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In normal times, Americans would hear Uhlfelder barking from a street corner about end times. “Just keep walking,” they’d tell their kids as they caught glimpses of his signs predicting rapture. But these were not normal times, so lunacy elevated Uhlfelder to adoring media coverage and a political platform.
“It’s a macabre plea to beachgoers to stay home,” CNN wrote alongside a picture of Uhlfelder standing in front of a beach umbrella covered in a black cloak. He handed out body bags to families playing near the ocean. Saturday Night Live, Vice News, and The Daily Show hosted him, celebrating rather than mocking his efforts. “If we don’t take measures to control things, this virus is going to get really, really out of control,” he warned.
The New Yorker published a glowing profile on the Sunshine State’s Grim Reaper. “I’m not a liberal,” he said. “I’m logical.” He compared his publicity tour to his family’s experience in the Holocaust. “My grandfather escaped Nazi Germany as a teenager. His whole family was incinerated in gas chambers,” he said. “It was always ingrained in my head: ‘You can sit around and bitch and whine, but what are you going to do about it?’’ So, to honor the memory of the Holocaust, Uhlfelder responded to national fear by scapegoating political opponents and urging the suspension of their liberties.
Uhlfelder held higher aspirations than terrorizing local families. He used his publicity to launch the Make My Day PAC, a political action committee supporting pro-lockdown Democrats. Later that year, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Florida Attorney General, receiving 400,000 votes. CNN later welcomed him as a public health expert on mask mandates.
On May 26, 2020, he posted photos of his continued efforts to shame his neighbors into sitting alone inside. He even had multiple costumes, incorporating a hazmat suit into his outfit rotation.
But there was a notable carve-out to Uhlfelder’s attitude toward public gatherings. One week later, he celebrated millions of citizens gathering across the country after the death of George Floyd. He personally attended BLM rallies in Florida and endorsed marches in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. These socially fashionable beliefs apparently warranted a departure from his zealous advocacy for lockdowns. MORE AT BLM Versus Lockdowns: Four Years Later ⋆ Brownstone Institute
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This was a very good article, but it remains a shame that it had to be written at all. Do you remember our ridiculous BLM event here? I saw two of the crazy ladies that screamed for social distance and went around with a megaphone attached to their car urging vaccination, sitting very close, and unmasked. There were some silly young "white" girls sobbing profusely for George, their masks and face shields soaking wet. But nothing prepared me for their makeshift signs with his image wearing a crown of thorns! Of course, the politicians were in attendance, can't miss a photo op! Riots and demonstrations, peaceful or otherwise, were okay but going to church or classes was not. History will judge our government response harshly.
ReplyDeleteYou know that was weird. There were so many cars with Conn. and Jersey plates on my street.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, despite all the scandals, there are churches and businesses that still sport these signs. I will NEVER go into these for concerts, tag sales, etc. just as many of my neighbors won't go into businesses that still have the social distance and mask signage up. Life ca be aggravating enough for free these days. We don't need to pay someone for it.
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