Why won’t I wear a mask? First, it’s not because I’m selfish, anti-science, I want your grandma to die, Donald Trump told me not to, I believe CV is a Russian hoax, etc. Second, I actually don’t care if people wear masks or not. If you want to wear one, go for it. Throw on a face shield or even a HAZMAT suit on your way to Target and I’ll do nothing but smile and wave when we cross paths in the kombucha aisle.
But I’ve decided I’m not going to wear one. Here’s why:
- My face belongs to me.
- My body and, consequently, my face are my own personal property. They do not belong to anyone else, including the Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska or the Interim Health Director of the Lincoln/Lancaster County Health Department. This point is not inconsequential because most State abuses and overreach violate a person’s rights to ownership of themselves and their property.
- My body and, consequently, my face are my own personal property. They do not belong to anyone else, including the Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska or the Interim Health Director of the Lincoln/Lancaster County Health Department. This point is not inconsequential because most State abuses and overreach violate a person’s rights to ownership of themselves and their property.
- I don’t have COVID-19.
- Okay, stick with me here. In order for me to transmit a disease to another person I would actually have to have the disease. I cannot pass on a disease that I do not have. While the data has been somewhat mixed, as it always is when it’s from the real world, everything I’ve read suggests that asymptomatic, or the newly coined term “presymptomatic” spread is extremely unlikely. If a person has CV they should stay home. If they don’t there’s no sense in them wearing a mask.
- Okay, stick with me here. In order for me to transmit a disease to another person I would actually have to have the disease. I cannot pass on a disease that I do not have. While the data has been somewhat mixed, as it always is when it’s from the real world, everything I’ve read suggests that asymptomatic, or the newly coined term “presymptomatic” spread is extremely unlikely. If a person has CV they should stay home. If they don’t there’s no sense in them wearing a mask.
- Masks may actually increase a healthy person’s chances of contracting COVID-19.
- Again, the research is mixed but some studies have shown that putting a surgical mask or piece of cloth over your mouth and nose actually concentrates pathogen loads in a warm, moist environment that encourages inhalation of said pathogens, increasing the likelihood of a healthy person contracting CV or other respiratory illnesses. See these 4 studies and articles as a jumping off point:
- https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420971/
- https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-019-4109-x
- https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/65/11/1934/4068747
There’s also the obvious fact that the quality of masks being worn varies greatly, as does the ability of each person to use it correctly. People wearing bad masks incorrectly doesn’t help anything other than puffing up their perceived self-importance and self-righteousness.
- Again, the research is mixed but some studies have shown that putting a surgical mask or piece of cloth over your mouth and nose actually concentrates pathogen loads in a warm, moist environment that encourages inhalation of said pathogens, increasing the likelihood of a healthy person contracting CV or other respiratory illnesses. See these 4 studies and articles as a jumping off point:
- I don’t buy the “your mask protects everyone else” argument because it’s unreasonable and illogical.
- If people are worried about contracting CV, for whatever reason, they are free to make any number of choices to protect themselves, including:
- Staying at home.
- Ordering goods like groceries and restaurant food through delivery or curbside pickup services.
- Wearing a mask or other PPE while shopping.
- Observing strict social distancing protocols while in public.
- Supporting their own immune system through nutrition and other lifestyle choices.
- So if I have CV (I don’t) the only people I could possibly spread it to are other people who have willfully chosen to visit public spaces, just as I have. While virtually every decision we make as humans will impact one or more others to some degree, it is not logical, reasonable, or even possible for me to assume responsibility for choices made by everyone else.
- If people are worried about contracting CV, for whatever reason, they are free to make any number of choices to protect themselves, including:
- It is good, right, and noble for me to have “skin in the game” when it comes to the choices I make and the beliefs I promote.
- If I were to rattle on here on my blog and on social media about the importance of individual liberty, logical decision making, bodily autonomy, understanding secondary effects (cf. Antifragile), and resisting State tyranny in all instances but then throw on a mask the moment I walk into a business you would have every reason to dismiss me as a disingenuous charlatan who should not be listened to in any circumstance.
For the sake of integrity, I have to refuse to wear a mask unless and until I’m convinced otherwise. I have to risk the disapproving looks and the “Where’s your mask?” comments. I have to live out the necessary conclusions of my beliefs. The obvious cherry on top is that if somehow I’m wrong about all this I’ll get CV and it could possibly be harmful to me. I’ve got skin in the game and wouldn’t have it any other way.
- If I were to rattle on here on my blog and on social media about the importance of individual liberty, logical decision making, bodily autonomy, understanding secondary effects (cf. Antifragile), and resisting State tyranny in all instances but then throw on a mask the moment I walk into a business you would have every reason to dismiss me as a disingenuous charlatan who should not be listened to in any circumstance.
- Resisting small time tyranny is great practice for resisting big time tyranny if and when it occurs.
- While I certainly love a good conspiracy theory, I think what’s most likely happening here is a typical statist overreaction leading to overreach and infringement on the rights of individuals. You give kids new toys and they play new games. You give mid-level county bureaucrats a so-called public health emergency and it’s only natural that they’re going to take advantage of their new-found importance and authority.
So here we are with an unelected interim Health Director (an RN, by the way, and not a doctor or an epidemiologist) who now has the power to use force of violence to close down privately owned businesses and determine how public schools function based on some arbitrarily set risk dial.
Rather than going along to get along, the strategy here is to push back in the “little things” in order to prevent even greater problems when the “big things” come along later on, whether that’s mandatory vaccinations, travel restrictions, closing of private business, and so on.
It’s not “just a mask.” It’s about reminding our leaders that we are inherently free people that do not belong to them and cannot be controlled by their whims.
- While I certainly love a good conspiracy theory, I think what’s most likely happening here is a typical statist overreaction leading to overreach and infringement on the rights of individuals. You give kids new toys and they play new games. You give mid-level county bureaucrats a so-called public health emergency and it’s only natural that they’re going to take advantage of their new-found importance and authority.
- The fastest, safest, least costly way to “beat” COVID-19 is by quickly spreading the disease through the least vulnerable among us in order to protect the most vulnerable.
- This doctor from Sweden said it better than I can, but the takeaway here is that it’s far better to have an intact economy and no preventable deaths than it is to burn your economy to the f*cking ground and no preventable deaths.
- This doctor from Sweden said it better than I can, but the takeaway here is that it’s far better to have an intact economy and no preventable deaths than it is to burn your economy to the f*cking ground and no preventable deaths.
- The “silent majority” needs people who are willing to speak up and show up.
- Virtually every time I defy the mask mandate in a public space I get a thumbs up, a smile and nod, and/or a supportive comment from at least one person. I’ve also heard from quite a few people, in private and in public, that they adamantly disagree with mask mandates but are afraid or unwilling to be noncompliant. It may be my own selection bias, but a good 80% of the people I know and talk to share my position on this issue and on CV in general.
When I exercise my right to not be “masked up” in public I encourage those people and help them to realize they’re not alone in seeing the world as it really is rather than swallowing the Doomer narrative whole.
Additionally, the sooner we dispel the irrational fear around CV the sooner we can get things back as close to normal as possible. There is a sizable percentage of people who have realized all of the mandates and restrictions make no practical sense. We need that group to be as vocal and visible as possible.
- Virtually every time I defy the mask mandate in a public space I get a thumbs up, a smile and nod, and/or a supportive comment from at least one person. I’ve also heard from quite a few people, in private and in public, that they adamantly disagree with mask mandates but are afraid or unwilling to be noncompliant. It may be my own selection bias, but a good 80% of the people I know and talk to share my position on this issue and on CV in general.
- I don’t believe in the importance of mask mandates and other social distancing decrees because neither do they.
- I recently flew to St. Louis from Omaha. Masks were MANDATORY on the flight. Unless you’re eating or drinking, then you can take it off, because the virus is aware that it can’t spread if you’ve got a Diet Coke in your hand. Stores like Walmart and Home Depot are open for business but churches, restaurants, and small businesses have been forced to close. Oh, and if you’re congregating in public to protest one cause or another then you can’t catch or spread the coronavirus. It’s just science!
If the disease were truly as dangerous and easily contracted as we’re being told it is there wouldn’t be exceptions. There wouldn’t be rules that obviously make no sense.
