Thread by @SamBraslow

One bystander argued with a protester over whether the Abby could refuse unvaccinated people.

Currently, there are no laws in LA requiring establishments to check proof of vaccination. The Abby chose to institute the policy on its own.

Legal experts have repeatedly affirmed that businesses can require proof of vaccine in California. google.com/amp/s/www.wash…

Speaking with protesters, many bristled at the “anti-vax” label. They support vaccines, they said, just not this one. Their reasons largely hinged on a deep distrust of the government and a belief that the vaccines are a part of a population control conspiracy.

While many roads lead to Rome here, generally this conspiracy relies on wild misinterpretations of statements made by Bill Gates, who has long advocated for reduced pop. growth on environmental & sustainability grounds.

Both nights saw contentious (sometimes physical) confrontations between people going out, often apparently intoxicated, and protesters. For the most part, onlookers kept to the other side of the street, shouting quips or throwing up middle fingers.

Early on Saturday, a drunk man got into a heated encounter with protesters after spitting at one of them. As the person with him keeps him back, one of the protesters says, “You want freedom, you’re a gay man, right? Gay people want equal rights, so we want equal rights too.”

A man caused quite a stir among the vaccine protesters, diving into the crowd and yelling “selfish” and “murderer” at them.

The crowd yelled back, “it’s not a vaccine, it’s fake,” & “you can’t force people to take it.”

A protester questioned the point of the vaccine when people can still get the virus. The man says that it still largely prevents the worst of the symptoms, adding: “The point of a vaccine is that it helps the people that are vulnerable.”

The man got in a shouting match with a protester who claimed that “thousands of doctors” are getting censored. When the man points out that the majority of doctors support the vaccine, the protester says that those doctors are brainwashed.

While there is a small, vocal group of medical professionals who have cast doubt on the vaccine (ranging from skepticism to outright misinformation), the vast majority of doctors, infectious disease experts, & epidemiologists are resolute: the vaccine is safe and it saves lives.

This vocal minority perpetuates the notion that, were it not for censorship, large numbers of MDs would challenge the orthodoxy. In truth, the medical community has disagreed plenty on the COVID-19 response. Few public health decisions have gone without internal debate.

In fact, as far as I can tell, pretty much the ONLY thing virtually everyone in the medical community agrees on is the vaccine. That includes the most strident critics of Big Pharma, the FDA, the CDC, and academia.

A protester gave the man anti-COVID vax material quoting from a former Pfizer VP Michael Yeadon, a favorite among vax skeptics for making unfounded claims about female fertility and the vaccine.

The man told the protester “you guys gotta find a better way to reach people.”

Some context, Yeadon’s termination from Pfizer came long before the pandemic in 2011, according to Reuters.

In the spring of 2020, Yeadon said the virus would “all fade away” and that the UK death toll wouldn’t likely reach 40k. Total deaths in the UK stand at 130k.

Former colleagues of Yeadon expressed bafflement at his turn toward misinformation. reuters.com/investigates/s…

As the conversation turned to Trump, a woman in a sparkly top sashays into the fray and declares, “I am a vaccine bitch, I am a Pfizer bitch.”

A man named Jay runs up to the protesters and says “everybody hates you guys,” gesturing to the crowd across the street.

One protester says, “This sounds like nazi Germany.”

Another protester says, “They’re all living in sin and they’re all gay.”

The most violent encounter of the weekend I witnessed, a clearly intoxicated young man starts attacking people in the crowd, apparently for filming him. Unclear what started the aggression. He kicks a non-protester and tries kicking me.

A protester subdues him until the sheriff’s department arrives and arrests him.

None of the sheriff’s deputies were wearing masks.

Across the street at the Abby and the Chapel, I spoke with patrons about their personal journeys getting the jab.

Everyone I spoke with described feeling some apprehension at first and grappling with misinformation. Almost everyone felt positive about the choice afterwards.

Erasmo told me that he got vaccinated because he felt a “responsibility to others,” including his older parents.

In a very candid interview, Tasha told me she “had absolutely no desire to get vaccinated,” but felt pressured in order to travel and go out to places like the Abby. She cited fears driven by stories on tv and tiktok and said she feels upset by the process.

Franky told me she was “really against” the vax at first. With the historic mistreatment of Black people by the medical system, she & others in her community “didn’t want to be the guinea pig.” This changed after she looked into it and now she “feels great” about the choice.

These were the second and third night of protests at the Abby. Prior to the Abby, the protesters picketed outside Harlowe’s.

In a comment on IG, WeHo Mayor Lindsey Horvath said the protesters are protected by the first amendment, but added that the City Council is “working with the City Attorney on possible solutions that recognize their rights as well as those of the businesses and their guests.“

Restaurants in Beverly Hills have largely shied away from policies like the Abby’s so far, but BH Mayor Robert Wunderlich told me on Wednesday that the Council will have to examine all its options if COVID trends continue. beverlyhillscourier.com/2021/08/05/bev…