Health officer’s warnings

In his latest to all we wayward children, he starts out nicely enough with observations about how we all have a collective responsibility for our well-being. But he quickly hits his Morrow-esque stride:

“Right now, enough people are acting like they are individuals, carelessly, thoughtlessly, and I would add quite selfishly, whether by intent or not, resulting in a surge in new cases. … Unless you happen to live under a rock, you are bombarded constantly with messages on the actions you need to take. I know many of you would like me, or the government, or some external entity to provide some magical remedy to make it all better. It doesn’t work that way.”

But as much as I enjoy Morrow’s pungent rhetoric, here’s the thing: He’s right. While it would be nice for him to take note of those of us who have done all the right things — a little positive reinforcement wouldn’t hurt anyone — it is understandable that a medical professional would be frustrated by people who act as though facts are theoretical or apply to someone else.

All you have to do is read the comments that accompanied social media postings about the newest COVID-restrictions to understand Morrow’s frustration.

Everyone knows the first line of “A Tale of Two Cities,” but a fuller quote from that passage rings all-too true for our times: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

As we move into winter, step cautiously. I hope you have reasons to hope, rather than despair.

A TIME FOR RUMORS: Those of us in the information business — I am old enough to still think of it as the news business — are often dismayed about the new age in which public accusations must automatically become investigations.

I’m thinking of Tony Lucca, the longtime baseball coach at Cañada College, who was accused, anonymously and without substance, of racism, homophobia, bullying and intimidation. Six months later, the accusations were found groundless and he was reinstated. 

The accusations were in the form of an online petition, and that’s the point. We have seen this happen and it demonstrates how social media is undermining our social structure. Anyone can say anything without regard for how damaging and malicious it can be. In the last five years of political campaigns, I have seen, time and again, people start rumors, speculate without any factual basis, and assert suspicions about “real” motivations, hidden interests and secret agendas — all without any basis in fact. That’s bad enough, but then you can watch a lengthy exchange unspool in which people add comment upon comment and create a vortex of falsehood — all largely anonymously and unencumbered by fact and with the self-satisfied air of someone in the know.

All of which leads us back to Coach Lucca. I’m glad he was cleared. But why did he have to go through this at all? And how do we hold accountable the person who initiated this pain-filled six months?

In any other context in our society, the original accuser would never have been able to engage so openly in such malicious behavior and there would have been consequences for the accuser and the entity that provided a platform.

WIRED WOMEN: The final tallies from this year’s election affirm that it has been a remarkable year of gains for women in local offices. I reported a couple of columns ago on data compiled by Carol Mayer Marshall, founder of Wire for Women, which focuses on electing women to nonpartisan offices on the Peninsula.

She provided final tallies and when everyone takes office in 2021, women and men will be just about even on city councils. In San Mateo County, women will hold 48 council seats (42 %) and men will hold 54 seats (58%). In Santa Clara, women will hold he majority of council seats — 49 seats (52%) and men will hold 46 seats (48%).

Taken as a whole in the region we generally refer to as the Peninsula (well, I do, anyway), women will hold 97 seats (49%) to 100 seats (51%) by men.

Mark Simon is a veteran journalist, whose career included 15 years as an executive at SamTrans and Caltrain. He can be reached at marksimon@smdailyjournal.com.