- I recently flew to St. Louis from Omaha. Masks were MANDATORY on the flight. Unless you’re eating or drinking, then you can take it off, because the virus is aware that it can’t spread if you’ve got a Diet Coke in your hand. Stores like Walmart and Home Depot are open for business but churches, restaurants, and small businesses have been forced to close. Oh, and if you’re congregating in public to protest one cause or another then you can’t catch or spread the coronavirus. It’s just science!
- I believe in the human immune system.
- If I should happen to contract CV, which is entirely possible since all of us will eventually be exposed to it somewhere, I’m extremely confident my immune system will be able to protect me from it. I also believe that is true of virtually everyone in society, especially if they decide to make nutritional and lifestyle choices that bolster rather than suppress their own immune system.
What about the immunocompromised and people with complicating conditions? See point #4 above. They are perfectly free to do anything and everything they believe is necessary to protect themselves to whatever degree they choose. Honestly, that’s none of my business.
- If I should happen to contract CV, which is entirely possible since all of us will eventually be exposed to it somewhere, I’m extremely confident my immune system will be able to protect me from it. I also believe that is true of virtually everyone in society, especially if they decide to make nutritional and lifestyle choices that bolster rather than suppress their own immune system.
- Masks are dehumanizing and contrary to the richness of human existence.
- Here’s a bonus reason, eleven for the price of ten! At some point we have to think about what sort of life we’re trying to protect here. Removing everything that makes the human experience rich, beautiful, and satisfying might marginally reduce the risks of something “bad” happening. But life isn’t about avoiding risk at all costs to the point that whatever you’re left with is barely worth living at all.
Yes, Yes, & Yes!
❤️
Yes. Thank you!
Agree 100%
You don’t deserve a response. It’s what you hope for.
What exactly do you believe I’m hoping for?
I have a responce for you Mjkreu……….. Move away !!! Idiot
And yet… here you are, giving him a response. Well played! LOL
And, yet…
That’s all you’ve got to respond with?
You’re something!
This is GREAT!!!! Finally, someone looking at this mess in a logical and sane manner. Mjkreu, what’s your story?
Couldn’t agree more! Excellent points with common sense logic. There’s not much of that being shared these days. Thank you!
Thank-you! Well said!
All great points and exactly how I have been thinking all along. Thanks for putting it into words I can share.
We dont know all the answers about this disease. What we do know is PEOPLE ARE DYING from it. We do know IT CAUSES MAJOR LUNG DAMAGE. We don’t know what lasting effects it will have on anyone who had it and recovered. We do know that when they trace back to people who contracted, many were in large groups, had contact with many individuals, and many not wearing masks. We do know of families who children came back from spring break, and no one wore masks and family members contracted and some died. We do know families where one person got sick and those around them in the immediate family did not wear masks, and they all died. The various research talks about washing hands and hygiene as one of the best things to do, but also says where you are in close quarters with someone who may cough or sneeze ( fi they have Covid) it could spread to someone else. So is a grocery store close quarters- maybe not in the sense we are thinking- but if you walk right up next to someone who is pulling the same items as you and you happens to sneeze ( and you have COVID and dont know), that could potential spread to them. Your resolution- Stay home if you scared of catching this. In truth, young people in this country are extremely selfish. We are a country of being offended. If begin offended was an Olympic sport the US would win hands down the GOLDBRONZE. Is wearing a mask an inconvenience. YES. But you wear a mask out of Kindness for others who may be more susceptible. ( DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS-KINDNESS) . You wear a mask out of respect for others ( DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS- RESPECT). If you want, reach out to those families, or older parents, grandparents, who social distanced themselves, and were only around family ( without masks) and ask them the impact it made. Oh wait, you cant because they died from Covid after contracting from a family member. All I can say is you are self absorbed and selfish. Its not always about you. Try to have some kindness and respect for others.
Hi, Kat. I’m curious… did you read through my list of reasons? And what’s your solution? “Wear a mask.” Sure… for how long? Forever? What happens when we stop wearing masks someday? Will CV have somehow disappeared at some point? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
“ Hi, Kat. I’m curious… did you read through my list of reasons? And what’s your solution? “Wear a mask.” Sure… for how long? Forever? What happens when we stop wearing masks someday? Will CV have somehow disappeared at some point? I’d love to hear your thoughts.”
This reply very much sums up the demeanour of the entire article. It is that of a pouty teenager rebelling against authority (state.)
Of course we are not going to be wearing face coverings “forever” and covid will not have “somehow disappeared” as it is so immaturely put. Protection is in place till we have found a way of effectively dealing with covid, have a better or full understanding of the virus and until there are reliable and effective vaccine.
There are many viruses that have been around and kill and hurt people that have no vaccine so you are prepared to wait and wear a mask your whole life for this one disease I need to move away from people like you!
That’s another thing. Screw your vaccine!!
Kat, such a mighty Covid warrior! There is not one peer reviewed study published in a respected medical journal that shows with any conclusiveness that masking healthy people stops or slows the spread of any sickness let alone a virus. However, the CDC said themselves in May 2020 that masks outside of a clinical environment offer no protection from viruses. So you can put away your virtue signaling self righteousness. Your hysterical irrational nonesense is getting old.
Amen so well put!
Well said
Where is the “like” button!!
I wanted to see if it were true if there had not been any medical studies as you pointed out. A quick search I found 10 medical studies confirming the need to wear masks. It’s really important that when speaking you know what you’re talking about before saying anything. Now nothing you say seems honest and true, just saying whatever you want for your own agenda.
Ls did not say any old “medical study”. Ls said a “peer reviewed study published in a respected medical journal”. And they did not say “confirming the need to wear masks”. They said “that shows with any conclusiveness that masking healthy people stops or slows the spread of any sickness let alone a virus”. Anyone with an agenda can put together a “medical study” that tells people to wear masks. That, however, is a completely different situation than the one presented by Ls. You can “confirm the need to wear masks” without showing, “with any conclusiveness that masking healthy people stops or slows the spread of any sickness let alone a virus”.
We know people who got it but their immediate families in the same household didn’t.. we know people who got it and had no symptoms at all and recovered…we know people who got it and recovered and have no lasting damage whatsoever.. we also know people who spread the common cold, seasonal flu, shingles, chicken pox and many other viruses all while showing no symptoms themselves.. we face viruses every single day… you cannot outrun a virus…Further, respect and kindness is letting others choose how to live their lives and respecting their right to make their own choices and what those choices may be even if you do not agree..not trying to shame them for not thinking or choosing what you would..respect and kindness is NOT forcing people to live by others fear and paranoia … it’s live and let live..as for selfish., selfish are those people who think they have the right to dictate to others how to live their personal lives and selfish is those who think others should lose everything, their jobs, their businesses, their livelihoods, their homes and possibly their lives under the guise of protecting those whose medical backgrounds are unknown to them…no one knows what’s best for anyone else.. it is not one size fits all., we all have always been responsible for our own health and this is no different. Most importantly kindness, respect and UNselfishness is people minding their own damn business unless asked for your input or opinion.
Amen.. well said
Amen sister.
Well said! But don’t expect the Branch Covidians to actually read this with an open mind.
Haha I LOVE this—the Branch COVIDians!! 😆😆👍🏼
BRAVO!!!!!
This! I completely agree with you
Couldn’t agree more
Yes!
Why have laws then anyway? Do you also think speed limits are an unacceptable infringement of individual rights? Of course, everyone afraid of getting run over by some lunatic speeder could simply just avoid roads altogether, right? Society as a whole is supposed to look after everyone within it, otherwise you might ultimately end up with some darwinian dystopy of a world…
The state owns their own roads. They maintain them. They lay them. The state does not own my body. This is a foundational truth of liberty.
I’m going to point this out in a way most every adult who is virtue signaling can understand.
If you have EVER had unprotected sex YOU my friend are a hypocrite. Can you replace mask wearing with male/female condom wearing laws? Should the state be able to make laws about that?? Don’t you remember those charts in school? You have sex with one person, you could be having sex with 100s of people. Meaning, disease is passed from one to the other then other. Why not create THAT law under penalty. That penalty can be arrest, restricted access to the supermarket, no access to school, no access to the clothing stores, no church and/or removal of your livelihood; like the current mask mandates. In some parts of the country we can make it such a big deal that you can’t even get electricity or water!
Oh and you married/monogamous/hetero people don’t get a free pass either because the man could have at sometime be exposed to HPV and that is too much of a risk to someone else. So you too need to practice “safe sex”. If you don’t, see penalties listed above.
