Tim Walz, Covid, and Stasi-like behavior in Minnesota

Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s pick for Vice President should she be elected to the White house next month, got a lot of attention at the Democratic National Convention when he loudly proclaimed, talking about abortion, that other people should “mind your own damn business”.

Putting aside for the moment the abortion argument, anyone who knows Tim Walz and his history as governor of Minnesota (especially during the hysterical Covid overreaction there) must have rolled their eyes when he said that.

Such a sweet, folksy (and American) saying. “Just mind your own damn business.” I like the ethos. Love it, in fact.

Tim Walz, on the other hand, does not.

Moments later in the same speech, Walz said, “In Minnesota we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make. And even if we wouldn’t make those same choices for ourselves, we’ve got a golden rule. Mind your own damn business.”

The hell you do, Tim. The hell you do.

Like many authoritarian governors across the country (almost all of them) Walz issued an executive order that forced “non-critical” businesses to close, mandated social distancing, masks, other “hygiene and public health best practices”, and ordered citizens to stay at home.

I’ve already written about what shuttering “non-critical” businesses looks like when you actually open your eyes to see.

But Walz went above and beyond when it came to abusing citizens during Covid. He also set up a hotline and encouraged Minnesotans to turn in their neighbors if they were in violation of the state’s edicts.

The Stasi of the former East Germany would have approved, Tim. They supported “minding your own damn business” about as much as you do.

When met with understandable pushback about the hotline, Walz stood firm, saying “It’s for their own good.” He also said these reports would be followed up on by the police, who could issue a warning, or issue a citations carrying penalties of up to $1,000 fines or 90-day jail sentences.

So much for “Here in Minnesota, we mind our own damn business.” So much for the Golden Rule.

Hopped up on the fear-porn and societal distrust and hatred that was stoked heavily by the government and the media during the Covid period, hundreds of Minnesotans did exactly what you’d expect. They ratted out their neighbors. They didn’t mind their damn business. They behaved like Stasi informants.

Here’s a few examples:

On August 1, 2020, a woman wrote in to express her dismay about a recent visit to Sager’s Liquor in Hugo, Minnesota, where she observed numerous people violating the law. 

“Employees were not consistently wearing masks during the 10 minutes my husband spent in the store. Six of eight people present in the store did not wear a mask in the short time he was in the store.” 

In October 2020, a woman wrote in to rat out an alleged scheme she had ferreted out regarding illegal behavior being planned in a church.

“I am aware that the apostlic [sic] Lutheran church at 2300 Cox Trail medina MN is planning to hold church services. And they will be serving meals in the church dining hall. I don’t believe this fits with legal requirements and I am. Aware [sic] that multiple families that attend this church currently have coronavirus.” 

In the summer of 2020, one man wrote in to rat on some kids skateboarding in a park. The horrors!

“A bunch of teens gather in the skateboard park nearby. There is definitely not social distancing between them. It’s in Plymouth. Plymouth Creek Park.”

There were many such instances of people turning in their fellow citizens for the “crime” of playing outdoors. Here’s another.

“Every night, and during the daytime now too — we have large groups of teenagers and young adults clumped in groups in the park. Playing sports games. Playing on all the park equipment.”

Even more disgusting are the people who knew how destructive these lockdown orders were and just didn’t care.

“There is a bar/grill in Scanlon, MN that refuses to do what has been instructed of us, simply because the owner can not afford the loss in revenue and will continue to keep his bar open despite what the Governor has said or ordered us to do. I have attached a few of the photos.” 

He’s attached photos. What a hero. “Here in Minnesota, we mind our own damn business.” Except when we encourage Minnesotans to become informants for the state, right Tim?

Here’s another woman who’s enraged at… commerce.

“I wanted to report the Harley Davidson in Elk River off 169 appears to continued (sic) to be open. I don’t see how this is an essential service.”

It’s not like all these people are actually terrified of getting sick. Clearly for most of these people it’s about exercising the tiny bit of power that one gets from being a rat.

One man had the following encounter in April 2020 that was (to him) criminal enough to merit using the Covid criminal tip line. He reports being greeted by a staffer at a Chick-fil-A drive-through.

“I asked her if she thought it was dangerous to be within six feet of a car with no mask or gloves to protect herself. She immediately stepped back onto the curb and was still within three feet of my vehicle.”

This hero said he proceeded to the window to receive his food, where he was met by a female manager with whom he shared his dismay.

“I was handed my food and told to have a nice day,” he wrote. He also included pictures along with his five paragraph rant describing the “dangerous” criminal behavior.

I really hope Tim Walz isn’t given the chance to spread his version of “minding his own damn business” from Minnesota to the entire nation. His Covid snitch program was evil, and it revealed how banal evil often is.

Programs like this encourage people to enact their worst impulses. It encourages people to enter a mindset very common to people living in a totalitarian state. This kind of thing breeds hatred and distrust among a society.

We need a whole lot less of that.

Naturally,

Adam

PS: For this article, I borrowed heavily from a post on a great Substack called “The Take (by Jon Miltimore). I highly recommend his work. Check it out!