Went to the local Mennonite bakery to get some bread. There was a large sign at the farm next door that read "fear God not the virus".

Entering the bakery, some 15 old believers were having breakfast coffee and pastries in their public area of sofas. I am 61 and I was the youngest one there. They were cheek by jowl on sofas. No one was wearing a mask. We have state executive orders about no gatherings that large, and must wear masks in public no matter the size.

It was a clear display of religious non-compliance. The state can of course be flouted, though perhaps with consequences, the virus - not so much. Lucky them, everyone else is cautious and takes the virus seriously so they don't have to. One active case in the shop, one, would take half our Mennonite community out. Human psychology never ceases to amaze.

If ghawd wanted the faithful to mask up against covid-19, he would have mentioned it in the Bible, like he did seatbelts!!

It is exactly this attitude that has recently made ND and SD, both very rural, thinly populated states, the worst hot spots not just in the US, but the entire planet. Lots of Anabaptists in those two states, but plenty of others who are behaving the same.

ND Guv Doug Burgum was in tears last summer asking the residents to wear masks. He has been pleading with people to mask up during the current outbreak, though he would not issue a mask mandate, with the not unreasonable justification that it would be unenforceable. Not to mention deeply unpopular.

That was the case until yesterday. He issued a mask mandate. The ND hospital system is in significant danger of just gridlocking from the influx of patients.

I know people there, so this is kind of personal. I actually even know Doug Burgum from his days running Great Plains Software in Fargo. Really decent guy, and I think he finally reached to point where he didn't want the blood of more ND residents on his hands, no matter how unpopular the mask mandate.

There is a letter to the editor of the SLTrib today, addressed to Utah Guv Herbert. It would peel the paint off walls. Worth a read if you have access to the Trip online. Author David Moore
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/letters/2020/11/14/letter-gov-gary-herbert/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2020 07:16PM by Brother Of Jerry.

Any chance you can post some of the pertinent parts of the letter here? I can't get access.

Here's the letter ...
===========================


"News flash: “Herbert mandates masks!” Do you stir from your profound torpor, sir? While you dozed and dithered, 10,000 super spreaders partied near Utah Lake. Your tepid, languid, flaccid leadership is so slow it seems not to move at all.

Pity the poor deer that wanders in front of your car. It’d be killed, cooked, digested and recycled throughout the landscape before you applied the brakes.

Governor, all you need to do is listen to the experts, and to the soft voices of 661 dead Utahns who whisper in your ear from the other side: “Science, leadership, courage.” Unfortunately, in your defense, you’re no worse than Republican governors throughout the country who, like you, fear and mimic the obese orange anti-Christ in the White House.


Personally I wouldn’t be so angry and afraid of your bungling if I’d advised my daughters to be soldiers in Afghanistan rather than nurses in Salt Lake City. But because of your incompetence, they’d be safer on that battlefield than in our hospitals. And their leaders work hard to protect their people.

Governor milquetoast, when does your malfeasance morph into manslaughter? When will you favor us with a coherent plan to control the virus — perhaps by Christmas? To paraphrase Alfred North Whitehead: “When we witness the frivolous inertia of leaders like you it is difficult to restrain within oneself a savage rage.” -- David A. Moore, Salt Lake City

Thank you for sharing this. It seems pretty spot on. It's been pretty depressing seeing so many Utahn's in seeming denial that anything bad could possibly happen to them or because of them.

That’s interesting. I saw in the news today that there was a protest in Steinbach Manitoba against new restrictions the government has imposed due to a strong Covid surge in the province. Steinbach was founded by Mennonites and still has a sizeable Mennonite population. The protesters shown in the accompanying picture were all dressed in traditional mennonite garb.

I listen to CBC on Saturdays if I have the (internet) radio on. Heard about the Steinbach protests. Canada in general has been pretty aggressive in controlling the virus, with pretty good success, but Manitoba has been downright badass. Still, I am surprised that some of the Mennonites are rebelling. They always seemed pretty low-key to me. I guess the times are changing.

Their fake god will protect them.

What’s with Mennonites getting all hip? Don’t fear the reaper, dude. Insert air guitar here.