Across the US, COVID-19 cases are surging. But that didn't stop a New York GOP group from violating social distancing rules to throw a holiday party earlier this month. What's worse is that the party was held indoors at an Italian restaurant, and literally no one was wearing a face covering.
The event, where at least 50 people were in attendance, took place on December 9, but footage from the party has just gone viral. In it, you can spot Vickie Paladino, a GOP candidate for New York City Council in Queens’ District 19, leading a conga line.
It's all highly disturbing to see. Especially because New York was averaging about 10,400 positive cases a day when the party took place. While the GOP group is blowing off criticism and making excuses, there's no possible excuse for this kind of irresponsible and dangerous behavior.
Now that footage from the GOP party is going viral, people are really angry, and with good reason. Paladino and Queens Republicans are facing a huge backlash on social media. Not only did they hold an indoor holiday party, while leaders are urging the rest of us to cancel our holiday plans, they did so without wearing masks or adhering to social distancing guidelines.
New York is leading the surge in COVID cases, too. The state has had almost 860,000 positive cases and more than 36,200 deaths. Almost 111,000 cases and almost 7,500 deaths occurred in Queens County only.
The footage was shared by journalist Matt Binder. He posted the video to Twitter, writing, “The Whitestone Republican Club in NYC apparently held a Christmas party this year without a care in the world about covid." It has been viewed more than 1.8 million times.
Regardless of the video showing a clear disregard for safety, members of the group say they didn't do anything wrong. Robert Hornak, spokesperson for the Whitestone Republican Club, told the Queens Daily Eagle that rules were followed.
“We held an intimate gathering observing all the covid guidelines in place at the time,” he said. “Every attendee was told to wear a mask, and everyone had one when entering, or was given one.”
Many people on social media are commenting with pure outrage. I mean, the fact is, most people are trying as hard as they can to stick to the rules and slow the spread of COVID-19 as we all await our turns to get the vaccine. To see our leaders acting without the same kind of care is truly maddening.
Governor Andrew Cuomo sent out a simple tweet in response to the event. He shared the video showing the conga line with the caption, "conga lines are not smart." Cuomo has been urging New York residents to practice social distancing, wear their masks, and cancel holiday plans amid the pandemic.
However, while many leaders have set a positive example, that has not been true for everyone. The White House has held maskless parties in recent weeks, as have the Republican governors of Mississippi and Florida. As Christmas draws nearer, it's safe to say that these poor examples are probably going to lead to others who don't want to cancel their holiday plans following suit.
It seems that as far as some people are concerned, there is simply no good reason to look out for others. But it never ceases to amaze that the very people who are supposed to be setting a good example for the rest of the country are acting so selfishly. What's worse is that they don't even seem to care about who their actions may harm. Vickie Paladino even shared a photo to her Facebook page from the event. In it, no one is wearing a mask. Paladino could not immediately be reached for a comment in response to the backlash.
