Masks. Weird right? No one thought in a million years that masks would become so, popular.
According to a revised page of the CDC website (May 23, 2020) it states that people should be wearing masks. Not only to possibly protect yourself, but it can help protect others as well. Is it a guarantee? No. But can it help? Yes. Along with making sure to keep 6 feet of social distance in place as well as making sure to wash your hands (remember to sing happy birthday twice) can help keep many people healthy.
Now, with all of that being said, why are people not wearing them?
Let me start with my personal details. I have family that is not in the best of health, and they depend on me to make sure that they have what they need. I have been staying away from people as much as humanly possible as well as avoiding stores when necessary. I try to use online shopping and enter stores at non-peak hours where there are fewer people in the stores. I wash my hands well, I ALWAYS wear a mask, and disinfect all commonly touched surfaces.
Many times as I am in a store, I see not only the patrons but the staff not wearing masks. Pardon?
Why is this so difficult? Because people feel entitled that they don’t have to do something with their body that they don’t want to. Human body autonomy.
It is a mask. Made of either lightweight paper mesh or maybe cotton or nylon. Might be held on by your ears or tied behind your head. Not always stylish but you can get them made by awesome people on Etsy to make sure it matches your outfit that day. Sometimes they fog up your glasses, if you wear glasses. Sometimes they make you sweat a bit, maybe give you a zit or two. Maybe it makes you gag a bit because you realize you need to brush your teeth better. Not perfectly pleasant but not going to kill you.
Now recently, I have been getting dirty looks from people. Not sure why. I have on a mask and they don’t. Shouldn’t I be giving them they stink eye? Now I know for a fact that if I were to go out into public, to a store, movies, amusement park and didn’t have a bra on, I would be getting a TON of looks. Many of them along the lines of “Why doesn’t she have a bra on? That’s not cool!!!” Yes! My point exactly. I don’t like wearing a bra. It pinches and hurts my neck, in the summer I get sweaty and sometimes I get heat rashes. Sometimes it is itchy because the fabric isn’t wonderful. But you know what? I make do. Just like a mask. It is not always wonderful or super pleasant, but I think that you could make do for the short time it takes you to go into the store or pharmacy.
The one argument that takes the cake is people saying that wearing a mask is against their constitutional rights. Ok, lets back up a bit. No one is asking you to put poison in your body without consent or removing part of your brain for scientific study…it’s a mask. I get constitutional rights- until your right is putting someone else in harm’s way. By not wearing a mask you could be putting yourself or someone else in jeopardy by spreading germs. A person that may be diabetic or have asthma or high blood pressure. Someone that may be more susceptible from having severe issues if they were to contract Covid-19. That is not fair to them. Be kind. Do that one great, kind deed for the day and wear your mask. I woke up this morning and put my bra on. Trust me, you can do it.
I am sure that there are 7,651 reasons that people come up with as to why they don’t want to wear a mask. (That is another blog post coming soon.) Honestly, unless you have a severe, potentially life threatening issue that prevents you from wearing a mask, I think they should be worn. There is no harm to wear one. Find one that you like and go for it. Trust me, there are people out there cheering you on for putting your mask on today. Just like I cheer for all the ladies that put on a bra this morning.
Soap Opera 