Fierce Blow-Back on Planned Protest of Restrictions in Pacific Beach

Photo by Joaquin Antique

There’s a unprecedented and fierce blow-back on a planned protest against the coronavirus restrictions for Sunday in Pacific Beach – a day before many of the restrictions at the beach are to be lifted.

Local residents of PB are telling the organizers and participates to reconsider the use of their community as a stage by outsiders and not to put their neighbors and frontline people, like police officers, at risk by carrying out their protest.

The Pacific Beach Town Council, PB activists and Councilwoman Jen Campbell have all deplored the event, which is scheduled for a key intersection a block from the beach.

Brian White, the president of the PB Town Council didn’t mince words when he asked the protesters to stay away:

The Pacific Beach Town Council stands firmly against the exploitation of our neighborhood for this planned gathering by out-of-towners.

This protest is not only inconsiderate to our community at large, but we find it especially discourteous to our vulnerable populations and to the sacrifice made by our local nurses, grocery store employees, and other essential workers.  These brave workers have carried the burden of exposure while PB residents have been respecting the temporary ‘stay at home’ order and social distancing measures in order to bend the curve of this pandemic.

Most of these protesters will be driving in from other parts of the county.  We strongly oppose this.  Phase 1 reopenings of beaches and bays are already scheduled to begin the morning after this attention-seeking protest.  Our Northern Division police officers are overburdened enough without having to chaperone this planned protest of hundreds. …

We understand their right to free speech and freedom of assembly, but we’re asking them to revise their strategy given the phase 1 reopening now scheduled for Monday.

A resident and activist in Pacific Beach, Cathie Jolley, left this plea and warning on the protesters’ facebook:

I am active community member in Pacific Beach, a teacher, and a mom trying to keep my family and my community safe. I stand with Brian White, the Town Council, our Councilmember and the vast majority of my neighbors.

PB might seem like just a stage to you, but this our home. You may not mind risking your own health, but what about the police officers who need to keep you safe? What about the residents who REALLY need the officers who are stuck monitoring your protest? What about my exhausted neighbors who are nurses who will need to care for anyone hospitalized because of this protest?

Why are you protesting when the city has already agreed to open the beach? Please, please reconsider.

Councilwoman Campbell, representing District 2, which covers PB, asked protesters to “stay home,” and to “Leave Pacific Beach out of your dangerous and potentially deadly protest.”

In her statement, Campbell says, “… holding a rally during a pandemic goes against our public health orders and common sense. There are many other forms of civic engagement available that don’t put San Diegans in danger.”

I’m so proud of the work that everyone in our beach and bay communities have done to slow down the spread of COVID-19.
Read more: San Diego Community News Group – Pacific Beach Town Council Councilmember Campbell release statements on the planned protest

She continued:

I am deeply disappointed that a tiny number of individuals from inside and outside San Diego are putting themselves and others at risk with these actions. That’s why the Pacific Beach Town Council and I stand firmly against this planned protest. …

On the work that’s been done to slow the spread of COVID-19, Campbell warns:

I am distraught that these efforts could be undone by an unsafe gathering of people who are not following social distancing procedures, vastly increasing the chances of this extremely infectious disease to spread. …

Frontline workers from nurses and doctors to grocery store workers and first responders have worked tirelessly to keep our city running. These protests are a slap in the face to all the sacrifices San Diegans have made.

To those planning on driving in, stay home. Be with your families.

There’s also a deep, partisan edge to these protests that’s hard not to notice. Some of the organizers and participants of these protests – there was one in downtown San Diego – complain their Constitutional rights are being jeopardized by the public health restrictions. We have to immediately ask, ‘where have you been these last three and half years while Trump has been shredding the Constitution?’

The blow-back to this planned protest is unprecedented to a scale not seen before. And rightly so.

Here’s hoping there’s enough common sense to encourage this blow-back to render the protest ineffective. (And let’s see if the protesters practice social or physical distancing and wear masks.)