“Covid-19 haircut is why I'm wearing a hat.”
Photos and words by Sean Rayford
Sandra Brossious
“I'm a senior citizen and I have asthma, but I'm not afraid because we do more natural stuff that is better for you than anything else. Like I said, the light kills it - when you're out in the light. So the sunlight is gonna to zap it away. I’m not gonna live in fear,” says Elaine Shipman yesterday afternoon in front of the statehouse in Columbia, SC.
From Union, SC, sporting a white ball cap with a large Q, written on the back in blue marker, Shipman is at the capital protesting government restrictions due to the coronavirus. The sides of her hat are also personalized with NWG1WGA and MAGA markings. “People want to go to the stores or get a haircut,” she says, pulling off her homemade QAnon hat, “Look at my haircut. Covid-19 haircut is why I'm wearing a hat. We can't go camping. Can't go fishing. Can’t go to the beach. Can't go to the mountains. Can't even leave the state. We're ready to have our freedom back.”
Elaine Shipman
Also from Union, joining Shipman and about fifty demonstrators at the statehouse is Wolf Nelson, who teaches wilderness survival. Carrying a bullhorn in one hand and a flag pole with American and Gadsden flags in the other, he dons a red MAGA hat and says the closure of state parks has put a strain on his way of life. “As far as I know there ain’t nobody here wanting Boogaloo or civil war or nothing like that. We just want them to open up the state. People are fixin’ to start losing their homes,” he says.
Wolf doesn’t agree with the government restrictions to fight the spread of Covid-19. “We suck our thumbs as babies growing up. We dropped suckers and picked them up. We built immune systems and if we’re inside hunkered down constantly disinfecting — our immune system isn't getting the workout it needs.”
Sandra Brossious drove from Greenville, like she did last week for the previous Reopen SC protest. Her son, Jordan Brossious joins her holding a sign on white poster board attached to a small wooden stake that reads, “I WANT 2 WORK.” A server at the Upstate California Dreaming, he has been selling plasma to help with lost income. Jordan says the facility just started requiring face masks.
Sandra says she has been shaking her head from the beginning. "I cant believe we’re going through all this for a virus. Why aren’t we doing this over AIDS? Why aren't we doing this over cancer? Be safe out there. Why don’t we say that to people out there on their cellphones while they are driving? We should be saying the same thing when people are exposed to patients with AIDS. Why all of a sudden, are we making this out to be a big deal when there are other things out there in this world that are also life threatening — but we’re not shutting businesses down and putting people out of work over it? This is nonsense,” says Sandra.
Ann Condor, school board member from Moncks Corner, SC.
“A lot of people, they end up with cancer, and for the first time they change their lifestyle habits. They change the foods that they eat. They start eating healthier. And then they beat cancer. Well, we could do the same thing with coronavirus or anything else. As long as we eat right and we get plenty of exercise we can be much healthier people and we don’t need to rely on the government to give us immunization shots. There is so much toxic poison in medications today. It's crazy and people don’t realize it. There [are] so many side effects. But God already provided us medication through plants. So we just need to start recognizing it and trusting what God can do for us rather than what the doctors can do or what the governments can do.”
A few hours after Friday’s protest, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster issued a statement lifting the ‘home or work’ orders and some of other statewide pandemic restrictions, permitting outside dining at restaurants come Monday. State parks reopened Friday on a limited basis, boat docks and beaches, on April 21 and retail businesses began reopening two weeks ago.
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