I received an interesting text yesterday from someone I don’t know but which infuriated me. It was some sort of asinine protest against the wearing of masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus. This is what it said (in all cap, of course, much like Donald Trump’s tweets):
“THE CDC CLAIMS THAT SMOKING IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR 480,000 YEARLY DEATHS, INCLUDING 25,000 FROM JUST SECONDHAND SMOKE. YET THE GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER FORECED ANYONE TO STOP SMOKING TO SAVE A LIFE. SO THEN WHY ARE YOU BEING FORCED TO WEAR A MASK?? STILL THINK THIS IS ABOUT ‘SAVING LIVES’?”
First of all, smoking is banned in public places such as restaurants, theaters, state office buildings and, in some states, inside vehicles when there are passengers under 12 years of age.
Second, I know of no jurisdiction where anyone is “forced” to wear a mask. Yet. I wear my mask to church but I notice that people all around me are maskless.
Third, yes, it is about saving lives, you clueless knucklehead! If you think otherwise, the next time you have surgery, ask the doctors and nurses to leave their masks at the door because after all, it’s not about saving lives so, why would you need that protection?
And next time you embark on a errand or trip in your vehicle, be sure to tell the kids in the back seat not to fasten their seat belts. Don’t worry about studies that have shown conclusively that if you’re in a collision and are ejected from your vehicle because you weren’t wearing a seat belt, you have a 25 times greater chance of dying than if you were belted in. In fact, tell the little tykes it’s cool to sit in the front seat – beltless. And infant carriers? Who needs ‘em? That’s just the guvmint tellin’ you how to live your life – or die trying.
For that matter, why do football and baseball players need helmets? You think that study that found that 110 of 111 deceased NFL players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) a degenerative brain disorder associated with repetitive head trauma was just coincidence?
Think how uneducated and ill-informed you must sound to say masks are not about saving lives.
I have to ask if you are resisting the wearing of masks only because a thick-headed, orange-haired pitiful excuse for a leader eschews them? That’s the example you wish to follow – someone who governs by tweet and would rather play golf than address the problems of this country – instead of someone who has invested a career to fighting disease?
Seriously?
Trump and his minions have been insisting that the coronavirus is (a) only the sniffles and (b) will magically disappear.
Well, we are fast approaching a quarter-million deaths from the “sniffles” and for the past week, we’ve set new records daily for the number of infections. Yesterday, it surpassed 150,000 in a single 24-hour period. That’s not “magically disappearing,” folks.
I said here earlier that the best barbecue I’ve ever tasted was from Fire House Barbecue here in Livingston Parish. Plus, they give generous portions. But when they defied the mask mandate a few months back, I vowed never to set foot in there again. And I won’t. If they don’t have the common decency to protect their customers, I refuse to be one.
It’s not about “freedom.” That’s one of the most pathetic arguments I’ve ever heard on any subject. Thank God, we didn’t have that attitude in this country during World War II when commodities were being rationed to support the war effort. Instead, we came together – at least our parents and grandparents did – for the good of the country.
Do you think those Covid patients on respirators would concur with your absurd argument that masks aren’t about saving lives?
Yes, as a matter of fact, masks are about saving lives, so get over your ego-driven defiance and do the right thing. Trust science, not some advocate of bleach drinking. The virus has not “disappeared,” and Dr. Anthony Fauci is a far more knowledgeable authority on this than President “Tweet Thang.”
Mask up!
Louisiana Voice 
You’re making entirely too much sense for the denial crowd. SMDH
It is interesting how these Trump supporters refuse to wear a mask in public (a minor and inexpensive inconvenience at best) to try to stop them from spreading a deadly virus (protecting life) to others or catching it themselves, but at the same time find it perfectly okay to make a female remain pregnant and give birth (at great physical, mental and financial cost to her) to a fetus because they’re pro-life. They only worry or care about right when it is one they claim. The law doesn’t force people to donate their organs without consent even when they’re dead, but it can force a female to remain pregnant against her will and against her own doctor’s recommendation. I don’t get how they’re able to hold incompatible beliefs. My only explanation for it is their selfish and cavalier willful disregard for others. Wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a life-threatening disease to others is being pro-life. It might infringe on one’s right to not wear a mask while in public, but no one is forcing these people to go outside. They’d force a woman to remain pregnant when she, for whatever reason that is important to her, cannot or chooses not to. The burdens on a pregnant female are WAY higher than asking one of these bozos to voluntarily wear a cheap mask for a part of their day to save lives. There is oodles of evidence that wearing masks save lives. They even knew this back during the Spanish Flu epidemic 100 years ago that masks prevent/limit the spread of viruses & that’s before we even had antibiotics and other medical/scientific innovations that we take for granted. With smoking, even before it was banned in public, one could request a non-smoking table at a restaurant or a non-smoking hotel room so that the nonsmokers of the world would have at least the appearance of safety.
Great piece, Tom. Unfortunately, it falls on the deaf ears of the Trumpublican cult.
Hint: I use neck gaiters rather than masks. I would suggest anybody using them double them up (pull the top over your nose, then pull the bottom up and over your nose. . They work better and are actually more comfortable that way-this is also a CDC recommendation.
I so wish you would submit this to the MSM press as an Op-Ed. Everyone needs to have the benefit of your wisdom regarding this matter.
Sentences are far too long for this fool and as others said, it will fall on deaf ears. The principle of liberty has been distorted in our country. Somehow it’s turned into a chest-beating of “my rights” with no concern for the greater good. Such a shallow interpretation of freedom, a sad time in America.
According to my internet research, currently 2.3% of those diagnosed with COVID-19 die of the disease. Rounding down for ease of figuring, averaging over 100,000 new cases a day means we will soon be averaging over 2000 deaths per day.
And let’s not forget another trump fantasy: COVID will disappear November 4th.
I dont have the verbal skills. But i can say how much i appreciate your unvarnished point of view after so much Trumpism forced it out of trying to just give the benefit of the doubt. My earned take. If it comes from the Trump administration it is false or a lie unless proven otherwise. That is proving to be the right attitude because so much is….