Some people disagree with the act of publicly shaming those that do not follow basic pandemic protocols and put others at risk. Simple acts like not getting vaccinated, not wearing a mask or joining large gatherings can and in many cases do infect people with Covid-19 or any of its variants. Those against shaming want people to take the precautions to not make others sick or dead. But if they refuse to take the precautions, they should not be shamed because their feelings will be hurt.
Journalist
and author Kendra Pierre-Louis, writing for SLATE, delves into what exactly
shame is and the role that it serves in society:
“Shame is both an experience and an
emotion. If you cheated on a test and were caught and publicly named in front
of your class, that experience would be shame. If you also felt bad about it,
that emotion would be shame. The goal of shame—the experience—is not just to
trigger shame, the emotion. It also serves to send a signal to your classmates
that cheating is unacceptable behavior. Shaming isn’t merely about making
people feel bad. Shame can serve as a cautionary tale for others. Shame is
inherently public and social. The point of shame is to hold the individual to
the group’s standard; it is how we create and uphold social norms.”
Fearing
shame is positive and necessary:
“Shame is a form of punishment that derives
its power from depriving you of your reputation within the society. When people
make blanket proclamations that we should not shame others, what they are
criticizing, in a very real way, is the ability to make and enforce social
norms. Many of those articles that warn against shame, do so partly because
COVID-19 is a systemic issue, but that ignores that even in the presence of
clear rules and support, it still requires a bit of social cohesion. And as one
popular meme points out: Wearing a mask is a lot like wearing pants. The reason
many of us don’t stroll through town naked is not because we fear arrest but because
we fear shame. It’s worth noting that early research suggests that collectivist
cultures—which tend to employ shame more—better contained COVID early on in
their outbreaks.”
Major
corporations have been shamed into ending destructive policies:
“But shame can work positively as a tool
with people or institutions when the thing happening is in fact worth
punishing, and other forms of punishment are out of reach. ‘In a system where
formal punishment is missing, that’s when the informal mechanisms step in,’
said Jennifer Jacquet, author of Is Shame Necessary? New Uses for an Old
Tool. You can, for example,
incarcerate an individual but, ‘it’s much more difficult, almost impossible to
take away the liberty of an entire group like Exxon Mobil,’ she explained. You
can, however, shame them as climate activists do when they troll oil companies
on Twitter. It’s about depriving these companies of their social license and
reputation, which, in many cases, they worked very hard to create.”
Delinquent
individuals have been publicly shamed with desirable results:
“On the individual level, Jacquet points to
the policies that some states have publishing the names of residents who owe a
significant sum in taxes—in California, it’s more than $100,000; in Wisconsin,
it’s $5,000, but those on the top 100 list all currently owe more than
$400,000—as another example of effective shaming. The late taxpayers are given
letters in advance of the list’s publication, with the expectation that the
threat of exposure will get them to pony up (or at least enter into a repayment
plan)—and it often does. When the state of Wisconsin launched its tax-shaming
program in 2006, it thought it would recoup $1.5 million in its first year of
operation; the state ultimately collected 15 times that in that year.”
What
part of “You could have killed me” don’t people understand?:
“A Texas Monthly article about the plight
of wedding photographers during COVID included one wedding that went on with
the festivities despite the fact that the groom tested positive for COVID the
day before. When the photographer, reasonably upset, decides to leave early,
the bridal party accuses her of overreacting and questions what the big deal is.
The photographer responds, ‘Because I could die. My children could die! Just so
she could have her wedding day?’ The photographer, who has asthma, eventually
tested positive. The bridal party didn’t even apologize for infecting her.
Perhaps it would have been good if they had been a little more ashamed of what
they were doing.”
Source
In Support of Shame https://slate.com/technology/2021/04/shame-covid-restrictions-psychology-public-health.html
Editorial
Many that survive the coronavirus go
through ten days of hell, some will have a lifetime of crippling health
consequences, and as of this writing there soon will be 600,000 deaths in the
US.
First there is the economic question. Those
that spread the virus are delaying things returning to normal, prolonging
devastating financial hardship for millions. But there is the more important
issue. How exactly is the real possibility of causing someone’s death okay?
It’s called Negligent Homicide. If you text while driving and kill someone you
are guilty of Negligent Homicide. If you are not an electrician and you repair
faulty wiring in your home to save a little money, and that wiring causes a
fire and someone dies, the person is guilty of Negligent Homicide. It is not
first degree murder, obviously, but it is a lesser form of murder. One of the
Ten Commandments is “Thou shalt not murder”. For some people, avoiding the inconvenience of wearing a mask and other precautions is more important than potentially murdering a fellow human
being. The tears on Judgment Day will fill the Atlantic.
Related
How Speaking Creates Droplets That May
Spread COVID-19 https://physics.aps.org/articles/v13/157
Latest Coronavirus News - Articles Written
by Scientists https://theconversation.com/us/covid-19
CDC COVID-19 Websites https://www.cdc.gov/library/researchguides/2019novelcoronavirus/websites.html
We accept that drunk driving endangers
others. Why is not wearing a mask different?
https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article247143929.html
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Photo: https://us.clipdealer.com/photo/media/A:45532749
Jerry De Luca is a Christian freelance writer who loves perusing dozens of interesting and informative publications. When he finds any useful info he summarizes it, taking the main points, and creates a (hopefully) helpful blog post.
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