New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has banned all large public events for the next three months, citing the Covid-19 pandemic – only to make a belated exception for Black Lives Matter rallies, incensing Americans far outside the city.
Fresh off painting a giant “Black Lives Matter” mural on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower, the mayor took to CNN to expand on his office’s order to cancel all large gatherings through September 30 on Thursday. But when host Wolf Blitzer asked him about “protests,” de Blasio couldn’t resist taking the day’s pandering even further.
“We understand, at this moment in history, people are talking about the need for historic changes…this is a historic moment of change,” de Blasio said redundantly, even while consigning outdoor concerts and parades to the distant future. No public gatherings larger than a city block will be granted a permit, the mayor announced in a statement published to his administration’s website earlier on Thursday.
However, he appeared to draw a clear distinction between “the kind of gatherings we’re used to, the parades, the fairs,” which “we just can’t have that while we’re focusing on health right now” – and “recognizing the power and the meaning of the message Black Lives Matter, which we did in front of Trump Tower today.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the egregious double standard raised hackles far outside New York. Conservative gadfly Mike Cernovich suggested the mayor’s declaration might be fodder for a lucrative First Amendment lawsuit.
“Siri, give me a smoking gun exhibit to include in a first amendment lawsuit brought against New York City.”Siri: I have your answer. https://t.co/rylTaGA5Ke
Get a load of this jack ass: You CAN’T have a parade to honor veteran’s who gave their lives for your right to protest, just yet– but you can have a Black Lives Matter protest out of sensitivity to honor this part of our history.??Deblasio’s dead serious. Disgusting. https://t.co/S7Inu8Srgq
Others suggested holding parades and concerts under the guise of BLM protests.
So NYC residents….Let’s have a Protest and decorate it like we would a parade…What should our theme be? I’ve got an idea: #RecallDeBlasio The left just LOVES the control, and to poke at the right..Libs go along as they enjoy it..problem is they are affecting livelihoods..
Some wondered if de Blasio was trying to kill off black New Yorkers, who – statistically speaking – are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Let me get this right Mayor de Blasio, fairs, parades, tennis matches, banned for public safety.Mayor, statistically, the group disproportionately effected by the virus is excepted and allowed to congregate and protest. You advocate exposing them to increased risk. Hypocrite
The pro-Trump organization Women for America First suggested they be allowed to paint their own mural – in front of de Blasio’s Gracie Mansion residence, if nowhere else.
BREAKING: @America1stWomen has sent @BilldeBlasio a formal request asking to paint its own mural in NYC.We have retained counsel should de Blasio continue infringing upon our Constitutional rights.Tyranny MUST be stopped.cc: @RonColeman@Yoder_Esqq@KylieJaneKremerpic.twitter.com/HdMX94BGax
A few were skeptical that some of the summer’s largest gatherings – including Brooklyn’s notorious West Indian Day Parade, which features extravagant costumes and frenetic music and is often accompanied by violence – would go quietly into the night just because de Blasio said so.
You KNOW there will be a West Indian Parade. @Chirlane insists #ganja
De Blasio was criticized back in March for urging New Yorkers to go out to Broadway shows and parades (before they were all canceled) even as the city became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.
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