- The Washington Times - Friday, May 22, 2020

A Mississippi church fighting to reopen amid COVID-19 crackdowns has been burned to the ground, an apparent product of arson. A message found by investigators at the scene read, “Bet you stay home now you hypokrits.”

This is what happens when a population is driven by fear, not reason.

What’s worse is knowing there are probably plenty of ignorant people around the nation now saying silently, to themselves, or whispering quietly, to their similarly minded ignoramus friends and family members: Good.

The church got what it deserved.

It’s evil, pure and simple. And it’s evil that’s been fueled entirely by falsely reported virus numbers, wildly skewed COVID-19 figures, horribly wrong medical predictions and even politically incentivized health professionals, Democratic governors and officials and others with anti-President Donald Trump axes to grind.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, in a tweet, wrote: “I am heartbroken and furious. In Mississippi, a church was just burned to the ground. They had been trying to open services. There was graffiti on the lot which read, ’Bet you stay home now you hypocrites.’ What is this pandemic doing to us?”

Here’s an answer: Driving the country down a dark, desperate road.

Here’s another: Bringing out the worst of humanity.

Or yet one more: Elevating the finger-wagging self-righteous to the forefront, so they can critically condemn any and all who don’t want to play the collectivist COVID-19 game — so they can feel justified in attacking those who don’t want to live within the strict confines that the fear-mongering dictates.

“We need prayer for this country,” Reeves said, in his tweet.

Yes. Prayer and reason.

Prayer that the blinded fearful will have their eyes opened to truths and facts, and that the run-away train called COVID-19 Fright will be halted from doing further constitutional, economic and societal damages.

It’s disgusting, dangerous times when the burning of churches can be justified as a means of protecting the people from a virus.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE.

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