President Trump’s airport rally in Unity on Thursday drew an enthusiastic crowd. Some people focused on the enthusiasm. Others just saw the crowd.
The event, held at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, drew thousands. Pennsylvania’s green-phase coronavirus pandemic restrictions cap outdoor gatherings at 250.
The Republican campaign appearance might not have held to those rules, but it was hardly the first time they have been bent or broken, and it isn’t a party-line situation. Gov. Tom Wolf’s Democratic administration made an arrangement with Carlisle Events to permit a car show in late June that allowed up to 20,000 visitors a day, according to PennLive.
Those are the big, glaring examples. The everyday ones are less obvious, but are they less consequential?
Big-box stores such as Walmart and Target aren’t closed — and they never were, even under the governor’s most stringent red-phase limits. They might have fewer patrons than they did a year ago, but they are far from empty.
Home improvement giants such as Lowe’s and Home Depot have been crawling with eager DIY-ers taking the opportunity to focus on building decks and landscaping.
So why is the state so intent on limiting other gatherings that don’t seem that threatening?
If you have ever been to a high school soccer match, you know the crowd it draws is not exactly a rival for a Steelers game. High school football might pack the stands, but it also seems easy to limit with a little planning
The pandemic is not over. There are still new cases being identified every day. There are still people dying. The limitations exist for a reason.
But if they extend too long and are too binding, they will make people chafe. If they seem too arbitrary — allowing this event but barring that one — they will make people question.
The state should be doing more than drawing lines and saying no. It should be working with groups to find safe, acceptable ways to say yes. That would open doors, open cash registers and open lines of communication that could help people thrive instead of just survive.
The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium has found a way to make taking your kids to see tigers and giraffes work with drive-through events. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is replacing its annual hat luncheon fundraiser with a “Picnic in Your Park” on Sept. 26, offering individual gourmet baskets instead.
Both are examples of ways to gather and at the same time maintain distance. It’s possible, and it’s important.
