the rule doesn't allow for exceptions that I can see, you are either vaccinated and you can go indoors to eat (among other things) or you cannot. But if you have a medical condition that prevents you from getting the vaccination you are still to be treated as a second class citizen. I expect a law suit over this.
There are the normal exemptions to this upcoming August 16th enforcement policy in New York City. However, there was a 'doc' on Tuesday (right after the announcement) who told CRAIG MELVIN REPORTS set-in anchor, Jose Diaz Balart, that the religious exemption should be disallowed as it will allow for all sorts of [quackery] (CB word). Good luck with removing the religious exemption.
Do you have a link to the actual rules and exceptions? All I've been able to find while searching for the 'Key to NYC Pass' is the news media stories. They all say the same thing, that you will need to prove your vaccination status by
But all of them work basically the same way in that you are proving you have received at least one shot of a vaccine. There's nothing I have found yet that talks about exemptions so if you could help point me...
Hi Snuffy, on short notice this is as close as I can get to the exemptions in New York City (posted below):
NOTE: There is NO RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION ALLOWED in New York since 2019. Medical exemptions are allowed.
In my @ 3.1 above, I point out one of the doctors being interview Tuesday morning was addressing a religious exemption "problem" New York will face in the coming September deadline to vaccine passports. For now the story below I am posting (after listening to it) is NOT the one on the religious exemption comment. It is about business passports 'ought' be allowed (and mandated ).
I will continue (as time permits) to locate the 'other' doctor who slipped in the statement about religious exemptions being in play and needing to be withdrawn. I know I heard I just have to find the interview!
Thanks CB. I look forward to more information on this as I suspect this is a topic that will expand as we move forward. I do wish we could find a clearer explanation of how the process will work. All the information I have so far been able to find only talks about the passport proving you have received at least one shot of a vaccine, but cannot find anything on medical exemptions. I an concerned that this vaccine passport is creating second class citizens out of the people who cannot for medical reasons receive a covid vaccination and as the passport doesn't seem to cover that part they are excluded from participating in activities such as going to the gym or going out to dinner.
I also followed your provided link to health.ny (thanks for that). I don't personally agree with the religious exemption but the religion I was brought up with didn't prevent me from taking any preventative vaccine. I do see that the 'No Religious Exemption Allowed' is only for preschool, primary and high school students. It is not applied to college students. And that NY site is still only talking about the standard vaccines (MMR, etc) and doesn't mention the Covid vaccines yet. That will probably change once the CDC grants full approval to the vaccine. And I did find where lawsuits have been filed against New York because of that, I expected lawsuits as this does seem to be a clear violation of the 1st Amendment.
I think the 'other' doc I mentioned who addressed religious 'waivers' of the vaccines which he disapproved of may have been on Hallie Jackson Reports (MSNBC) or CNN in the early A. M. hours. Hallie Jackson Reports is behind 'pay walls' or some such. . . traffic. . . and I don't plan to oblige any of those purveyors. I will have to continue to find the statement through another (if feasible) venue.
I don't care if immuno-compromised people have to wear masks or stay at home, the fact is this is "crunch time" and this nation essentially needs a solution to the larger problem and can restore 'value' to the lessers in the course of time.
Winters coming. . . again. And the latter has strong potential to be worse than the former. We may have squandered the best chance of 'bottling' SARS-2 through ridiculous freedom fanaticism. Time will tell.
This link does not really answer the question, but its interesting and topic related.
Thanks. That does bring up some interesting issues. I can't understand why staffing at nursing homes is 20% under the herd immunity threshold for vaccines, and why some nursing homes have not given any shots to residents. That boggles the mind.
It just goes to show you that not everybody who works in healthcare as professionals believe in the systems. To them, medicine and its procedures are mainly a job; something they do for and "on" others. I used to have a running "joke" about nurses and doctors who smoke cigarettes: You can see them outside around the bins like (and with) their patients. Even though you know they have heard all the 'drills' about smoking causing cancer.
Some people just won't or can't do the right thing. It just is not "in" them to do so or they lack the power needed to do so.
As to the residents, it could be age. Elderly and declining people lying in beds just want to live this world on time. No detours. No interventions.
Nonsense. If you can't prove you're exempt or if you can get vaccinated but won't, they need not apply
IMO if you have a medical condition that prevents you from getting the vaccination, that should be between you and your doctor only. That is not something that needs to be shared. It's not the business of a restaurant hostess
Nonsense.
Why? Please elucidate. I thought the standard phrase was "my body, my choice". Why should just anybody know my or your medical history?
That's bullshit regarding co-vid.
So people should just take their word that they're exempt? No.
They shouldn't be putting others at risk so they shouldn't dine indoors if that's the case.
It's foolish to think they're revealing their medical history to 'just anyone' for proof of exemption
Existing federal law agrees with you.
