FBXL Social

Someone I work with who travels within the country for work nearly quit his job (and took a 6 months unpaid leave of absence during the worst of the pandemic) because he had the cops checking in on him at home constantly during his quarantine period.

Constant visits from the police under threat of legal action may not be the same as being handcuffed and locked in a literal prison, but that doesn't make it acceptable in a free and democratic society.

Imprisonment isn't acceptable in a free and democratic society except under a limited number of circumstances as prescribed by law. You can't imprison everyone everywhere for no reason, for example.

The worst violations of basic human rights in the past 30 years including torture and kidnapping were done in the name of safety. If we're ok with just giving up on basic human rights in the name of safety I guess how things are, but we can't go around calling ourselves free and democratic anymore. Since 9/11 we've slowly allowed ourselves to become something else.

Historically, quarantine happened typically at national borders. Is there a point at which quarantine becomes an unacceptably restrictive policy in your view? Travelling within ones own country is apparently acceptable grounds for quarantine if you cross a provincial border. How about a city border? How about leaving your house? How about changing rooms in the same house? How about crossing the same room in the same house?

Not that it matters, authoritarianism won. Hard. So any discussion is academic.