Stop the Spread, SRQ

12/28/2021

Hate has no place in Sarasota, and it certainly doesn't deserve the legitimization being offered by current and campaigning Sarasota County Schools members, namely Karen Rose and Sandra 4 SRQ School Board - District 5. Raise your hand if you find it disturbing that the Proud Boys are being given a voice in our children's schooling? Share and follow Support Our Schools to stomp out more than Covid in our community. Full article in comments.

Support Our Schools members write that Sarasota School Board member Karen Rose and candidate Sandra Jimenez were wrong to appear at a divisive town hall event.

12/01/2021

We don't just care about stopping the spread of covid. We also care about stopping the spread of the gun violence endemic that ravages American school children. Watch the video below and then visit https://www.stopthespreadsrq.org/oxford to find out how you can urge our legislators to finally act. When you're done with your calls, let us know. Don't forget to share in groups and on your personal page. We cannot let lobbyists stand in the way of passing common sense gun laws.

11/03/2021

If you missed last night's school board meeting, watch the speech that made us cry. We believe our children's first and biggest bully should not be the adults they call mom, dad, or neighbor. If your religion is giving you the green light on hate and judgment, maybe it's time to search your soul. We are so appreciative for the healing words of Pastor Dan Minor and hope that if any of you are looking for a new church to call home, you'll consider checking out The Harvest Sarasota. Pastors like Brian Gibbs do nothing but spread vitriol under the guise of God and further divide us as a community.

10/05/2021

Our kids and community deserve better than this. Shirley Brown is a duly elected official and grandmother who stood up to the recklessness of the governor and his cronies as they stood by and allowed an unprecedented amount of Floridians die from Covid.

The Sarasota School Board used data driven decision making to put our children before politics and no student lives were lost, unlike our less fortunate neighboring counties where no mandates were in place.

This is not how the government works. Their anger is misplaced and misguided. Merrick Garland released a memo tonight and we hope the people behaving this way will be held accountable. Enough is enough. We will not comply with your terroristic behavior. Our community is better than this.

09/26/2021

Them: “Masks don’t work.”
Scientists: “ The odds of a school-associated COVID-19 outbreak in schools with no mask requirement were 3.7 times higher than those in schools with an early mask requirement.”

This report describes Arizona school associated COVID-19 outbreaks higher in schools without mask requirements than in schools with mask requirements.

09/21/2021

We posted this comment earlier today, but upon further reflection, we think it warrants it’s own post.

While our group is always interested in bridging the gap, we are forced to consider who is wanting to have a sit down. We have to assess the person’s ability to process evidence & we must consider whether there is hope. One of the most valuable lessons I have personally learned from working in a psychiatric hospital is that you don’t argue with people who are detached from reality. We worry that the efforts to come together would be futile & instead we will continue to focus on shining a disinfecting light on the problem for the world to see.
Exhibit W:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/k78vvm/sarasota-florida-conspiracy-capital

Here’s what we won’t do:

In spite of the laundry list of evidence that we have to showcase the violent criminals offenses of the other side (our legal team was able to compile a beautifully detailed list- dang they love domestic violence!), we won’t attack the people or their personal lives. We don’t need to stoop that low (yet) (Lev. 24:19–21).
We also won’t lie, we don’t need to do that either. The truth is ironically faaaar better than any lie that we could make up. We won’t shout & interrupt them either (it’s a terrible example to set for our children).
In fact, we won’t even bother defending ourselves & the bat-sh*t-crazy Conspiracy theories we have had the distinct pleasure (and I mean PLEASURE!) of reading about ourselves. We are focused on dismantling the lies & the rhetoric. We have the support of our local medical professionals & we have an inbox littered with thank you’s from them.
We are not the bullies. Try to remember that. We’re just standing up to the bullies who yell the loudest & threaten the most. They have convinced themselves that they are the majority & i have a feeling that their wake up call will be similar to the men & women who were arrested after the insurrection & realized that they too were duped. But by then, it’s too late.
I hope that the lawless anti-maskers stay focused on ridiculous tiktoks & spreading lies… we’ll focus on the issues. May the group that represents the majority of our citizens win. It’s time to act like adults.

