What "freedom of movement" actually means to these people.
If there was a criticism directed at myself for speaking out against these dumb pro-plague demonstrations/protests, is that I should be more welcoming of these people because it shows that they've had a change of heart about freedom of movement.
If I welcome people on the left who've had a change of heart about war or immigration post-Obama, then I really should be welcoming these people too.
Well..
Have I got news for you. These demonstrations and protests don't show that at all. They haven't changed. These people don't think any differently about freedom of movement than they ever did. How do I know? It's really quite simple. Their complete non-response to Trump banning all immigrants. That right there is proof.
Their principle was ALWAYS that conservative white people should have the freedom to go wherever they want, whenever they want (even during a pandemic) while foreigners and people of colour shouldn't.
That was the principle before when the very same people supported Muslim/Asylum/Refugee/Africa bans, and it's their principle right now as they carry AR-15s to the state capitol to demand their barbers cut their hair, while completely ignoring the border shutdown.
That double standard, "freedom for me but not for thee," is the heart of conservatism and it's the heart of a huge swath of libertarianism too. This whole thing just reinforces it.
The protestors aren't demanding to go back to work. They're demanding that minorities go back to work so they can go to restaurants, get haircuts, go to the movies, and shop at the mall. They're angry because social distancing makes their lives terribly inconvenient and now they're demanding to speak to the manager.