Professor Harry Litman, who teaches constitutional law at University of California San Diego (UCSD) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), was slammed on social media after proclaiming that “vaccine passports are a good idea,” because they will make those who refuse to get the coronavirus vaccine “foreclosed from doing a lot of things their peers can do.”
“Vaccine passports are a good idea. Among other things, it will single out the still large contingent of people who refuse vaccines, who will be foreclosed from doing a lot of things their peers can do. That should help break the resistance down,” tweeted Litman.
Donald Trump Jr. reacted by comparing the concept of a vaccine passport to the Chinese Communist Party’s social credit system, in which the government tracks its citizens and blacklists those are deemed “untrustworthy.”
“Authoritarian leftists want a Chinese-styled social credit system here in America. Vaccine passports via the Govt or private sector would create a two-tiered caste system,” tweeted Trump. “Every elected GOP officeholder worth a damn should publicly oppose this un-American concept immediately!!!”
“Not sure we want to be emulating china’s social credit system. We should be strengthening privacy rights, not dismantling the last vestiges of it,” commented another Twitter user.
“I think most sane people would agree that medical apartheid is a terrible idea,” reacted another. “If you’re scared of a virus with a 99.9% survival rate (and people who don’t get shots), feel free to stay home.”
“How can you be a former attorney at law and not understand how this breaks basic human rights and negates freedom of choice?” asked another Twitter user. “A patient, perceived or obvious, has a right to accept or decline medical intervention without persecution or social condemnation.”
But another Twitter user argued that those who “choose” not to get the vaccine, and choose not to wear a mask, would simply be choosing not to participate with the rest of society.
“It doesn’t break freedom of choice, it’s called consequences,” the Twitter user argued. “It is your choice not to get the vaccine, and it is the United Kingdom’s choice to refuse you entry, it’s Delta’s choice not to let you on the plane, and it’s McDonald’s choice to refuse you if u don’t have a mask.”
“You’re kind of making me question why I got vaccinated… if the vaccine works then who cares who you come in contact with?” countered another. “You’re making it sound like the vaccine doesn’t work when you say vaccinated people shouldn’t be around unvaccinated ones.”
Other Twitter users argued that the notion of a vaccine passport is “anti-American,” and contrary to the nation’s founding principles.
“Anti-American lunacy and violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act which makes it illegal to ask ANYTHING about medical status,” commented Dr. Naomi Wolf.
“Oh by all means, we must ‘single out’ those who we deem unfit to participate in society with the rest of us so we can ‘break the resistance’… good God what has happened to American liberty!?! In the name of #COVID19 we are destroying our foundation as a free people,” tweeted another.
Another Twitter user argued that vaccine passports are “the least of our problems.”
“We have hundreds of thousands sleeping on streets. We have drug epidemic. We have people abusing government programs via fraud. Why are we spending time and resources on people who have the right to refuse a vaccine?” the Twitter user asked.
Others compared the concept to fascism.
“Why not wrist tattoos of Dr. Fauci and maybe implants so big brother can track our every move?” asked one Twitter user.
“Then we can round them up, right?” commented English rapper Zuby.
“DUH… Why not just get them to wear armbands or something?” another quipped.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler @alana, and on Instagram.
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