The demonstration will not happen. The authorities say it is unsafe to gather.

Somehow that doesn’t make sense to me. I agree there are safety concerns – but it isn’t as if the organizers didn’t know that.

There was a mass rally planned for Berlin this Saturday. Now it won’t happen – unless the demonstrators decide to defy the law and accept the consequences. Which was what the whole thing was about in the first place.

Earlier this month 20,000 people gathered in Berlin to protest mandatory face masks and various other rules that have been imposed as part of the response to COVID-19. People are tired, and not completely convinced the measures are having any effect.

You could say the success of the lockdown imposed in March is working against itself. Hospitals weren’t overwhelmed by COVID cases. The number of deaths, while high, was nowhere near what the worst-case scenarios projected. People have understandably become a little complacent – and we all know the restrictions are annoying.

This Saturday’s protest is being denied permission because…the protesters won’t be wearing masks. Apparently they didn’t the last time either.

I think that was the point.

Organizers are going to court to get the ban overturned of course. I have no idea if they will be successful.

I wonder though what police will do if 20,000 people show up again, with no masks and no social distancing. How do you arrest a crowd that big? Especially without getting close to them.

Should that even be a consideration? If adults, aware of the risks, choose not to take protective measures, is it the responsibility of government to force them to do so?

This pandemic has seen governments place unprecedented restrictions on their citizens’ freedom. Too often it has seemed like overkill, an overstepping of authority because they don’t know what else to do and have to appear to be doing something. That’s a charitable interpretation, given that too often it looks like a power grab to take away people’s rights.

COVID-19 infection rates are on the rise in Germany – though still nowhere near the American rate. Authorities expected that. Some restrictions have been eased, and lots of Germans take foreign vacations in August. More exposure to people means more likelihood of getting sick.

Does that justify shutting down an expression of people’s frustration with the way things are these days? You tell me.

Governments worldwide were unprepared for this pandemic. Hopefully they’ll do better next time.