After all, HIV is still a pandemic. HIV has no vaccine. HPV causes hundreds of thousands of cases of cancer a year and is deadlier than COVID-19.
Of course, if you are only going to have sex with one other person and them you and you never ever leave your house so we, as a whole society, can rest assured that neither of you could possibly have sex with anyone else; then, when we are absolutely certain that we have a vaccine for HIV for the two of you; then you can have safe sex without condoms.
If you believe that all vaccines are safe, please refer to Gardasil and the vaccine injury database kept by your loving government.
Can all the virtue signaling people understand how forcing people under penalty to cover a bodily function is an infringement on personal liberty when I explain it this way??
I don’t have a position on mask wearing. I wear it if I want to. I don’t wear it if I don’t want to. My reasons are my own. They are not yours and certainly none of your business. When the government tries to infringe on my pursuit of life, liberty or happiness, I draw the line. I call that line tyranny.
Note:
*I would like to point out that condoms are only as effective as the user and not perfect with perfect use.
* Wearing a mask is akin to wearing a mesh condom.
THIS!!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
First, I’m aware that as of now there is no law that requires wearing a mask. I merely wanted to point out, that it can be justified or in some cases even necessary to limit personal freedom in order to create a safe environment for society as a whole.
Where masks are concerned, my stance is that the refusal to wear one in crowded and closed spaces because of personal freedom is egoistic behaviour and/or childish rebellion. If the reason is, that it limits your basic bodily functions (i.e. breathing), it’s – to use a recently coined term – snowflakes talking. How do surgeons survive and function under huge pressure for hours then? This obviously doesn’t apply to people that suffer from physical conditions, where wearing a mask can be detrimental to their health.
The comparison with HIV stands on shaky legs, since
a) the mode of transmission and therefore also the infectiousness is vastly different,
b) because of that the spread can be more easily controlled,
c) both people have to engage in easily avoidable risky behaviour to contract/transmit it,
d) a condom mandate is in quality an exponentially greater infringement on rights compared to wearing a mask in above mentioned spaces,
e) you can already be criminally and financially liable if you engange in unsafe sex if you know about your being HIV positive.
In summary: I don’t understand the scope of the backlash about the whole mask thing. What’s the worst that can happen if you wear one? If anyone would, I’m sure the world could go back to some approximation of normal quicker and more easily.
Omg I love this response and the main article! I agree completely!
Wow!! 🎤⬇️
Wow!! Good work!
YES!! This!
Kimberly, damn! I’m going to remember this one. Well said!
mesh condom. I like that! I used “condom with holes” in my conversations. Guess I’ll be upgrading.
Well said Kimberly. 🥰
No law has been passed requiring masks to be worn. The Governor has “mandated” we wear them. Businesses have “mandated” them. But there is no law passed.
No law has been passed requiring masks to be worn. The Governor has “mandated” we wear them. Businesses have “mandated” them. But there is no law passed.
You know that Germany doesn’t have speed limit, right?
That’s wrong. I live in Switzerland and can tell you first hand that there are speed limits in Germany. Some freeways don’t have them, that is true. To conclude from this that “there are no speed limits in Germany” is absurd. You can’t be thinking that in Germany you’re allowed to race through a school area with 100mp/h, right?
Yes, speed limits and other “victimless crimes” are immoral and unjustified.
Laws? There’s no laws anymore.
Why do people always use speed limits and seatbelts to compare!! I drive all day for my job do you know how many people speed, drive like morons and cause accidents!!! Are you telling me you obey every law on the road. Stop using this to compare. Masks are mandated not a law
There’s a 0.04% chance of rain today and I’m appalled that nobody outside is using their umbrella.
Cue the hand wringing.
Better analogy would be X% deadly hailstorm. For other people the percentage (risk) is higher. And by bringing an umbrella you could reduce that risk for everyone around you. So why not bring it? Since I have to work within your logically flawed approach this is not very realistic either, but I think still more accurate.
Love this…as is true! I would sooner have walked on that beautiful day, chanced the rain…..than had not walked and deprived my body of the healing gifts of the earth.
Christine,
Well said.
There is a whole mask study done and it goes through each one and explains what they are for.
The disposable one that just about every business hands out is to be worn in “sterile” environments. The study explains that if one chooses to wear it in non-sterile environments they must get rid of it every 25 mins because it traps pollutants and pathogens which is hazardous.
The very box those masks come in says it will not protect from CV. 🙄
Viruses also enter through the eyes and ears and just the nose and mouth.
So many people that are complaining that others are not wearing their mask are not even wearing theirs correctly 🤣 including business staff.
The cloth ones are the most dangerous as it breeds bacteria. For those with asthma, even acute asthma can be sent into a tailspin where even their inhaler doesn’t help. (This happened to my daughter who’s works requires her wear a mask)
I’ve spoken with so many medical professionals who say they wear them just to calm the people.
I can be totally alone shopping and someone will come barreling done the isle in the wrong direction; (because the virus knows direction), to ask if I even care about them? Looking in their food cart … THEY don’t even care about themselves based on what they are eating in this “pandemic”.
The survival rate is 99.8 % those are better odds the the FLU! Come on!!!
If we really want to see this “curve” flatten, medical staff needs to STOP reporting FALSE information. If you even take the test, it’s being reported as CV. If someone dies that is NOT CV related, it’s reported as CV.
Reporting needs to stop
People should eat healthier and take care of their immune system.
Heard immunity comes from being around the virus.
Are people really going to put all their hope into a quick thrown together vaccine? Even knowing that if the side effects happen to them, their is no liability… NONE!
All this is doing is causing panic. People are loosing their ever loving minds over something that doesn’t work!
If someone is not coughing, sneezing, or SINGING … LEAVE THEM ALONE!
Your screaming releases a ton of saliva.
Perfecto, Christine! Thank you!!
Amen!! I totally agree…
Amen and Amen!
Chicken pox with no symptoms? I wish I could have got away with that one when I was a child!
I did! I thought I had never had it but when I was pregnant with my daughter they did blood tests to see if I was up to date on my vaccines and I tested as having the antibodies for chicken pox so evidently I had it symptom free…woo boo!
So well said!
Beautifully put ♥️
If you had any idea what kindness and respect was, you would realize that Americans have rights. You have the right to do what’s best for you. I have the right to do what’s best for me. You don’t get to demand that people wear a mask. Some have medical conditions or work in an environment where wearing a mask HARMS their health. If you want to be treated with kindness and respect, show some. Recognize that your opinion does not define other people’s lives. You have millions of people proclaiming “my body my choice” but when you hear it applied to an issue that doesn’t suit your narrative, you reject it and call them selfish. Expecting ANYONE to comply with your narrow view of the world is the very definition of selfishness and to claim otherwise makes you an idiot and hypocrite. Let people live their lives without your input. Absolutely no one on this planet is obligated to share your view on any subject. I am not sharing my name with you. I am not in any way ashamed, but I am not giving you any power to speak words of dissent or corruption over my name or my household.
And youll be the first one on the train enroute to the camps.
I can tell you Kat that I don’t wear a mask. It’s not out of defiance, I am not selfish, I am not young, and I am not an idiot! I am a mother of 4, a grandmother of 4 and 2 more on the way. I have no immune system, 7 auto immune diseases. The flu will kill me, pneumonia will kill me. So for 7 years now I have had to wash my hands, keep my hands off my face, stay home when the flu is bad. But I have never quarantined myself, I have never worn a mask, if I choose to go to the store and someone is sneezing or coughing I leave the isle immediately. I take responsibility for my health. I DO NOT NEED THE GOVERNMENT TELLING ME WHAT TO DO WITH MY BODY!! I also do not take the flu shot. Why because the one time I took it I got the flu! The media, CDC, DHHS they say one thing this month and something totally different and contridictory to it the next month. Wearing a mask actually increases your risk of getting a respiratory infection it’s a breeding ground for germs. Constantly washing your hands and sanitizing everything isn’t helping your immune system! You need germs and bacteria to keep your immune system working. So just because this man is not a sheep and is letting the government take away 1 right at a time because trust me it will start here, stay home, wear a mask, walk only one direction in the store, food shortage, cash shortage, go to cashless system, go to government food system, school online, socialism. You just keep complying. Thinking your doing some good. But don’t go around damning those that choose to still think for themselves! The ones that are awake and know the government has an agenda and are using this horrible virus to fulfill it! By the way not only do I have 7 auto immune diseases lupus being my main one, I also have asthma. Keep in mind I said I’m a grandmother of 4 with 2 more on the way. My father has asthma COPD and heart disease. My 85 year old grandmother has emphysema and asthma. My mother has diabetes, asthma and auto immune diseases also. We have all been around each other and around my children, grandchildren and other children. We go to stores and restaurants, we’ve had birthday parties and 2 gender reveals. We go to church. We pray and God keeps us safe. We choose not to live in fear. We are ages 48, 68, 68, 72, and 85. So no we aren’t young, stupid and selfish. We’ve followed the foolishness and are sick of the lies. We trust God and our commen sense
Well said, thank you!
