“Lies! Lies!” COVID deniers and hecklers don’t speak for Tri-Cities | Editorial

Obnoxious Tri-City hecklers may have tried to hijack Tuesday’s news conference with Gov. Jay Inslee, but their loud rants could not silence his message.

Inlsee wants to see more people in the Tri-Cities wearing masks. This is the best tool we have to slow the spread of the coronavirus and if more people mask up, then we have a better chance of getting the green light to open up.

It’s not a hard ask.

The number of COVID-19 cases continues to soar in the Tri-Cities, and our three hospitals are becoming overwhelmed. On Monday, all but one intensive care bed was in use.

Hospital leaders he met with told Inslee that while it might be possible to add more ICU beds, finding enough staff with ICU experience could be a problem.

These are serious concerns, and wearing masks should be a no-brainer.

Yet the reaction by the small, vocal and rude group that crashed the outdoor news conference at Columbia Basin College shows how tough it is to get buy-in from everyone in the community.

As Inslee spoke through his mask, cries of, “You’re a little muffled!” and “Lies, Lies!” came from the crowd.

There is nothing wrong with citizens showing up with signs and wanting to ask questions, but yelling at the governor so no one else can hear what he has to say is unproductive. When asked to quiet down, the interrupters said they have a First Amendment right to speak.

Of course they do. But other voices also should be heard, and those were getting drowned out. Eventually, the event continued inside and Inslee spoke for 40 minutes more to the media.

Unfortunately, the hecklers became the focal point in news stories around the country and on Twitter where “Tri-Cities” was trending Tuesday, ultimately attracting thousands of responses.

While many tweets applauded the disrupters, more comments were along these lines:

“No one is surprised people in the Tri-Cities are dumb, they choose to live near a leaking nuclear waste site.”

“The Tri-Cities is the drunk uncle of Wa., no one likes being around you but you’re still family.”

“I’m really embarrassed to be from the Tri-Cities.”

We could go on, but we’re sure you get the idea. We’d like to see the Tri-Cities rally from this unfortunate situation, boost the number of people wearing masks in the community and get our COVID-19 numbers down.

Community leaders who met with Inslee have asked his help in getting Tri-Citians to mask up. They’ve officially requested that he require businesses in Benton and Franklin counties to only serve customers who wear masks inside.

In addition, Tri-City leaders also asked him to allow Benton and Franklin counties to move to Phase 2, which Inslee said he is considering.

We’d like to see Inslee simultaneously grant both requests by our elected leaders.

Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties are the only three in the state still asking permission to move past Phase 1 of reopening, which would permit more businesses to open up and allow small gatherings.

Being locked down for months isn’t working — obviously.

Tri-Citians are driving elsewhere for services and some small shops have opened despite the restrictions. People must be able to earn a living.

Inslee said he is encouraged that about 160,000 people are wearing masks in the area, or a little more than 50 percent, according to observations the Benton Franklin Health District made last week at Tri-Cities grocery stores.

But we must do better. If business owners begin requiring that masks be worn in their stores, then that should help.

Right now the Tri-Cities is known around the country for heckling its governor away from his podium. Let’s turn that image around, wear our masks and get our COVID-19 numbers down.

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 12:50 PM.