Conspiracists like Michael Flynn and the Cyber Ninjas have descended on Sarasota, where doctors recently signed 4,000 mask waivers for children with anti-vax parents.

09/20/2021

We started out thinking this was just about masks. When they realized they could no longer say that masks don't work, they fell in line to start saying it was "parental liberties."

What we know is that there is something much more sinister than anyone expected happening in Sarasota County, and it includes some of the most dangerous proponents of the far right conspiracy theories that have been rotting the core of our community.

This is far bigger than just masks. Our poor community members have been manipulated into fighting for a side fueled by dark money and politics.

And the world is taking notice.

Conspiracists like Michael Flynn and the Cyber Ninjas have descended on Sarasota, where doctors recently signed 4,000 mask waivers for children with anti-vax parents.

09/17/2021

***Not local, but still heartbreaking for her children.

At what point can the founders of these dangerous misinformation groups take a step back, admit they were wrong, and stop packaging up misinformation under the guise of "liberty" and "parental rights"? When you say covid barely effects children, does it cross your mind that being suddenly motherless is as traumatic as we can imagine?

This movement was set into motion by local school board member Bridget Ziegler and is far from grassroots. There is money behind it and we want to know why donors want to invest in misinformation that causes death.

They think we live in fear. The only fear we have is that someone who doesn't have a say has their life turned upside down because a community of toxic "patriots" are listening to the wrong people when it comes to science and medical information.

This does not have to keep happening. Your parental rights are far less important than the rights of an entire community to eradicate this virus. It's time to stop pretending this isn't happening.

Get vaccinated. Wear a mask. You won't have parental rights to worry about if you're dead.

09/16/2021

This won’t be the last time we put a national spotlight on the issues facing us here in Sarasota County. Was our part long? No. However, we packaged and presented the entire story to CNN. With some good connections and coverage, we have been able to get people to start taking notice. Under the guise of “freedom fighting” (like Danny’s COOL truck) and “patriotism” this group of parents has politicized an issue and put our children and community at greater risk.

We originally busted the chiropractor because he is being irresponsible in the face of a public health crisis. We have both the names of the doctors that were in attendance on Sunday as well as an additional doctor that has been issuing exemptions. Tomorrow, you will know their names and can join us in filing complaints to the DOH.

We will also give you instructions on how to write to the school board and get them to throw out the exemptions from these doctors.

An MD, DO, or ARNP should have an established physician/patient relationship which would include a medical evaluation that leads to “valid clinical reasoning or evidence.” This relationship would require a well-documented patient chart with a detailed clinical assessment and supporting pathology. An attendee at the waiver-mill held on Sunday was quoted by the Herald Tribune stating that these “exams” were three minutes long. We don’t believe any clinician could have made this determination in three minutes. We do not believe these exemptions meet the intent of the mandate.

Our fight is not over here. Until the far right realizes that it’s time to give up their games while threatening our community, we will keep fighting to bring these issues to light. This is about our children’s health and the anti-mask parents need to take their politics to the ballot box instead of interfering with our school systems. We will meet you there and plan to continue to show your true colors to the community.

09/15/2021

When it comes to the health and safety of our children and community, politics should take a backseat to the advice from our medical community. Tune in to Anderson Cooper on CNN tonight to see how the dangerous political games being played out here in Sarasota are affecting our community and our schools. Randi Kaye sat down with Jules Souls today to learn more about what we're facing as we try to Stop the Spread.

09/12/2021

We usually see a receptionist when we walk into the doctor's office... this is a first...

At the Moms for Liberty sponsored event to dole out more exemptions from "real" MDs instead of the (who also helped set this fun family event up...)

You can't sleep through this anymore. This cult is extending the pandemic for us all. You do remember that Bridget Ziegler started this alt-right group of entitled fake patriots right? Just before her husband booked 3 buses to the insurrection. Most of this crowd thinks Trump won the election. They are not living in the real world and do not care about you or your kids.