That’s the message from over a dozen people Sunday, Jan. 3, as they held signs stating, “Thanks Gov. Walz,” “Inconvenience is not Tyranny,” “Wear a Mask” and “Science, Safety and Sanity” as motorists passed at the intersection of South Sixth and Washington streets.
Brainerd resident Ed Shaw, in an email, said, “The Rally for Safety, Science and Sanity’s goal is to counter the sometimes bizarre misconceptions about the disease and how to control it, and show the majority in this community support measures to slow the spread.”
The group met at 2 p.m. at Gregory Park in Brainerd and then walked to the Brainerd busy intersection for a short rally supporting the reasonable measures to control the spread of COVID-19, including temporary closures of businesses.
Shaw, who spoke for the group in Gregory Park, said people in the community wanted to make a stand for safety and for common sense.
“You often hear loud voices from people talking about the inconvenience of not being able to go out to eat or having to wear a mask,” Shaw said. “And I think the silent majority here is willing to do that because the stakes are so high. You know, their lives are at stake and it’s worth a small inconvenience to frankly keep people alive, to be blunt, and that’s what a majority of us are for around here, we want to speak up for that.”
Shaw said “Rally for Safety, Science and Sanity” is not political in nature or an organized science group.
“It just kind of sums up what we stand for,” Shaw said. “To follow science, to listen to your doctor and not some random person on the internet, to be safe. (We stand for) common sense, to follow the science, to be rational which shouldn’t really be controversial and it shouldn’t be partisan, but we’re kind of in a weird era where even very basic safety and basic common sense seems to be a partisan issue for some people, and we’re trying to get away from that.”
After Shaw spoke a couple of people thanked Gov. Tim Walz for his work in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Brainerd resident Nancy Rockafellar Drahosh said Minnesota has an excellent public health department.
“Governor Walz has stood up and stood behind our public health experts in a really good way and I think we should continue to listen,” she said.