Well said Tonya.
God bless you sister!!
Good for you, Tonya! I agree 100% and I have two autoimmune diseases and diabetes. Stay safe!
Yay for you! Glad you spoke up! Keep on trucking, walking in faith.
I agree with your whole response. God bless!
Haha…I love everyone who leaves it in God’s hands. And if there is no God? Then what. You can play Russian roulette with your family…I would never risk my loved one’s health just because I’m having a temper tantrum. I would never even take a 1% chance of endangering my children. How do you sleep at night?
Hi, Les. Maybe I’ll have you answer that question for me. IF there is no God, then what? What’s your case for wearing a mask because there’s no God? Connect the dots for me.
Hi Les,
Just wondering if you vaccinate your children?
Do you drive with your children in the car? Their chances of harm are much higher than 1% and you’ve proven yourself either a moron, a liar, ir a hypocrite.
I’m 72 and I’m with you
I have four auto immune diseases with lupus being primary. Sjogrenes presents an intensely dry mouth and burning tongue. Although I can’t explain the science of it, I can’t tolerate a mask. No air,smothering and increase in Sjogrenes symptoms. Therefore it is heartbreaking when family,friends and strangers criticize or simply act ugly towards me. If I am sick I Will stay home but why shouldn’t I have as much right to be in public as anyone else? It is I who is willing to take the risk!
Well said Tonya!
Exactly…the government has their noses in everything now, like we are unable to make informed decisions for ourselves and our families. Unfortunately, the news isn’t really the news anymore, it’s propaganda, making it really hard to know what’s really going on! We are slipping closer and closer to a “communism” type society where you will no longer be able to decide anything for yourselves. What’s the saying…run when you hear “I’m from the government and I am here to help you”???
God or goddesses your words are wonderful your points valued and so right for this time , thankyou
BRAVO! Peace be with you. 🙏
Well said…..your comment should be spread far and wide. The fear mongering media, ‘some medical advisors’ and ‘ some states governance’ have spread lies. It hurts are health….bottom line. Doctors and nurses have different masks than those that are for civilian use…..can’t compare.
99.96% survival rate. You have more of a chance dying in a crash in that Karenvan your driving.
Those that are more susceptible and worried about contracting CV should stay home and not expect everyone else to do for them. That’s what’s going on now, the paranoid expect everyone else to mask themselves up to cater to them! Even when the governor of my state closed things down he stated that those that were vulnerable, 65 and older, those who had underlying conditions like diabetes etc. should STAY HOME but instead they were trotting around Walmart wanting everybody to be masked to protect them! They are the selfish ones. They think they are royalty and that we all have to comply with something to protect them.
Now my coworkers have been getting sick from having to wear a mask for eight hours a day, they are getting allergic reactions, rashes, headaches, and respiratory infections! One has had her mouth and part of her face swell! So this is what people are going through for the selfish ones that are too afraid to live their lives! Why is that acceptable? Are they not as important as the paranoid people who insist on masks, masks that don’t help because a virus is so minuscule it goes right through them? If you can breathe in a mask, a virus will go through it.
The cloth bandannas, the cloth masks, the surgical masks that doctors wear to prevent the spread of bacteria, not viruses, and yes even the N 95, especially those with an exhalation port because the wearer exhales unfiltered air out into the environment. A virus is measured in nanometers. One nanometer is 0.0000008 of an inch!!
There is also not a single study that has shown that masks do anything to stop a virus, which is the reason why virologists wear hazmat type suits when working with viruses. They do not wear a cloth mask, a bandanna, or a surgical mask or even the N 95 when working with viruses for a reason! Because they don’t stop viruses. The protection is all in the head!
So workers’ health everywhere is now being compromised because of the paranoid people out there! Those that have not turned off the fear mongering news!
I am one of the people that could have stayed home, 65 and diabetic, but I am an essential worker and worked through this whole thing. I worked with no mask and no gloves. I am perfectly fine. The reason I am fine is because my blood sugar is well-controlled, I watch my diet, and I take immune boosting supplements including something called olive leaf extract, which is a proven virus killer. It stops a virus from replicating. I have been taking it for many years. It may be why I had the flu only one time in my entire life, 40 years ago, and I don’t do vaccines.
I cannot believe in the current climate that anyone still believes Covid 19 is any worse than the common flu people die from every year. Common sense needs a comeback and quick. If America needs to be “woke” from anything, it’s this continued nonsense.
You have so many falsehoods in your “we knows” that it renders your wall of text moot.
Here’s what we actually know: Mask mandates have not changed a single curve in any country, state, city, or county it’s been tried. Even in Japan, the great mask wearers, have seen a recent large increase in infections. The virus doesn’t care about your policies.
So do not wear a mask based on science, wear a mask because it’s nice. That’s the best argument you have?
You either did not read or do not comprehend the points made above. You are unfortunately all too eager to regurgitate the propaganda you’ve been fed. You posted a diatribe, not a cogent response. Let’s examine:
1. We don’t know all the answers about the disease– well, for starters the author didn’t assert that we did. However, we do know and understand the efficacy of masks. We have almost a century of knowledge and data– all of which informs us that masks do not work to prevent the spread of viruses. A single-use surgical mask used in a sterile environment will prevent the spread of BACTERIA (not viruses) and the direct ingestion of bodily fluids such as may occur during surgery and will prevent the direct introduction of bacteria to an open wound. I could go on- point by point- but I doubt you’ll get any of it. However, this single point obviates the wearing of, but especially mandating the wearing of any sort of face covering.
Seriously? Did you read the article before spreading your panic porn? I’m guessing you “science” in the “a baby isn’t a baby until it’s born, gender is a social construct and biological sex is fluid” kinda way 🙄
You are a shill spewing unsubstantiated lies. Go away.
And how long are you willing to wear this mask? Until Covid mysteriously disappears? Like what? The Flu? I’m sorry but I’d like to know what my grandchildren will look like! Stop living in fear! You’ll be exposed eventually, and most likely you’ll survive, or you won’t . Funny thing is.. something will take your life eventually. 🤷🏼♀️
You really are a thick brain washed moron and didn’t take on board any of the points the poster was making. You’re the epitome of ‘the frog in the boiling pan’ analogy. Wake up!
You do understand that you are the same gold metal level offended by the writers lack of mask, don’t you? Hypocrite
It’s the flu! The flu kills people too!
if your mask works then why are you concerned if I wear one or not?..I will never ever wear the mask. To me, with a global mortality rate of 0.00009% of the world population (of which over 80% are very old people) and a 99.8% survival rate, there is NO health issue at all…ALL your talking points come straight off the TV and are based on lies and propaganda. For one thing the virus is “Corona” not “Covid 19″….Covid 19 is the platform of response to the event, which has been preplanned, staged and executed as a weapon against humanity and primarily to create the condition that allows the governments of the world to declare a “Public Health Emergency”. It was also meant to interfere with the USA Presidential Election while disrupting the global economy and compromising travel. As a pandemic it has failed with the exception of giving the governments extraneous powers. The mandates of masking and social distancing are training for socialism and so that the “authorities” can gauge who is going to obey and who will resist. After decades of social engineering through indoctrination and psychological manipulation we can now see the manifestation of this engineering program. The entire covid 19 event is being used as a cover for the accelerated implementation of UN Agendas 21/2030 or the “Green New Deal” as it is known in the USA. This is a world war against humanity and you are buying into it hook line and sinker. Wake up!
Sounds like you’re a know it all. So kind yourself. Maybe you didn’t even read the reasons and just feel like lashing out. China has been on a mask mandate for 14 years and guess what? It didn’t help them. Yes people are dying. They were dying before covid and continue to die. But you can’t be selfish because you want to live. Don’t you think it’s strange that no one dies from pneumonia anymore? It’s always covid.
