Isn't this the opposite of social distancing?
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has launched a new "emergency outreach campaign" called "Better Together" in which he sends strangers to your home to tell you about COVID 19. People you've never met before will knock on your door and tell you about the health crisis that you've spent most of the year hearing about from better, brighter people than the mayor's employees.
Why? Who knows. The existence of coronavirus isn't something you need to explain to people: everyone already knows about COVID 19. Let's not kid ourselves, this topic is probably the biggest global news story since World War 2. COVID 19 safety precautions are printed on elevator doors and subway terminals in every major city and plastered across billboards in rural communities all over the world. If you can find someone who doesn't know what coronavirus is and how it spreads, that person is probably in a coma.
Even still, Houston's Mayor Turner, a man who just spent four months telling you to social distance as much as possible from everyone who isn't in your immediate family, is going to send strangers to your house to tell you about something you've already heard thousands of times. In fact, if you listen to talk radio or read news websites it's a safe bet you probably know more about this crisis than the mayor's staff.
Houston Health Department spokesman Porfirio Villarreal said. “The quicker we get COVID-19 infections under control, the quicker we can get our businesses, churches and schools open again. If we work quickly and work together, we will be ‘Better Together.’”
You've been telling us that since March, Porfirio. We quarantined and wore our masks and it still wasn't good enough for your boss who thinks we all need to go back into lock down.
But if there's one thing I'm really sure we shouldn't do to slow the spread of COVID 19, it's sending strangers door-to-door to have conversations with everyone in Houston right before they show up at my house. Imagine how many people this "emergency outreach team" is going to come into contact with before they knock on your door.
So again I ask, why is Mayor Turner trying to send germ-covered strangers to every home in Houston?
To quote Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, maybe Mayor Turner wants to "kill your grandma."
Now get the hell off my lawn.
HOUSTON, TX - JUNE 02: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks to the media before a march in honor of George Floyd on June 2, 2020 in Houston, Texas. Members of George Floyd's family participated in a march that went from Discovery Green to City Hall with support from the local chapter of Black Lives Matter. George Floyd, a former resident of Houston's Third Ward, died after being held down by Derek Chauvin, a former member of the Minneapolis Police Department who has since been fired and charged with third degree murder. (Photo by Sergio Flores/Getty Images)