It’s always great when someone in the Credentialed News does this, because most of them were in no fear of losing their jobs or even missing paychecks. They weren’t designated “non-essential” by Government. Seriously, are editorial page editors, like Nj.com’s Tom Moran, really essential?
The arrogance behind the defiance at Atilis gym
Ian Smith, the musclebound co-owner of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, vows that he will die before he obeys Gov. Phil Murphy’s rules on safe conduct at his gym.
“This is our hill and I’ll die on it before I let you take it,†he said recently. “Come and get us…You’ll simply have to kill us first.â€
For now, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is sticking to fines — big ones that are likely to grow if this defiance continues. Last week, the state moved to impose a fine of $124,000, with a warning that it could grow by more than $15,000 a day until he yields.
Even that has failed to penetrate.
“I don’t care about the fines,†Smith says. “Throw me in jail. I don’t care. I’m not going to pay them…We don’t have any respect for Gov. Murphy.
Smith sees himself as a hero, and as long as he’s a regular guest with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, as long as people keep sending him money to help in his legal defense, it’s hard to imagine him changing his mind. This might not end until a judge grants him his wish to go to jail, or the state moves in with a heavier hand to shut down the gym altogether.
Smith’s fantasy about sacrificing his life in a heroic blaze is something he’ll have to work out with his therapist. The law in New Jersey allows no such thing.
Nor does it allow the owner of a gym to make policy for New Jersey during a pandemic that has killed 16,000 within our borders so far. It takes a staggering level of arrogance for Smith and his co-owner, Frank Trumbetti, to decide that they know best.
See, we have this thing called “freedom” in this nation, a belief that has been strangled by the pro-Big Government Democrats, who want citizens to sit down, shut up, and listen to their Betters. And, again, it’s easy for someone like Moran to yammer and insult and demean Smith, because Moran has no worries.
We live in a democracy. We resolve disputes by relying on the law. And the big decisions are made by the men and women who get the most votes.
See? Just listen to your political masters. Even if it means losing your business, your money, your home, everything.
Read: NJ News Media Calls Gym Owner Not Wanting To Lose His Business “Arrogance” »