Anti-vax and pro-business? Alabama’s oxymoronic unicorn/elephant in the room

Oxymoronic Unicorn-ephant

Oxymoronic Unicorn-ephant

This is an opinion cartoon.

Coronavirus

You can’t be anti-vax and pro-business. You just can’t. Unless you’re an Alabama oxymoronic unicorn-ephant.

Vaccinations are putting out the fire. The unmasked and unvaccinated have kept the fire alive, burning through lives, schools and businesses.

Related: Biden’s vaccine mandate has Kay Ivey, GOP governors seeing red

Related: Unvaccinated Alabama: “We dare defend our last rites”

Related: As delta wave slows, Alabama starts to count the dead

I’m no fan of government mandates. But sometimes you just gotta put out the fire. Of course, Alabama politicians just wanna keep the red meat fire blazing with ridiculous government bans on government mandates. Just let businesses do their thing, alright?

My colleague Cameron Smith makes a lot of sense. He sets it all straight right here:

Ivey shouldn’t call for more COVID-19 government mandates

An excerpt:

If an employer chooses to require vaccines, he or she faces powerful market realities. Employers are presently experiencing a labor crunch. Good employees who don’t want a vaccine have plenty of options. Let the market sort that out.

That’s why so many large employers are crying alligator tears over the federal government forcing them to mandate the COVID-19 vaccines. If every competitor in a market is forced into the same behavior, nobody has a competitive advantage. Vaccine mandate bans serve the same purpose in the opposite direction. Large businesses push for one. Politicians push for the other. The lion’s share of small business owners don’t have much of a say.

In most cases, employers should make decisions about workplace health and safety and the labor market should reward or punish them accordingly. It takes the choice out of the hands of politicians and puts it in the control of employers and employees. That’s where it should be.

Read all of Cameron Smith’s column here

Related: Unvaxxed cemetery: The last place you want to exercise your liberties

I’m often inspired by this quote from my colleague Ben Flanagan’s Outbreak Alabama podcast: “You can’t be anti-vax and pro-business.”

Condolences to all who have lost loved ones to this dreadful virus. If you haven’t done so, please consult your doctor about getting vaccinated.

Check out more cartoons and stuff by JD Crowe

How I met Dr. Seuss

I was ZZ top’s drummer for a night and got kidnapped by groupies

Mobile high school football shooting: Gun violence is our cross to bear

Texas abortion law: Red state Republicans are rabid about women’s rights

Quit horsing around and get the vaccine

Jalen, Tua and Mac Jones: Is Alabama’s greatest QB room the GOAT?

Kay Ivey robbing COVID Relief funds for prisons is squeamish business

MyPillow Guy is crazy about Alabama; maybe a little too crazy

JD Crowe is the cartoonist for Alabama Media Group and AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award for local and state cartoons by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix.

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