My husband and I took a brief trip into Indiana yesterday. Rest rooms are scarce in these pandemic times, and we usually stop at a Walmart, Target, or Menards1 to do our business before continuing on with our journey. We always wear our masks, because it’s the responsible thing to do for both our own health and the health of those around us. In Illinois, at least in Chicago, folks are pretty good about wearing masks when they’re suppose to, but there’s too many people that think having a mask covering only their mouth and not their nose is an acceptable way to do this. For the uninformed, it’s not. At our Target stop there was a much higher percentage of folks wearing their masks over their mouth but not covering their nose, and there were too many using their mask as a chinstrap.
I don’t know why I’m surprised that apparently the average American doesn’t understand the purpose or mechanics of wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. I mean, a couple of years ago, a hole blew in the side of a Southwest Airlines flight and interestingly, people did two things: take a selfie and put their oxygen masks on incorrectly.
Now, I’m not the smartest guy in the room. I’m not even the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but I do know that if something involves feeding oxygen to my body through an artificial means, or if I’m trying prevent something from being inhaled or exhaled, I’m going to need to cover both my mouth and my nose with whatever implement I am trying to use at this time.
It’s common sense.
Every flight has a demonstration of the correct use of an oxygen mask. Every flight attendant on every flight is going to show you how to use the oxygen mask before the airplane is even cleared for departure. That’s the way it works. Yet, look at these fools on the Southwest flight.
Back to the folks that don’t know how to wear a mask. I choose to believe they’re not that stupid. Perhaps they are, who knows in 2020. But I do choose to believe that they just don’t care about the people around them. They’re selfish, uncaring, unsympathetic, and devoid of compassion. They don’t care if grandma dies, they don’t care if their kids die, they just want to be able to stand in line at Starbucks or throw back a White Claw in their favorite pub without having to worry about this bothersome pandemic, but please give me a $2000 check.
If you don’t care about your own health I’m not going to try to save you. It’s not my place. But I’m going to do everything I can to keep me and my family safe. I love my family. I love my friends.
And the mask that doesn’t cover your nose or is around your chin pisses me off. I hope karma gives you what you deserve.
1 Save Big Money at Menards!
