Put the Damned Thing On!

Even if you have a God-given or constitutional right to go out in public with your face waving in the breeze as if it were 2019, you should still where a mask.

Why?

Common sense and consideration for others.

I’d be okay with it if your going maskless put only you in danger of getting sick, but that’s not the case.  Masks don’t protect their wearers very much against the Corona virus.  A virus is too small for the mask to filter it.  The mask keeps airborne droplets generated by you from getting on other people.  Those airborne droplets carry the virus. So masks mostly help other people from getting sick from coming in contact with your droplets.

Since I’m pontificating, wear that mask properly.  Cover your nose as well as your mouth.  If you should sneeze, do you think your airborne droplets would only escape from your mouth?  Of course not, so cover your damned nose too!

But “I’m not sick,” you say.  You don’t know that.  Some people test positive for the virus without experiencing symptoms. Moreover, people who do experience symptoms are contagious for days before the onset of those symptoms.  The reason this virus is a worldwide pandemic is because it is spread so easily by people who are unaware that they have it.

Last night in a convenience store, two people ahead of me (far ahead of me) weren’t wearing masks.  I thought they were being very selfish.  I was wearing a mask to protect them, but they couldn’t be bothered to wear masks to extend me the same courtesy. And while they couldn’t know it, I am at high risk.

If you truly can’t breathe while wearing a mask, you should probably stay home instead of going out with your face hanging out.  After all, if you can’t breathe properly, you’re at high risk too.

So, please take the recommended precautions.  My life may depend on it.