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Our community is focused on ending the lockdown and ongoing restrictions in Washington State. We are not affiliated with any political party. Lockdowns cause much more harm beneath the surface that will take years before the actual impacts have been discovered. Small businesses closing their doors forever is only the most visible effect. Children continue to go without school all around Washington State. Parents who have lost their childcare can no longer return to work. Many of these kids are falling behind because of the lacking quality of remote learning and the lack of access to resources. Children in rural communities might not have access to the internet or it might be seriously limited in terms of bandwidth. School not only provides childcare for working parents but it also acts as a safe place for children who are living in abusive situations. School also provides free meals to underprivileged children and while some schools have continued to offer free meals, the quantity and quality have been cut. Many of these children have been in isolation for almost a year. The mental health of children are especially fragile and teen suicides’ have gone up during this time. Children are hardly affected by Covid19. The last I checked, there were only 5 deaths in the state of Washington of people between the ages of 0-19 and this is out of about 4000 total.

Lockdowns are essentially a price that is ultimately paid by the poor. For those who can continue to work remotely and have barely been affected, they will never understand the hardships of others struggling just to make ends meet. The service industry was hit extremely hard with the restrictions and many of these employees continue to go without work because of the ongoing restrictions and regulations. While unemployment may provide some relief, it has fallen short, especially here in Washington State. Many service workers have resorted to taking other essential jobs that leave them at high risk for contracting covid anyways. Food banks have reported an increase in traffic and homelessness has actually been on the increase. Even shelters have regulations on capacity, so this has left many without services only to be placed on a waiting list. We are essentially making the rich richer and the poor poorer; yet, no one seems to care anymore.

Mental illnesses is also another strong component. Therapists and Psychiatrists have reported seeing an alarming number of new patients. We are social creatures and depriving humans of physical connections goes against our framework. Suicides and drug overdoses have become more common. The media continues to create a state of panic that drives the fear deeper into people’s psyche. While many people have resorted to shame to get others to comply, fear is a much stronger motivator.

Thousands of businesses in the state of Washington will never return (I will post a list of businesses that went under in the last year later on this site). Many other businesses are barely keeping afloat. Rent was never suspended for commercial properties; therefore, commercial landlords can continue to require rent from businesses that are forced to close. When you go into a small business and see plexiglass dividers or other alterations to meet the regulations, remind yourself that these additional costs have been solely the responsibly of the business owner to cover. The heated tents restaurants constructed outside costs the business a significant amount in heating costs to keep running during the winter months. Many of the large businesses received bailouts from the federal government. Ask yourself where the money for the small businesses have gone. Many of the programs available for small businesses ran out of funding within weeks and much of the money went to medium sized businesses.

Extended lockdowns do not prevent the spread of the Covid19. When Inslee declares everyone must forgo Thanksgiving and Christmas, many people had had enough and had their own gatherings despite the restrictions. The governor should not have the power to restrict people within their own homes. We have had enough. We want our lives back!

Some people might be asking themselves what the solution to keeping the virus under control is if it is not extended lockdowns. We follow the same principals outlined by the Great Barrington Declaration and the strategy for total harm reduction. We cannot just look at ensuring we do not have any deaths from Covid19; instead, we must take all factors into consideration and develop policy around benefiting the most number of people. Please see more details on the Suggested Public Response page.

Contact your public officials today and let them know we need to reopen Washington. This site is to keep you updated on new information on the State of Washington reopening, ways to get involved, and easy to understand covid stats that will actually be useful to you. Sign up for our email list on the Get Connected page to receive periodic updates.