How to reach coronavirus deniers like Fort Worth video crowd? Peer pressure, to start
We’ve all shaken our heads at news reports of people who can’t seem to grasp the concept of social distancing to slow the spread of coronavirus. But a hastily recorded video of a southeast Fort Worth gathering, captured by a congressman, has driven home how far we have to go.
It demonstrates that for all the slogans and orders from all levels of government and media, far too many people have either missed the message or just aren’t buying it. Tarrant County and Fort Worth need new strategies to reach traditionally underserved communities, overcome misinformation and persuade more people that they have a part to play in saving lives.
It’s hard for those who are taking the coronavirus threat seriously and complying with demands and recommendations to fathom that so many aren’t. But the video that Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, shared, which shows a large gathering of mostly young black adults in a parking lot celebrating a friend who recently died, is not a fluke.
Fort Worth City Council member Kelly Allen Gray said she’s seen several others like it, of gatherings in parks, backyards and even the same areas along Miller Avenue.
“It’s not the first video,” said Gray, whose District 8 includes several black neighborhoods. “It’s getting a lot of play because he’s the congressman.”
Together, they confirm a grim reality: Some people will never take the virus seriously enough.
“The idea that we are gathering in large numbers is very disconcerting,” Gray said. “Even with reputable people saying, ‘Stay home,’ if it’s not in you to stay home, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to do what you want to do.”
But many more people can be reached, and the mission is crucial: As Gray noted, there’s evidence that the virus is disproportionately hitting black Americans. New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that a third of those hospitalized are black, while 13% of the U.S. population is black. And the virus may be deadlier in that population than others.
When he shared the video, Veasey called for a stricter stay-at-home order. We’re not sure what adding to the legal declaration can accomplish among people who are already defying it. Instead, the answer could be on the enforcement side.
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But there’s no easy solution there, particularly given the tension between Fort Worth police and black residents that erupted last summer and fall after several police shootings, including the killing of Atatiana Jefferson.
City Council member Gyna Bivens, whose District 5 includes the area seen in the video, said she wished that the police present at the gathering had engaged the crowd more.
But “police are damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” she said. “As soon as they [step in], we hear that they’re targeting” black residents.
A non-confrontational approach is key, she said: “Get on a loudspeaker, ask the crowd to disperse.”
Arrests are not the answer. We don’t need more bodily contact between officers and the public, and we want fewer people in the Tarrant County jail to potentially transmit the virus, not more. Tickets are probably not very useful, either, for already-disadvantaged residents.
Bivens’ answer: peer pressure.
Relating a conversation with Police Chief Ed Kraus, she said the department has teams ready to respond to reports of public gatherings but has received only about 20 such calls.
“This is everybody’s war,” the councilwoman said. “If you see something that should not be, there’s a hotline number you can call [817-392-8478]. … I wish everybody had called 911 last night.”
She added, even if police are already present, “you can ask, ‘Why are these cops still watching this?’ ”
The communications challenge is steep, thanks to early misinformation; both Bivens and Gray noted that when the virus first began to spread, there were social media posts alleging that African-Americans couldn’t contract it. And the initial focus on the vulnerability of elderly people might have led some young people to believe they couldn’t get sick.
That’s obviously not true, and the city and county need to work against the tide of confusion. Social media, videos and news reports only go so far. Officials must find more ways to spread the truth. Gray suggested older technologies, including recorded phone calls and automated text messages, could help reach people who don’t consume much news.
Or, as Bivens put it: “How do we communicate with people who don’t make it a hobby to watch what government does?”