Shock and Misplaced Anger

I think these words pretty much encapsulate the thinking of a lot of New York parents these days. After months of staying home with their families, the stress has gotten to them. As it has to most of he rest of us that do not have children living at home. 

But for those of us that are empty-nesters the stress is nowhere near what it is to families that have children living at home. Even in the relatively smaller families of 3 or 4 children, let alone in the typically lager families of 5  to 10 kids (or more). I cannot imagine what it must have been like living in one house with children that are normally not there. At least not all at the same time. 

Most families send their children to school for a significant part of the day during the school year and the to summer camp in the summer.  Older children (high school and beyond) study out-of-town Yeshivos and dorm. But last March that all changed, schools claosed and everyone came home. And stayed home 24/7 for over 3 months.

Of course it wasn’t all bad. There are a lot a parents that loved having all their children home during these times – considering it a blessing in disguise to be able to spend some quality time with them they would not have been able to have under normal conditions. But even that blessing has its limits. Being couped-up that long in a confined space will take its toll.

For the younger kids there was hope that ‘sleep away’ summer camps would offer them some respite and give their kids a needed break from the monotony they must have felt during their stay at home with little in the way of distraction.

I believe that this is the mindset that a lot people in New York had when they got the ‘bad news’. Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered that summer camps may not be opened to this year due to fears about the spread of COVID-19.

The reaction by Agudah and many Orthodox camp directors was swift. They are  shocked and angered by the decision – believing it to somehow be directed to Orthodox Jews. Although they did not call it antisemitic, they may has well have considering the reactions reported in Mishpacha Magazine.

Which is of course ridiculous. That anger is misplaced. If they are going to be angry, it ought to be at the disease. Not the people trying to prevent them from getting it. 

Considering Agudah’s public expression of outrage at the murder of George Floyd by a white Minnesota cop - their comparison to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests is very disappointing It sounds almost racist.  The comparison goes something like this:

If the governor can express his support of those protests (perhaps even helping to coordinate them) where hundreds of thousands of  people are marching shoulder to shoulder – many without masks, how can he then turn around and forbid summer camps that would have been implementing every possible safety precaution to prevent the spread? Camp directors had been working diligently with health officials to devise and perfect such a plan. all in expectation that smmer camos would be allowed to open. All that work - down the drain.

Granted. Organized and controlled summer camps would have been much safer from a health perspective than the protests were. However, a just protest against the kind of racism responsible for a disproportionate number of black deaths and other indignities - is an order of magnitude greater than the loss of summer camps for our children. It is a terrible comparison to make. The protests were groundswell and no one could have stopped them. The support Cuomo showed was not for violating the states health directives. It was support for the cause those protests were all about. It was indeed enthusiastic as it should have been.

That Agudah and all the camp directors are upset is understandable. They had gone to a lot of trouble  to assure that the risks would be minimized. They believe that more harm will result from keeping the cams closed than there would be f they are allowed to open. But that is a judgment call that is not their to make. That call belongs to New York Health officials.

Sure. Camp is important. Those kids do need to get out. Parents need that break – just about now. Keeping their kids home until school starts in the fall (if it even does) is a lot to ask. But the New York governor did not make this decision with prejudice. It is directed to all parents in the state. Not just Orthodox Jewish ones. My guess is that there are a lot more non Jewish camps than there are Orthodox Jewish ones. But you wouldn’t know that from all the public complaining from the Orthodox establishment. They seem to be taking this personally. As though the governor wants to somehow ‘stick it to them’.

I really doubt that this was Cuomo’s intent. His intent was to follow the advice of his  health experts for the best possible environment to reduce the spread of a disease that has killed so many people. including an enormous number of Orthodox Jews. and made a lot more of them seriously ill - palced on ventilators. 

COVID-19 may not affect young people (i.e. the campers) as badly as it does the elderly. But they can still become affected and spread it to others, including their own family members. Some of whom are high risk via age or compromised health.

Closing summer camps makes sense to me. Putting a bunch of kids in bunks every night - and involved in all kinds of activities together – while expecting rules like masks and social distancing to be meticulously followed is a pretty far-fetched proposition. That is very likely behind the thinking behind the Governor’s decision. Ad what about the camp staff? They are not children. are they not at greater risk? Do they not deserve the protections he governor is implementing here?

The claim that the structure that these camps would provide which is now being denied will cause more harm than would opening them up would is far from a proven fact. 

Agudah officials admit that it is basically only the Orthodox community that is complaining this much about it. They explain that their camps are more than about giving those kids something to do over the summer. It is about their Ruchniyus – the spiritual development those religious camps provide. 

Perhaps they do. But if a child suffers in his spiritual development by staying home, what does that say about their family? Sure there might be distractions at home that are not avialable I a structured summer camp situation. But no child will suffer spiritually long term in a family with good values that practices what they preach. For those families that have problems (some to the point of dysfunction) summer camp isn’t going to help them that much either.

There was talk in the Mishpacha article about Orthodox ‘revenge at the polls’ at the next election. I am no fan of the New York governor. I probably wouldn’t vote for him anyway. But not for those reasons. I believe he is doing the right thing here for the right reasons. I do not believe this is in any way antisemitic. But it doesn’t really matter what the Orthodox community does at the polls, anyway. Cuomo has an 80% favorable rating. Making his unprecedented run for a fourth term a  sure success.

I know a lot of people share Agudah’s outrage at Cuomo. That probably stems from all the stress and anxiety they have been living through over the past few months. They expected to see some relief. Having it denied feels like a real slap in he face.

I know it’s hard. Staying safe these days is hard for everyone. Especially parents who have had all of their children home til now. I guess they will have to do it a bit longer now. 

There is one thing Orthodox officials are saying that I actually agree with. Governor Cuomo is allowing day camps to function. I’m not sure why that is a better situation than a sleep away summer camp where campers will basically be in isolation for a month or longer. Day campers will be coming into contact with each other where some of them might be unknowingly be carriers; go back home every night and possibly transmit the virus to their own family – who might spread it to others. That is a good point. I therefore think that day camps ought to be closed too.