Barefaced Is the New MAGA Hat: Time to Make Our Own Statements
For more than its disease-preventing capacity, wearing a mask has become a symbol.
This is the one simple thing people can do to let the world know that they care about the impact of COVID-19, namely wearing a mask when around people outside your household.
It doesn’t guarantee safety, either for the wearer or the people around them, but combined with other actions, like social distancing and frequent handwashing, it can make a difference, even if it only serves to remind other people to behave responsibly.
In situations where social distancing is harder to do, like a workplace or grocery store, a mask reduces the ability of an asymptomatic infected person to spread the virus.
The United States has 4.2% of the world's population, but 28.2% of the world's reported coronavirus deaths. Obviously, we need some cooperation from the public.
San Diego County reported an additional 15 deaths on Tuesday. History shows that our foolish behavior will create conditions for a second wave likely to be more lethal later in 2020.
Enough with these facts already. We all know MAGAts don’t believe anything uttered without the blessing of their Dear Leader or one of his minions.
The point of having the nation's leaders wear them is to encourage the nation to do the same, and the President has let his actions do the speaking.
https://twitter.com/girlsreallyrule/status/1260554197747093506?s=20
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Not wearing a mask in public means one of two things: the individual can’t be bothered, or the non-wearer is a science denying person best described as one of Miriam Webster’s synonyms for bad:
bastard, bush, bush-league, crummy (also crumby), deficient, dissatisfactory, ill, inferior, lame, lousy, off, paltry, poor, punk, sour, suboptimal, subpar, substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wack [slang], wanting, wretched…
And just plain wrong.
I absolutely believe in their freedom to expose themselves to a highly contagious virus. I also absolutely think they should be personally responsible for any consequences.
When and if the County gets a good tracer program in place, these individuals should be required to contribute to the medical costs of anyone they potentially exposed.
Although police are understandably reluctant to get involved with these social morons, given the association between nutcases and “freedom” fighters, perhaps a system could be set up dedicating any penalties to public health care.
Really.
Why would anybody want to advertise their willingness to say screw you to everybody around them? Is anybody’s freedom threatened by being courteous? Is it really liberty when a barefaced “patriot” is in essence saying “screw you” to the rest of the world?
Apparently it is. And since “freedom” isn’t free, as the military hawks like to say, let’s make sure being barefaced comes with a price tag.
We already know that a characteristic of the cult of Trump is that they can’t be shamed. That’s probably the most important message regularly conveyed by Dear Leader.
Thanks to the administration’s “me first” philosophy, the United States is the laughing stock of Europe.
In the meantime, let’s all make sure these types are excluded from the spaces we negotiate.
Their freedom doesn’t include endangering others. If they want to believe drinking bleach is a cure, I only ask that they do it at home and not call 911 if the result isn’t what they expected.
American citizens in general will soon be learning the consequences of our national foolishness.
Just try to buy a plane ticket to Europe without a quarantine at your final destination.
From the Daily Beast:
The European Union is set to release new guidelines called “Europe Needs a Break” on Wednesday that will recommend replacing travel bans with what they are calling “targeted restrictions” based on contagion levels and reciprocity among European and neighboring nations, many of which have been under draconian lockdowns backed by science.
The key to any successful reopening in Europe is based entirely on risk assessment, meaning anyone coming from a nation deemed risky or careless will be the first to be banned. Simply put, anyone who has been under the lax American approach to the pandemic, which has been the laughing stock of Europe, won’t be welcome any time soon.
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In early April the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed their guidance to include a broader part of the population who should wear masks.
Effective May 1, residents of San Diego County are required to wear face coverings while in public. The mandate requires anyone to wear a face covering whenever they are within six-feet of a non-household member.
Currently, the County requires employees of some essential businesses (retail stores, gas stations, restaurants, pharmacies) to wear coverings, and businesses are allowed to deny entry to anyone not wearing a face covering.
"We believe this is going to be a part of life in the new normal," according to Counter Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. “Until such time as we have a vaccine or a widely available therapeutic drug, there are going to be parts of life that are going to change. And getting in the habit of having a face covering when you leave your house, that's going to be part of that change."
https://twitter.com/Frances_Fisher/status/1260621254035296256?s=20
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I am one of those people who are uncomfortable about wearing a mask. I can’t keep them from falling down on my face due to my rather unique head and neck construct.
The surgery to remove my cancerous vocal chords in 2012 reconfigured the muscles in my neck and face. I actually lost a couple of inches in height. And I breathe through a filter over a hole at the base of my neck.
I wear a mask --which has an even less prophylactic function for me-- because I care.
Given that face coverings are certain to be part of our wardrobes for the foreseeable future, I think it’s time to go beyond the simple statement of wearing one in public. I want some style on my face, and --when appropriate-- the ability to send another message.
By the way, I endorse the message on the sample face mask at the top of this post.
https://twitter.com/SteveKerr/status/1260346039862611968?s=20
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