It will be her business if some unvaccinated person infects that hostess and she dies. And if you think that possibility is too remote, then consider that even people who recover have significant, lasting damage to their lungs and other organs. Meanwhile, while they are sick, they will infect other people who will get sick and possibly die.
The delta variant, which now accounts for about 80% of new infections, is particularly scary because of its higher level of transmissibility. It's about 2 1/2 times more contagious than the original variety of Covid. That means if you got sick a year ago, you were expected to infect about 2 people. But if you get sick in 2021, you can be expected to infect 5 people. This is a problem that is getting worse, not better.
In addition to putting all those people at risk, lack of vaccination allows the virus to further mutate, possibly into something even more contagious or more deadly.
So, to the people playing this privacy and rights game with Covid: Pardon my French, but fuck your privacy and your rights. You don't have a right to spread disease. Get vaccinated. And if you have a real medical condition that makes getting poked genuinely dangerous for you, let's hear what it is. Most people have compassion for genuine problems. We have none for bullshit.
And if you are one of those people who truly should not be vaccinated, then you also need to be a person who is extra careful to social distance yourself from others.
Bravo Tacos, bravo! Like TG said to you the other day - you really hit it out of the park! Kudos. . .
I understand what you are saying and I applaud your passion. But I disagree.
I do believe that everybody who is able to should get the vaccination, I do not agree with the people who have refused. I also believe that those who refused on religious grounds should get the vaccination. And I hope once the CDC gives full approval that more of those idiots will relent and get the shots. But I'm only talking about the small percentage of people who cannot take the covid vaccines for medical reasons.
If the hostess is fully vaccinated, the odds of her becoming infected is very low even against the Delta variant. And so far the vaccines have proven almost 100% effective in preventing serious illness and/or death.
To put that into perspective, falling at home accounts for approx 6,000 deaths a year, accidental poisoning kills approx 5,000 annually and airway obstruction kills approx 1,000 people a year. Yes a death of even one person is a terrible event for that person (and immediate friends and family). But people die every day from all sorts of reasons.
My original point is that NYC is setting up a vaccine passport and from what information I can find the passport only reports on if you have received at least one dose of a vaccine. It does not cover any possible medical exemption. So IMO it is setting up a two-tiered citizenship status and preventing those who cannot receive a vaccine due to medical reasons. For a person who cannot receive the vaccination, they cannot use a gym or go out to dinner unless they share personal medical information with whoever is working the door. I think we need to be careful with this approach as this pandemic will not be with us forever. Eventually it will be beaten back and we will resume our normal lives or the virus will win and kill all human life on this planet. But if we give up personal freedoms as the result of fear soon we won't have any freedom left and we will be living in a dictatorship.
By this are you trying to say that if you cannot get the vaccine then you should lock yourself in your home and never come back out? Being careful and social distancing to protect oneself has been set for some time now. If the person who cannot take the vaccine wears an N95 mask and does proper distancing to protect oneself, why should they not be allowed their freedoms? Are they supposed to only allow fear to rule their lives?
My personal medical information belongs between me and my medical providers; you don't need to know it, a restaurant hostess does not need to know it and a door guard does not need to know it.
You went a long way to provide more nonsense
And thank God for that, but that doesn't make it ok to facilitate spread of disease, nor does it prevent the knowledge of who might be contagious from being her business.
Well, as long as it's almost 100%. Do you imagine that makes it ok to not be vaccinated or not take precautions if you're not? That you probably won't kill someone?
It doesn't put anything into perspective. I can't get a vaccine for falling. If you want to compare the two, imagine a virus where if a person was infected, they could walk by people and make them more prone to falling down. That person could get a shot to prevent this, but they're too selfish and political to do it. Pretty lame, isn't it?
Right now, we don't have a shot that - if a high enough percentage of people got it - could eliminate falling, poisoning, or choking. But we do have a shot for Covid. Stop making excuses for assholes who won't get it and then try to hide behind bullshit claims of privacy.
Temporarily, sure. But if everyone else got off their asses and got the shot instead of dicking around like they are, that inconvenience would be over very soon. We don't need 100% vaccination, but we do need something substantially higher than what we have.
Fear has nothing to do with it. Calling it "fear" dismisses it as irrational. It's not irrational. We're trying to prevent people from contracting a debilitating and often fatal virus. The steps we are talking about go directly to that goal and nothing else.
Oh Bull. I'm sorry, but that is pure and total bull. There is no dictatorship looming.
We're trying to control a disease. We're trying to end a pandemic. That doesn't mean every regulation is a smart one, but pushing people to get vaccinated and limiting interactions with the unvaccinated is just smart. It's got nothing to do with government overreach or violations of our liberty.