Beautifully said Kat. Let’s face it, some people are just too ignorant to reason with. You can’t fix stupid in this case. His ego is too big.
You can stop loving in fear now. Everyone dies at some point. He said if they are immune compromised then they should protect THEMSELVES. Why is anyone else’s health my business? It actually isn’t.
My body my choice
I agree that kindness and respect are qualities we should be practicing in general however the logical conclusion of your argument here is that we should have been wearing masks for our entire lives since we could at any time be the unwitting transmitter of some harmful or deadly illness. Have you yourself practiced this level of ‘kindness and respect’ that you are advocating throughout your life, since you could have been, at anytime, passing along the deadly flu virus while remaining asymptomatic? And if we then extend your logic even further, no one should ever be touching anyone (to include intercourse) since that too could possibly pass along an illness to another person of which the transmitter is unaware. I’m quite sure you have not worn a mask or avoided human contact your entire life, so even you don’t agree with your logic. The most we can do out of ‘kindness and respect’ is to avoid being around others if we know we are sick, just as the author advocates.
The few people who had it at my work were wearing masks all the time. 🤷🏻♀️ And as they are both a few months past recovery. None have any long term damage.
I am sorry but there is absolutely not 1 thing disrespectful in this article. Disrespect is disregarding how others feel period. I wear a mask out of ” kindness and humility” and even though it causes me great difficulties like rashes, poor breathing etc. Who is looking out for those people? I had a good friend die in March from the virus. Funny it was the inhumane treatment and incompetence of Dr.’s who released her after being ventilated to death. And lost results. And while I researched, yes, I researched hard to find proof that masks were important, do you know what I found? Groups wanting to photograph people not wearing masks to shame them. Shame on those people. And at this point in the game shame on the media for what they are doing to lives. Mr. Wittman made some excellent points. So before you judge and preach respect, why not fact check what he is saying. And by the way even in Taiwan where there is about 100 people per square inch, not even they suffered the effects of the statistics that you have provided. The truth is here in this article. And I am not ripping you for your comment. I am tired of being told that this is disrespect. By the way I left my job at a grocery chain and when masks became mandatory we had to sign a waiver stating that the masks would NOT protect us or anyone. We were physically told that it was basically for looks so that customers would not complain and our store scores would still be on top. Did anyone respect the employees whose customer service hiked those numbers but went home absolutely debilitated from wearing a mask? Nope. We became slaves to media lies, to false info. We are puppets to the government officials who mandate them. Last but not least I am a good Christian and I am a truly humble person. I search for truth. So please consider again what respect is.
Hey Kat. Look around. This isn’t about kindness or graciousness of others, it’s pure fear mongering. Want to see the kindness of others, become a cyclist, see if they make things safe for you out of the kindness of their hearts. They haven’t for me, while I was out there making my immune system the best that it is. Actually you must not drive, spewing pollutants for your benefits benefits that weaken other people’s immune system, that wouldn’t be kind. Are you only kind to humans or are you vegan as well? Kindness goes beyond the human race… just how kind are you, Kat? Shaming someone for not wearing a mask on the other hand… not so kind? No mask for me, thanks.
Car accidents happen every day. Does that mean we shouldn’t drive for the fear of being in a accident
We will drive and we will not wear mask? Why? Because your hole life everyday is a risk. If you can’t handle it then mask up and be afraid
Good grief. If the authorities were acting in the public’s best interest they would not have sent covid patients to long term care homes. They also wouldn’t be pushing through egregiously fraudulent studies (Lancet & NEJM forced retractions) in an attempt to undermine hydrochloroquine. Nor would they be suppressing other highly effective treatments including Budesonide (no deaths), MATH plus protocol introduced in March by well respected ICU intensivist academic physicians on the covid frontlines (~95% recovery rate of hospitalized patients), Ivermectin, MAIZ/CATRACHO, Dr. Brownstein’s protocol (no deaths), etc. MATH plus physicians reached out to the White House and testified to a Senate DHS committee. [Dr. Kory, MATH spokesperson, testimony video : vimeo(dot)com/415698366 ] After using steroid inhalers for covid with great success, Dr. Richard Bartlett discovered Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan were early pandemic adopters of this strategy nipping covid in the early-to-mid symptom stages – only 7 deaths in Taiwan. Bartlett is highly respected and also reached out to the White House and congress. Like MATH docs, Bartlett hasn’t been able to get govt officials and the media to alert the public. A popular video of Bartlett explaining his protocol, with over 4.5 million views, was removed by youtube. Here’s a copy (watch and share while it lasts). youtube(dot)com/watch?v=9pGEKSr5xRk
The preponderance of scientific evidence clearly shows masks are NOT effective in preventing viral transmission, with a tiny caveat that actively sick persons who must leave isolation (e.g. to seek medical care) reduce the chance of infecting others if they wear a mask. Masks absolutely pose serious health risks including impairing the immune system. There’s a long list of contraindications. [good recap by Dr. Russell Blaylock: technocracy(dot)studio/e/special-interview-with-dr-russell-blaylock-on-face-masks-and-covid-19/ ] BTW, I’m a medical scientist and I’ve spent countless hours reviewing decades of published peer reviewed research on masks. I have no doubt the mainstream media and governments are not being honest about the scientific evidence on masks.
Another reason Not wear masks is that Youth are are suffering!!
In the U.S., there’s been a rapid increase in the national rates of anxiety and depression in the second quarter, compared to the same period in 2019:
📈Anxiety tripled: 8.1% to 25.5%
📈Depression quadrupled: 6.5% to 24.3%
It’s the youngest adults who are suffering the most mental anguish, as studies in the U.S. and U.K. have shown.
That might seem surprising, since the virus doesn’t pose much of a danger to them
CONTROL —. Do AS I. THE GOVERNMENT TELL YOU — THE. THEY !!! Freemasons. Anti Christian LUCEFERIAN. EVIL SPIRIT
Do you believe everything you read? Or are told by some doctors?it is their opinion .
I have read lots on COVID and masks and I don’t believe masks are going to save you. Common sense will.
How many people died of the flu? Of suicide, of alcohol or drugs?
They out number COVID .
Kat The number of infections by itself is irrelevant. The number of deaths related to the number of avergae deaths per year is the most important statistic. The fact that governors refuse to put covid death statistics in proper perspective is really all I needed to know that this is just another case of “Healthscare”. It is the easiet tool to control people, make them afraid for their health and offer only government as the solution.
Reason 4 is you basic answer to your Meltdown, you are responsible for your self DON’T push that on me or others!
99% that where sick like myself are 100% fine ! We need Hurd immunity asap
Please read more on this subject. You have been brainwashed.
This was meant to show up as a reply to someone who says it is selfish to not wear a mask, not to show up as a general comment on the article.
Your thinking is so distorted….you should put a parka on now, winter is coming.
That’s fear porn….. So many of these are outlier cases to get you féarful of everyone. We’re not all Covid19 infected… More likely the opposite. This is all training you for a mandatory vaccine and has been in the works for many years.
Ever seen Silence of the Lambs?
Not the movie, just it’s title.
Read it as many times as necessary, then do it.
Remember the cruise ship? There were many people in close proximity with intimate contact with the initial infected couple, who did not test positive for COVID. Are you saying that wearing masks would have prevented family members from spreading COVID amongst themselves? There are many factors not being considered here. People love to rely on “experts” so they don’t have to learn or know anything for themselves. The “experts” are giving people a false sense of security making you think YOU have everything under control. Meanwhile THEY have you under their control. That’s the point I think was being made here. The things the experts aren’t discussing are things like nutrient levels, which if optimized would be more effective preventively, or placing the most vulnerable, people with ACE2 enzymes, on prophylactic treatments like HCQ with zinc. Viruses become less deadly over time. They adapt for their own survival. Killing the host kills themselves, so they adapt by becoming less deadly to allow for their own survival. This is fact. Your most basic assumption is that the “experts” have zero conflict of interest, and always only have the greater public’s interests at heart. Most young people feel this way because you have been conditioned from birth to believe this. Check back with us in about ten years. That’s all it will take.
People die from all kinds of things every day, last year 1.5 million died from the highly contagious TB yet that magically isnt a pandemic, we are being played by the globalists.
This is awesome!! Thank you!!
Very well stated. I don’t wear masks and know many who don’t agree with this, but won’t risk going out in public due to pressure. I am willing to be the face of the anti-mask movement.
Yes thank you !
