By Robert Blumen   February 7, 2023   History, Policy   12 minute read

Much has been written about the harshness of the lockdowns and the painful costs imposed on many. Strict punishments were meted out for trivial violations of the most nonsensical rules. Businesses, careers, and years of education were lost. Family gatherings were canceled. Family members were unable to visit next of kin in the hospital. Speech development and social learning of children was delayed.

There were also some who fought the authoritahs. Calvary Church in San Jose defied the state of California and is still fighting them in court over a multimillion dollar fine for worshiping without masks. A yoga studio in Pacifica faced fines for offering mask-free classes, and the owner was driven out of the state.

No one denies all the harm that was done. Nor should we forget it. Yet I do not feel that telling the story of the harm captures the full complexity of what happened. There is a largely unexamined story: a parallel society that ignored the rules – a world of black markets, underground economies, and speakeasies. I will write about my home state of California because I know it. Each place has its own story to tell. I heard enough from people living all over the world to understand that things were different – for better or for worse – elsewhere.

California had among the most enduring covid regimes in the US. Until shortly before it ended in mid-2022, each county could only escape the onerous restrictions by progressing through a series of lesser color-coded emergency states. The impossible exit condition was a near-zero level of (fictitious asymptomatic) cases for a period of weeks. Even now with life mostly back to normal other than the handful of mask-wearing dead-enders, California remains in an official state of emergency.

The covid regime of rules on the books was unfailingly harsh. But taking the rules at face value does not tell the whole story. I saw society split into two parallel realities which I call the New Normal and Speakeasy World. In the New Normal, rules were enforced and people stayed home. In Speakeasy World – not so much.

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