You know who whines about their liberty without considering the consequences? A child. The child wants to keep playing even though it's getting dark and dinner is on the table. A child wants to stay up all night instead of going to bed. A child wants to play with a toy even if it belongs to another kid. A child doesn't want to wash his hands or take a bath even though he is covered with dirt and microbes. Only a child thinks they should get to do everything they want all the time with no limitations.
Speaking of childishness, that's exactly the reaction I might expect from a child. I never said anything about people being locked in their homes and "never" allowed to come back out. That's just dumb.
No reason. You quoted and replied to this:
Beyond the need for this social distancing (which would include masking), I don't know what freedoms you think I am suggesting people lose.
That's true unless it impacts public health. Typhoid Mary was arrested because she wouldn't stop doing her normal routine and was spreading disease. Public health overrode both her privacy and her liberty.
You have many rights, but infecting others with a deadly virus is not one of them.
ok, so you do not want to discuss what I said but expand and continue to compare vaccinated against those who refuse the vaccine despite the simple truth that I was not talking about those who refuse the vaccine. As I said quite clearly I was ONLY talking about those individuals who cannot receive the vaccine for medical reasons. That's it. That's all I was talking about. But you can't deal on topic, you seem to only want to argue. So fuck it, have a nice day.
Maybe someday you will respond to what is actually said in a response to a specific post. But that would require actually reading and comprehending the words [Deleted] So fuck it, have a nice day.
I actually like that comment. I saw it and I agree with the sentiment in general wholeheartedly. I tire of the people who won't take the vaccine, but won't get out of the way of the process for others. There is just too much 'plaining' going on with this vaccine. But, that being said, I do not feel like making it personal.
Gee, why lie? I quoted you nine times and replied to the content of each quote directly. Everything I said was on topic. And yet you respond with this despicable personal attack? And further close it with an obviously disingenuous “have a nice day?” Totally unnecessary and uncalled for.
You do that all the the time. Misconstrue, make up scenarios, and then accuse others of things they didn't do and then have a snit fit.
We need WAY more pushback against this kind of nonsense. We have to stop tolerating and normalizing the impulse to liken ordinary policy considerations to fascism, naziism, or slavery.
How is this remotely "ordinary"?
When has it ever happened before?
It happens every day all over the country. It happens when kids sign up for school and have to show proof of being vaccinated for common childhood diseases. It happens when adults go to college, or join the military, or get jobs that require proof of vaccination.
Requiring proof of vaccination is utterly common and it has never been rooted in any ideology resembling fascism or slavery.
When is the last time you were asked for proof of vaccination at a restaurant? Or a concert. Or a basketball game.
It hasn’t been necessary before now. However, I have entered those places only after security people demanded I empty my pockets, examined my personal effects, and rifled through my wife’s purse. It used to be a person didn’t have to go through that either, but now we do.
I have also been asked for proof of vaccination in the examples I provided. So have millions of others. Why do you choose to ignore that? Do you not understand why any of these policies are in place?
I think her emphasis is on "papers" - having to go about daily life presenting access documents at thresholds. However, her litany of historical events and occasions for "papers" is actually out of context. That is, there are right reasons to act on problems and dilemmas, and there are wrong reasons to not act. This is a distinct and significant moment (a make or break state) for this country - even the world. We have to get this right or as right as possible.
Has the Boston Mayor so quickly forgotten the open threat of death in 2020 due to COVID-19 and no vaccines? How can a leader so quickly dismiss 600,000 deaths in our country alone?
It's time to stop bitching about Republicans/conservatives criticizing vaccinations and mask mandates. If they want to kill off lots of their own voters with their unbelievable ignorance and negligence, it will be a boon for the Democrats in the midterms. So let's hear it for personal rights and freedoms, and to hell with the ones who croak because they were anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers. There are lots of stories about the ones who are on death's bed crying that they were wrong.
You think she is a Republican/Conservative?
Please look at the right hand side of the link and see what party she belongs to. Mayor of Boston should have been a dead give away; but I guess not.
Oooops!!! My bad. Should have looked deeper before commenting. However, whatever party she belongs to, I think she is dead wrong to decry mask mandates. I don't believe I'm wrong in thinking that the vast majority of anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers and anti-mandaters are Republicans/conservatives which leads them to be the most to suffer from the virus.
To be clear(er), Buzz's comment makes oblique reference to the Boston mayor's point of view, one which is overall proportionally higher in republican-think, discussions, and communities.
Which is the reason that two large Democrat voting groups Latinos and African Americans are the two largest groups that remain mostly unvaccinated.
But don't let reality get in the way of a good leftist mantra.
The graphs speak for themselves!
Incidentally, your @ 7.1.3 comment and my @ 7.1.4 in reply to it. . . have not a thing to do with @ 7.1.1 and @ 7.1.2 .