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent
Any new studies released during this claiming masks work other than stopping coughing and sneezing droplets (I.e. the sick) and those sudden retractions of some during this are highly questionable., look to studies that had existed for years prior even if retracted during this and you will find more honest and not narrative driven ones.. just saying
Whenever a witness lies in court, you may dismiss anything else they’ve said. The obvious question, since the CDC admits they lied (for our own good, mind you) is: were they lying then, or are they lying now? Doesn’t really matter. The CDC is no longer credible. Because they deliberately lied to us. And there’s never a “good reason” to lie. So, this isn’t a credible source.
“Why did the CDC change its guidance on wearing masks?
The original CDC guidance partly was based on what was thought to be low disease prevalence earlier in the pandemic, said Chin-Hong.
“So, of course, you’re preaching that the juice isn’t really worth the squeeze to have the whole population wear masks in the beginning – but that was really a reflection of not having enough testing, anyway,” he said. “We were getting a false sense of security.”
Rutherford was more blunt. The legitimate concern that the limited supply of surgical masks and N95 respirators should be saved for health care workers should not have prevented more nuanced messaging about the benefits of masking. “We should have told people to wear cloth masks right off the bat,” he said.”
You are an abject moron, there are many such as you in America, unfortunately.
That’s the reason cv has hit your country so hard
I’d love it if you would form an argument refuting anything I’ve written here.
They can’t which is why he didn’t..
There’s always the foreign troll, trying their hardest to bring those who have “strayed” back into the fold. Yes, your insults are so effective. How dare I form an independent thought. I must be punished. I rebuke my evil ways and give myself over to your guidance, O perveyer of opinions we did not ask for.
no, it is because our govt has fun and the data is skewed- we have tested over 60 million people, about 1/6 of our population and a whopping 5 mil have tested positive…………and of that, if you believe the count, 160k have died. We all know the death count isn’t accurate. Even if you accept it, the majority are in nursing homes/severely compromised people…so it isn’t as if the death was unexpected. Heartless, you’ll say. Realist I’ll say.
In the USA, it looks so bad is because the US media is playing political games.
Remember “flatten the curve” no, you don’t because that’s not the standard.
Is that all you can offer, childish name-calling? And it has not hit our country as hard as the media has made it out to be. That is the hoax, the media driven hoax! There have been many abuses, diagnosing CV as a cause of death when it was not, thereby inflating the numbers, the hospitals have had monetary incentive to list CV, and at least 50% of the tests that were positive were false positives, even people who were never tested received a positive test result.
Ad Hominem- logical fallacy of attacking your opponent personally. Your post is an attempt to distract other uninformed people such as yourself from the message by attacking the messenger.
Your argument would appear to be that the United States has been “hit so hard” by covid-19 as compared to other countries because there are a bunch of selfish people running around refusing to wear facemasks?
I would be very curious to see your data on that? Of course, you can’t support your absurd claim because as the author mentioned: there’s no data to support the notion that masks affected the curve anywhere- one way, or the other.
If you remove Dem-run NY and NJ from the equation, the U.S. has among the lowest deaths per capita of any large Western country. The Dem-run states have a per capita death rate 300% higher than where “selfish” liberty-conscious people live– GOP-run states.
But also, Trump and the GOP-run states mitigated the economic damage caused by the pandemic.
Europe suffered an economic contraction in the second quarter of MINUS 40.3% on an annualized basis. The U.K. contracted 59.8% on an annualized basis. By contrast, our GDP contracted 32.9% in Q2.
In May, June and July the U.S added 9.3 MILLION jobs.
Goldman Sachs predicts 25% (annualized) GDP growth in the current quarter, which would mark an end to the pandemic-caused U.S. recession after just two quarters. Not bad.
Average hourly earnings are actually up 4.8% from a year ago. Stock market is at record highs — already.
Meanwhile, Europe and the U.K. are still stuck in the mud.
Manhattan is still a ghost town. Florida and Texas Economies booming.
THE EVIL OF LOCKDOWNS:
In the U.K. the lockdown killed 2 people for every 3 killed by Covid, according to a study by the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). But in the coming years, the death toll from the lockdown is likely to be 200% more than deaths from Covid, according to Sage — due to missed cancer screenings and waiting longer for urgent care because the people were locked down. A previous study by Sage estimates deaths caused by delayed care amid the virus could be as high as 185,000 in the U.K. — compared to 45,000 killed by Covid in the U.K.
Then let’s add to this all the suicides, economic misery, bankruptcies and destroyed lives caused by the lockdowns.
Thank God we have a President in Donald Trump who understands this.
Good stuff here, Paul. Do you have a link to the study from SAGE? I’d love to check that out and add it to my arsenal.
Love this I agree 💯🙌🏼 🚫😷NOMASK
As always Mike, great and logical comments!!
Well said bro!!
Thanks again!!
Chris
They should have named the virus “Schrodinger’s Cat Flu” because people automatically assume everybody they come in contact with has it and throws this insane tantrum if you dare to not walk around with a face diaper. It’s like that marketing scheme, “Everybody’s watching, reading, listening to, talking about, etc” and we’re expected to fall in line out of fear of missing out or in this case, “not being selfish”. Newsflash: that status quo shit only works on those unable or unwilling to make a decision for themselves. I’d rather be hated for my integrity and honesty than loved for following along behind the rest of the herd. Sheep can’t see when they’re running off a cliff because all they look at is what direction the ass in front of them is moving.
Interesting and I generally agree with your points. I think you left out a huge number of people like me who have to care for an elderly parent. It is not as simple as ordering groceries instead of going out. I DO go out and I wear a mask when I go into a public place. I have primary responsibilities for my 93 year old, lung cancer survivor and diabetic father. Kind of a risk group no matter how you read the conflicting reports. I simply will not risk my father’s life over my personal rights. And lest it be missed, the conflicting reports we have witnessed have been epic.
What we do not know could be significant. How virulent? Spread asymptotically? Spread by contact surface? Epstein didn’t kill himself. Personally, I do know how to wear a mask. I know many others do not. Not covering one’s nose? See that all the time. WTF? Wearing one while driving? Alone? Maybe it’s time to thin the herd? Just askin.
I believe businesses have the right to require it. I doubt you would pose the “my feet, my chest hair, my body” argument to a business that requires shoes and shirts? Or would you?
I am libertarian at heart. I do not believe the government should play much of a role in our lives, but recognize the need for the common, or societal good: speed limits, restrictions the public has on a military base, even seat belts (Sorta)…..I don’t see how they fall into any category other than the same as masks. And I am not convinced seat belts or masks can be constitutionally mandatory. I wear a seat belt by choice, not because I would risk a ticket without it, but because somebody else could risk my life – kind of similar. People wear seat belts incorrectly too.
This is a very complicated issue. I tend to agree that it isn’t probably as virulent as we were led to believe – but it it also has proven to be not only deadly in my father’s age group. It apparently has long lasting negative effects on some people after they recover.
Don’t wear masks. Wear masks. Biden stumbled but Birx was serious when saying to wear them outside. That’s absurd. I play golf every week without a mask. None of us have gotten sick, but then we don’t shake hands, don’t touch the pin, have no ball washers…..but we play outside.
So my point is that we simply do not know, nor do we even know what we do not know, so I choose to be careful….abundantly careful.
I respect what you say, but please don’t come near me or my a Dad. Nothing personal.
Hi, Rick. Great thoughts here. I’m pretty much with you and would love to add a bit of additional clarity around what you label “a very complicated issue.”
Your private property is your property. You get to decide what you should do with it. If you want to wear a mask because you’ve evaluated the risks and rewards and believe it’s in your and your father’s best interest to do so, please wear a mask! Proudly! You’re making a value judgment and then living according to it. That’s integrity, a virtue we should all strive for.
You mention private businesses. Same principle applies! It’s their property, they get to decide the terms by which others can access their property because… it’s their property.
As a libertarian I think what you’ll find is virtually every issue comes down to property rights, including your rights to your own body. If you use that lens you won’t have to wade through the murky waters of trying to calculate some vague idea of a “public good” and all of the inconsistencies that come with a meaningless concept like that.
