If you ask any Texan who doesn’t live in the state’s capital of Austin, most of them will likely tell you it’s basically a different country. They won’t even claim it as a Texas city. Hipsters, Phish devotees, marijuana aficionados, beatnik wannabes, and an airport with more dogs than any allergy-sensitive person could stand, all keepin’ it weird over there. But one thing that isn’t any different in Austin, nor from sea to shining sea, from the bluest to the reddest among us, is our politicians singing the same ol’ song and dance in unison:
Rules for thee, not for me.
In December of last year, Austin Mayor Steve Adler was ridiculed online as reported at BizPac Review for a week-long jaunt to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico amid an impending spike in COVID-19 cases in the state. And if that weren’t enough of a slap in the face, Adler had the casual bravado to post a Facebook video during his trip, admonishing his subjects, “We need to stay home if you can. This is not the time to relax. We are going to be looking really closely. … We may have to close things down if we are not careful.”
Don’t you love it when politicians say “we”? They sure love to play fast and loose with words, don’t they?
The night before the group with Adler left on a private jet for Mexico, he hosted a wedding and reception for his daughter at a trendy downtown hotel, with several of the guests in tow for the vacation the following day.
In the video he cleverly omitted any details of his whereabouts, nor had he spoken to the press about any travel plans. But the Austin American-Statesman newspaper was able to unmask the mayor’s deeds, who summarily offered up the formulaic non-apology straight from the international politician’s playbook.
“I regret this travel,” he said in a statement. “My fear is that this travel, even having happened during a safer period, could be used by some as justification for risky behavior. In hindsight, and even though it violated no order, it set a bad example for which I apologize.”
And when referring to the wedding before the trip, Adler claimed that masks were distributed, although he acknowledged that guests were “probably not” wearing them all the time.
(Which means not at all, of course).
“At that point, I am with my family group and people who just tested,” he said. “It is not perfect. Obviously, there are infections that could happen, but I think all of us should be minimizing risks as best we can.”
Evidently hoping that time would forgive the impropriety, he doubled down yesterday on Twitter. Folks weren’t having it:
“More than 52,000 Texans have died of COVID-19, and thousands more suffered serious illness…. ‘Personal responsibility’ is not a public health strategy. It’s an abdication of duty by government officials who should care whether Texans live or die.”
— Mayor Adler | Get vaccinated! (@MayorAdler) August 11, 2021
Unsurprisingly when our leaders, aka you, go to Cabo for a Wedding and then simultaneously tell everyone else to stay home 🤔
— Zero Eight (@zeroeight_atx) August 11, 2021
That’s like Flint Michigan saying “why should we stop poisoning the water when we can just be sure our doctors treat the birth defects later.”
Unreal the arguments made around all this.
— Michael Streiter (@MichaelStreiter) August 12, 2021
My God, the irony…like Jeffrey Toobin lecturing us on appropriate public behavior.
— Rob Hailey (@thehaileys) August 12, 2021
Do as I say, not as I cabo
— Euskadi (@passtheranch) August 12, 2021
It’s not surprising in the least. The bacon-wrapped-shrimp eaters we ask to govern us are the protected class; an untouchable union of the corrupt and often mysteriously ultra-wealthy who, quite literally in many cases, get away with murder. They certainly are not to be questioned by the average Joe.
After all, if there were no double standards, they wouldn’t have any standards at all.
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Frank (Chip) Webster is a musician and composer, former teacher of percussion and U.S. Army Infantry veteran. He holds a degree in English from Arizona State University.
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