LA Mayor Eric Garcetti branded 'clown' for banning July 4 fireworks due to Covid-19 while backing BLM protests
The US is witnessing a turbulent time now and it has put the leadership of a lot of people at test, apart from President Donald Trump. One such individual is Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. The 49-year-old has never been one who shies away from his responsibilities even if that meant courting controversies but the current time has made things quite challenging for the two-time Democratic mayor.
With cases of coronavirus surging in California and the state authorities deciding to turn the clock back to reimpose lockdowns, Garcetti too has followed suit. On Wednesday, July 1, he announced that “it is now time for a pause” and called the period the “second big test." He even declared that along with the closing down of the beaches, fireworks displays scheduled for July 4 would not be held to avoid people crowding and increasing the chances of the outbreak. Garcetti’s announcement came a few days after Barbara Ferrer, director of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said the county saw another record surge in new Covid-19 cases. The US has seen over of 128,000 deaths and Los Angeles County has seen the most number of cases -- 103,850. The US witnessed new cases of the virus going up by 52,000 on Wednesday alone, a record.
Soon after California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the shutdown of local restaurants, movie theaters, indoor family entertainment businesses, etc, Garcetti warned the business establishments in his evening news conference that if they were not complying with the safety rules and regulations, he could shut them down. He told them that he is not "asking" but "telling" them to wear masks.
He mentioned that a number of factories in downtown LA have seen outbreaks and decided to send mobile clinics there to test workers. He said the six-feet rule is being flouted and warned the factories that he would shut them down as well. But while these strong messages were expected to earn Garcetti more applause, something opposite was found to be happening and the main reason for this has been the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May. Garcetti’s move of joining the BLM protests without wearing a mask, even as he advised others or banning the July 4 fireworks to observe Independence Day while failing to stop the BLM protests, has not impressed a lot of people. He also supported the idea of slashing funds for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) later but yet added that he did not support the BLM protesters' demand to defund the LAPD.
Garcetti has failed to satisfy all at same time
In early June, Garcetti, son of former LA County District Attorney Gil Garcetti, said Los Angeles would see an abrupt turnaround in plans to boost the local police department’s spending and redirect $250 million from the city budget into programs meant for healthcare, employment and “healing” aimed at the colored community. The shift showed the changing challenges for the mayor who has been in office since 2013. He had promised to carry out civic repairs but now has donned the mantle of a peacemaker and consoler in a city that has been hit by racial unrest and the pandemic besides the serious crisis of homelessness. The man, who once expressed hopes to run for the presidency is this year, is now too caught up with massive challenges and his response has been found to be self-contradictory by many.
A few social media users took to Twitter to air their views on Garcetti's response to the pandemic and the protests. One user wrote, "HEY Lame @LATimes STOP allowing @EricGarcetti get away with allowing protesters to roam free, practically spitting on each other, while he's closing down beaches where the sunshine/UV rays can kill the virus within 30 seconds! YES, that is true! Report the facts for God's sake!" Former GOP congressional candidate DeAnna Lorraine tweeted: "LA Mayor Eric Garcetti BANS Fireworks, beaches, & any gatherings of people - unless you live with them. Because, COVID. But, he says BLM Protests can continue. 'People should exercise their first amendment rights.' Someone tell me how banning fireworks stops COVID?? I'LL WAIT."
Author-comedian Tim Young said in a tweet: "Just remember, if you celebrate the 4th of July with fireworks, you'll die of COVID-19, but if you shoot fireworks into businesses in order to destroy them, you're perfectly safe." In another, he said: "The Mayor of L.A. is a clown." LA sports journalist Liz Habib tweeted: “Gatherings with people you do not live with are not allowed @ericgarcetti."