I am writing in strong support for Meg Zalatel’s proposed enforcement mechanism for the Assembly’s AO-2021-91 Universal Masking Ordinance. The enforcement mechanism is to set up a phone line, a vehicle for Anchorage residents to rat out their neighbors and businesses to rat out their customers for not masking up according to the new ordinance.
While they will call this a tip line, other names present themselves as possibilities: Rat Line, Stasi Line, Meg’s Line, or just The Meg.
Pitting Anchorage residents against one another using COVID as an excuse? Businesses against their customers? What could possibly go wrong?
About 40 years ago during the last couple decades of the old Soviet Union, westernism was starting to creep into the society, particularly among the young. The Politburo spent a lot of years and energy unsuccessfully fending off the incursion but did manage to use it to their advantage from time to time. One of the jokes describing what was going on had kids turning in their parents to the KGB in return for a new pair of western blue jeans.
Zalatel and her fellow travelers interpret that as a how-to manual rather than a cautionary tale.
There’s several ways those of us who disagree with Zalatel’s proposal. One way would be to respond the way New Yorkers did to NYC Mayor DeBlasio’s social distancing tip line April 2020 and fill it with tens of thousands of daily calls filled with obscenities aimed at the Assembly majority that is entertaining the idea. We could also pass along tips when they are out doing things unmasked. Assembly Member Chis Constant is one obvious participant.
Another would be to require the Rat Line to take names and other contact information from people who are ratting out their neighbors and customers and publish it once a day. It’s always great to know who the neighborhood Karens (and Kens) are.
Of course, none of this works without daily stats out of the Rat Line. In order to properly track who is doing what to whom, we must know who is complaining and how often they do it. Think of this as a public service.
My message to the Assembly majority considering this (and as of this writing, Zalatel reportedly claimed she was going to pull the enforcement piece Tuesday night, Sept 28), pass it. Use it. Enforce it. My prediction is that you will get – and should get – a public reaction to this foolishness that will curl your hair.
There is an old HL Mencken quote:
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
If the Assembly majority chooses to pass this, it is up to us to make sure they get what they want and get it good and hard. Remember this next April when Assembly members Perez-Verdia, Zalatel, Dunbar, and Weddleton are up for reelection.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