Hi Rick, I am sure this is stressful trying to keep your Dad well, he sounds like a fighter. I wanted to comment about the comparison to wearing a shirt, shoes, seatbelts etc. None of those things would pose a possible negative effect on your health while wearing. When this whole thing started in March my daughter who is also high risk, born with a rare chromosomal disorder broke her arm. We had an appt with the specialist and they required a mask. She had it on 10-15 mins tops before the nurse was taking her vitals. The nurse gets a very concerned look on her face and says I need to take her pulse ox again(I neglected to ask that 1st reading because this was all very new) She had my daughter take some deep breaths and seemed satisfied with her reading of 92. My daughter because of her health condition has never been below 98 at any appt and she has had countless Dr’s appts, procedures( about 20 by the time she was 7) I have since bought a portable pulse ox because some of her Dr’s absolutely require a mask when seen. She also is profoundly Deaf and I can tell you for Deaf and Hard of Hearing who often depend on lip reading their challenges got a whole lot more challenging. I recently read an acct of a Hard of hearing gal where she broke down crying in the store trying to check out. I keep my teenage Dr home except for neccessary Dr’s appts because even though she is exempt, people are acting terrible. Where I live we have people getting in your face screaming at you. There is a facebook group devoted to taking down businesses, posting pics of unmasked strangers. No one stops to consider maybe there is a valid reason and imo breathing is one of them. I feel terrible when I have worn them, lightheaded, my chest hurts and many times end up with a headache. We just had someone call 911 for a non mask wearer. This whole thing is crazy, so much conflicting info out there and even the box of mask says it will not protect you from coronavirus. I by nature am a rule follower, a people pleaser but everytime I have had to put one on it feels very wrong. Mike’s point about dehumizing is what it feels like to me, no one smiles, acts like everyone is a threat. I wholeheartedly agree with what he wrote here, We need to protect the vulnerable, quarantine the sick. People are so afraid of dying they are not living anymore. It is all sad to me. I sincerely pray your Dad will be ok, he is lucky to have a son who cares deeply.
I respect your decision. I agree with you on private property. I don’t believe anything the author wrote contradicts your take on this issue? Your personal decision to wear a mask and support of private property owners who have judged it to be a good idea doesn’t mean you support government mandates, does it? That’s where I get off the merry go round.
I am in your camp; however, if you think anybody will read everything you wrote….not 2020 Americans. Keep it short next time.
I read the whole thing, and then every comment to see if my point was already mentioned. I see no reason anyone should “keep it short” to appease the short attention span of some.
I totally agree with not wearing a mask! I think they are totally useless! It is all about compliance and I am not giving up any more freedoms! Some think a flimsy paper or cloth mask is actually going to stop a virus from coming through. That is so illogical! How fast does a little fart come through a heavy pair of jeans? Corona kills so few people compared to the flu, yet we are like scared sheep! If you are a believer, what happened to your faith? Don’t we know where we are going?
So, I must assume you don’t get your car inspected, you don’t wear a seat belt, you don’t carry ANY insurance that protects other peoples’ property or their person, etc , therefore you don’t have to wear a mask or keep a personal distance. I guess I’ll just try to avoid you!
Why would you assume all of those things? That seems like a non sequitur that avoids interacting with the substance of literally every reason I’ve given behind my decision.
Those have nothing to do with covid or mask necessity. Most are laws. Wrong argument.
Jack, all of those things you mentioned are things that people have to protect themselves. I have auto insurance which protects ME from costly repairs should I have an accident. I have homeowners insurance to protect ME from costly repairs as well. Even the clause that provides for payment should someone be injured on my property or in an auto accident with me is there to protect ME from having to pay a costly amount of money out. I wear a seatbelt because it helps protect ME from serious injury if I have a car accident. Lastly, I get my car inspected to be sure that my car is safe for ME to drive. So your argument holds no water.
Thanks for this most excellent summary! You’ve laid it out perfectly!
As the great Captain McCrea exclaims in Wall-E, “I don’t want to survive! I want to live!”
AMEN, I don’t wear a mask and don’t ask people around me to.
So if your that scared stay at home!!!!
It’s your body and your choice, I agree with that.
However, I am supportive of businesses who elect to have a mask protocol. Because I can choose whether or not to enter that business.
Just as I have a choice of wearing a mask, they have a choice of serving me.
I wear a mask so I can go into the places I want to go.
However, I do not think businesses should be forced into having a mask policy. It ought to be their choice, just as it is my choice.
I’m with you, This is unbelievable. Im a 36 year insulin depedant diabetic. I’ve not worn a mask this entire time. In fact I’ ve been hosting weekly dances since the week after our lock down. I decided if all this is true and Iam going to get sick a die. I might as well enjoy myself. I.m Still here and still kicking. Ive not watch on once of television. Either. Life is meant to be lived dying is part of the process. Live well laugh outloud and if you have the chance just dance.
This is unbelievably ignorant, selfish and irresponsible. It basically reads as Me, Myself and I. The wider public and concern for anyone but the cause of Me is completely absent here.
Almost every supporter of the authors’ is fuelled by this sentiment.
So… You are a fucking idiot. Good for you.
Stop referring to it as if all business owners are “exercising their rights” for requiring masks when you are going to try to shame those of us who refuse. They arent exercising their rights!!!! There is nothing of value being defended. Every single one of them are following orders, doing as they are told, conforming. ….etc. Not exercising a right ! Stop justifying it like its something they wanted to begin with!
As Geddy Lee would say, my mind is not for rent. Well, neither is my face.
Nobody is renting your face. Not a single person. Not the government, state, senator of whatever or god. Nobody. Just wear face covering when you go about your business in public you have absolutely 0 excuse not to unless there is a medical condition which would hinder your breathing whilst wearing face covering. The US is amongst the worst hit by the pandemic and this is fuelled by an idiotic presidency and an equally idiotic patriotic cling to god given “rights.” The very soil you stand upon was given to you by the involuntary forfeit of rights to ownership of land by nativity of the indigenous population at the hand of European conquerors, by all means you have no right to claim any rights (but that’s another story for another day.)
You have the right to protect yourself and everybody around you by wearing a face mask and mitigating the spread of a global pandemic.
Where is the science to say that the US is high in case numbers because of a lack of mask-wearing and because of the presidency? and keep in mind that the biggest lack in social distancing and mask-wearing is in protests going on around the country
You left out a very important reason! Mask mandates are not laws.
HIPAA is a law.
ADA is a law.
Religious freedom acts are laws.
Civil rights legislation are laws.
Mask mandates are public health guidance.
If you break a law to enforce a guidance, you can be held liable.
I strongly recommend visit The Healthy American to learn how you can educate businesses to stop breaking the law by enforcing these guidances.
https://www.thehealthyamerican.org/
Jack, Those have nothing to do with covid or mask necessity. They are laws. Wrong argument.
100 % AGREE , I trust GOD , my own immune system and my common sense . Not some person or the Gov’t telling me what to do . I did not get to be 68 years old by being a sheep being blindly led . I still can and will make my own decision .
The Holocaust was real and this present conspiracy is real . And I do not intend to drink the kool-aid . Period .
THANK you for this! Public Masking has become an act of segregation; but the real representation is those who are free and think for themselves, and those who are part of the three C’s: Cowardice, Conformity and Criminality.
Estimated deaths in Sweden by July 1 with no mitigation: 96,000
Estimated deaths in Sweden by July 1 with some voluntary mitigation: 96,000 – 15% = 81,600
Estimated deaths in Sweden by July 1 WITH LOCKDOWN: 96,000 – 50% = 48,000
Actual deaths in Sweden by August 17th with no lockdown: 5,790
—————————————————————————————
Here is one reason you are under some sort of lock down for the rest of your life (if you think this is over soon, lol good luck).
Experts made predictions about death tolls using computer models that scared everyone to death. Few people questioned these experts. Practically no one questioned whether the computer models had any predictive value. They were accepted as though tablets delivered from Sinai.
It’s clear now that most of these experts knew not the slightest thing about how their computer models worked, or much if anything about computer science. Since the public and politicians mostly know even less about computer science, who among them was in a position to question it.
Here’s a perfect example, using my favorite country, Sweden.
Author’s names and positions:
Jasmine GARDNER, PhD, Post-doc in Structural Biology
Lander WILLEM, PhD, Post-doc in Infectious Disease Modelling
Wouter VAN DER WIJNGAART, PhD, Professor in Engineering
Shina Caroline Lynn KAMERLIN, PhD, Professor of Structural Biology
Nele BRUSSELAERS, MD MSc PhD, Associate Professor in Clinical Epidemiology
Peter KASSON, MD PhD, Associate Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology
That is an impressive list of experts. And they are using computer models. What could go wrong?
