A Silly Story
Posted on September 3, 2020
“Daddy, this is a silly story.”Hairgate, the newest scandal to fascinate Washington DC, was on the news.
And between handstands, my 7-year old daughter, declared it silly.
She’s not wrong.
It is a silly story.
But like Washington scandals, it is also an important story.
In case you aren’t in touch with the daily news, the scandal consuming a portion of the news surrounds the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, who got her hair blown out at a local hair salon in San Francisco.
Pelosi, of course, should have the ability to have her hair done any way she wants it done.
But she lives in San Francisco, where the local authorities have made it illegal for local hair salons to operate. They have also made it illegal for women like Nancy Pelosi to get their hair blown dry and styled.
It is well known that Mrs. Pelosi gets her done just about every day, especially when she is in Washington D.C.
She is very wealthy and while getting your hair blown out is a significant expense for most people, for her, it’s a pittance.
Pelosi, who has been adamant that everybody should wear a mask all the time, even when they are sleeping (I am kidding. I don’t think she has made that a requirement yet), was not wearing a mask when walking from the chair where she got her hair washed to the chair she was going to get her hair blown dry and styled.
Pelosi says she was set up, which reminded me of former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Berry, who claimed he was set up when caught on tape smoking crack cocaine.
Getting your hair blown dry is not the same thing as getting high on crack cocaine. But getting set up is annoying no matter what you are caught doing.
Pelosi’s principle sin is that of hypocrisy.
Don’t do as I do. Do as I say.
It reminds one of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who was caught taking selfies with constituents on the beach while not wearing a mask, while at the same time, demanding his constituents wear masks at all time.
It reminds one of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, caught outside walking his dog without a mask, all the while lecturing all of his constituents to always wear a mask or face penalties.
It reminds one of Cuomo’s brother, Chris, who was supposed to be self-quarantining after allegedly catching the Covid, but was found for from his house walking outside of his summer palace, somewhere in the Hamptons.
It reminds one of the Mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, who has banned everybody in his hometown from eating inside a restaurant but was caught eating inside a restaurant just over the border in Maryland.
It reminds one of Lori Lightfoot, the Mayor of Chicago, who, similarly to Nancy Pelosi, was caught getting her hair done in a Chicago hair salon, when she had closed all hair salons from opening in Chicago. Lightfoot also has increased police protection around her house, while the city of Chicago burns down around her.
It reminds one of the Minneapolis City Council members who voted to defund the police and then authorized public money be spent on private security firms to protect them and their families.
The Pelosi story, like all of these other stories, are of a political elite that cares more for its own comforts than it does protecting the freedom of the people.
Pelosi, of course, should have the ability to have her hair done any way she wants it done. That is especially the case because the CDC cites proof that getting your hair done in a hair salon is safe. Indeed, the hair salon example is the only scientific proof that masks work.
I am a skeptic on mask wearing. But I will wear a mask when compelled by the law or by the owners of a business who want their customers to feel safer. In fact, I got a haircut the other day and I wore a mask.
And yes, the Pelosi saga is a silly story. But so much of what we have done during this Covid pandemic is silly.
Watching Anthony Fauci throw out the first pitch (badly) at an empty Nats Park and then watch him take off his mask in clear contravention of his own rules was silly.
Watching people walk out into the street to avoid somebody else (with both sides wearing masks) even though there is absolutely no evidence that Covid spreads outside, is silly.
Watching people pull up their gators when passing joggers on the streets with a sneer of superiority, when all the evidence points that wearing a gator is actually less safe than not wearing any mask at all is silly.
Watching teachers loudly protest in the streets against the police while refusing to go back into schools and do the jobs they are paid to do is also silly.
This whole thing is silly.
So, my daughter is right. It’s a silly story. It must be silly season.