Oklahoma’s Republican leaders on Friday denounced a Facebook post by the state GOP depicting a yellow star “assigned” to the unvaccinated, suggesting people who do not receive the Covid-19 vaccine in America are persecuted the way Jews were during the Holocaust, the Oklahoman reported (Top Republicans denounce Oklahoma GOP for comparing vaccine mandates to Jewish persecution).
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, Senators Jim Inhofe and James Lankford, Rep. Markwayne Mullin, Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat from Oklahoma City, and House Speaker Charles McCall from Atoka issued a joint statement saying:
“It is irresponsible and wrong to compare an effective vaccine — developed by President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed — to the horrors of the Holocaust,” the Republicans said. “People should have the liberty to choose if they take the vaccine, but we should never compare the unvaccinated to the victims of the Holocaust.”
The text above the offensive Facebook image read: “Limited access to travel in their State, Province or Territory. The bearer may not fly, cannot enter a pub, restaurant, club, or theatre. Has limited access to either work, buy and sell goods and have access to services and healthcare. WAKE UP, PEOPLE! -is this sounding familiar?”
Because, of course, the main thing Polish Jews were upset about in 1942 was not being allowed into pubs.
Roberta Clark, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City, said that “to compare the actions taken by Nazi Germany to a public health discussion is ill-informed and very inappropriate. It’s sad and ironic that anyone would draw an analogy from the largest-recorded genocide in the 20th century with public health attempts to actually save lives.”
In early July, Washington State Republican state lawmaker Jim Walsh was forced to apologize for wearing a yellow Star of David as a statement against Covid-19 restrictions. He told a local radio station: “This gesture went too far. It was inappropriate and offensive and I’m terribly sorry that it happened and that I was a part of it.”
Fine, now just go get vaccinated and all will be forgiven.