Estimated deaths in Sweden by July 1 with no mitigation: 96,000
Estimated deaths in Sweden by July 1 with some voluntary mitigation: 96,000 – 15% = 81,600
Estimated deaths in Sweden by July 1 WITH LOCKDOWN: 96,000 – 50% = 48,000
Actual deaths in Sweden by August 17th with no lockdown: 5,790
Close guys, real close. This was published on April 11th, so there was plenty of data available to make a sound prediction.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.11.20062133v1.full.pdf
And yet, even with all of these incredibly wrong modeled forecasts by impressively credentialed experts, we are still locked down. With no end in sight and no clear path out.
And they continue to try to tell us Sweden is a failure. A failure that they didn’t die as much as the models said?
I can’t be the only one who is bothered by this.
I shall violently tear away any restraint slave-device forced upon my face that hinders or imprisons my God-given ability to breath the pungent life-breath of god almighty himself through my gloriously designed nostrils!
My life liberty and breath shall never be enslaved, obstructed, shackled, chained, muted suppressed, extinguished, subdued, suffocated, quashed, smothered, concealed, repressed, or hog-tied.
Human beings have been breathing each others breath (Manna) intentionally since time immemorial This practice is part of a spiritual culture and it is done without fear of being infected or infecting others from secretions. They have complete faith in the good lord above and their immune system to protect them and others from Natural viral droplets. If Covid-19 is a biological weapon made by my enemy, I doubt a paper mask shall ever protect me.
I shall defend to the death and “CRUSH” any tyrannical adversary imposing its stringent local ordinances or enslavement upon me.
We have the right to breath, so stick your lying vaccinated face-diapered, fear-mongering, social distancing communist disease up your fake virus-laden-Sphincter and stop scaring our children and elders.
I am 77 and have several at risk conditions but I refuse to wear a mask in public (certainly not in private). The ONLY place I have worn a mask and then, only barely over my mouth, never over my nose, is at the Doctor because there is no admission without one. I agree with every reason given for not wearing a mask. I have yet to be confronted anywhere about not wearing a mask and we go shopping, to church, and out to eat regularly.
Think of it NOT as a mask but as a symbolic muzzle. “Yes I’m just a dog and the master won’t take me for a walk unless I wear my muzzle”. Sadly, many folks see this and still obey.
I don’t have a potty mouth
so there is no need for me to wear a face diaper today,
but thank you for asking!
Fuck off sheepeople
1) Hmm I wonder if the author’s “my body does not belong to the state” argument covers other hot political issues…doubt it.
2) If a store asks you to wear one and you refuse, you may want to re-acquaint yourself with that long-standing antithesis of communism, known as “private property rights.” Funny how the people shouting “muh freedoms” seem to toss away private property rights so easily. 99% of the supportive comments here completely miss this point.
3) simply stating as a preface that “I’m not being selfish” does not mean you’re not being selfish. Especially when most of one’s essay provides irrefutable proof of actually being selfish.
This is like arguing that it’s okay to smoke in the car with kids inside the car and the windows down by saying “my body my choice” and COMPLETELY IGNORES the plight of the other people in the car that choose to NOT smoke but have it forced upon them by the person who’s “not being selfish.” In this analogy, the mask refuser is the smoker…forcing their potential COVID onto everyone else.
4) Congratulations, you loudly and proudly refuse to wear a mask. Do you want a medal or something? Perhaps a Presidential Medal of Freedom 😉
Where have you been this whole time? I worked for a large grocery chain for 7 yrs. I loved my job. When things got heavy in March before we were mandated to wear masks I was tired and stressed. More from the mass hysteria of buying out the store. When we were mandated I was coming home exhausted and sleeping for 4 hrs at a time. My Co2 levels were dropped. My back started getting pretty bad and I was broken out constantly from the mask rubbing. Finally after 2 months of my complaints falling on deaf ears, I woke up and said a prayer. I went to work and gave my notice. I doubt I had Covid, if I did I am fine. But I was sicker than I had been before the masks. And sick mentally too. For some reason they resonate shame in my mind. But that is just me. I searched everywhere for others who agreed with me. Of course now I know if they did post it would be removed. I am so thankful to you for speaking the words I couldn’t form in my mind. I admit I wear it so that I dont bear the reproach. But I do applaud those without and I will start being one who goes without too. I have been in the Holistic field for 30 yrs and I need to get back to my roots and let others start making the right decisions also. And those who would argue your blog, well it is their right to believe but I do feel sorry for those who are led astray and just choose to believe. Thank you tremendously for a well written masterpiece of an article.
Hi Mike,
Great post. Where did you get that picture from? I created that exact same pic on August 3rd and posted on my Instagram and captioned it: “that’s rite lil boys, keep wearing your masks”. The universe must be aligning. And Jung says we should follow these synchronicities when the universe presents them. Hit me up.
I dont know who wrote this article. Is it a man named Mike Whittmann? Whoever wrote it, I dont think can imagine just how strongly and completely that I agree with every single word that he said in this article. I think that suffocating masks are a complete outrage whose purpose is to deprive our brains of enough oxygen to think straight, so that we can be led like sheep to the slaughter.
Because of certain health issues, I cannot wear a mask at all, and so ironically, I am not allowed to visit my doctor. And so if G-d forbid I have a heart attack, I would not be able to rush myself to the hospital, because I cannot wear a stupid mask. I also cannot take the bus, go shopping for groceries, get a haircut, pray in my synagogue, or really enter any building at all, because of those stupid masks. and btw, I myself have some pre-existing health conditions, but guess what? I am willing to risk my health by leading a normal existence. That should be nobody’s business but my own. And no, i dont have the Chinese virus, so really it is pointless for me to wear a stupid mask anyway.
I have things to say about the lockdown as well, but to talk about that would require me to get very political here, and I want to avoid that for now, because i want people from both sides of the political aisle to appreciate what I have said here.
Hi, Raymond. Yes, I wrote this and my name is Mike Wittmann. Thanks for stopping by.
Yes, I totally agree to not wearing a mask.
Totally agree. From the UK – where things are just as moronic at the moment.
You are incorrect about asymptomatic transmission; this is the crux of why we all need to mask.
https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/08/10/asymptomatic
The science is mixed, at best, and even if asymptomatic spread were possible that does not overrule the fundamental human right of self-ownership. If you are afraid of contracting it, by all means you are free to take whatever preventative measures you’d like, short of compelling and coercing your fellow human beings to do something because YOU think they should have to.
Thank you… it is absolutely baffling to me how quickly the majority has bought into this “mandatory masks for all” and are so evil to those who chose not to. Society is dumber than I first thought… sheep to the slaughter.
Great post!! I totally agree. If people are afraid by all means wear a mask, but we all should have the freedom to make our own choices about whether we wear one or not.
Thank your lucky stars because I can probably say that no one that has responded here lives like the link provided but most of the respondents care more about a god damn mask.
https://apple.news/Az9mPChecT9uclX2CXMqkWA
Hogwash!
Your right not to wear a mask in my proximity to you ends where my right to live without the vastly increased risk of contracting a highly communicable and potentially fatal disease begins.
This is false. You have no right to control me and I have no right to control you. You are free to take whatever action you choose to protect yourself, so long as your choices do not require you to control me or my property.
What are you views on abortion? I bet you want to tell people what do with their bodies when it comes to that… can’t have it both ways… either the government CAN make laws about what we can do with our bodies or they CAN’T.
I bet you’re wrong. Abortion is essentially a property rights and contract law question. When a woman allows herself, forgive me, to be inseminated she is contractually agreeing to host and support any human life that results from her choice. And because she does not have a right to aggress against her newly created child (created by her choice and consent) she has no more right to kill it than you do to kill me.
This reply is perfect.
And it is completely ignored by leftists. Pro-choice followers ignore, or are ignorant, of the fact that the woman ALREADY MADE THE CHOICE. They are either liars or ignoramuses.
How about distancing and group size? You okay with doing those two things? Or not moving about in a bar or restaurant to help prevent the spread?
I refuse to wear a mask! I’ve been manhandled ( I’m a very small female and was aggressively grabbed and shoved by a male much bigger than I). I’ve had men and women get within inches of my face, pull their masks down and scream at me while spitting in my face. I’ve gotten the remarks of ‘Did you forget your mask at home? ‘, ‘You need to have a mask on because it’s the law (mandate, not law)’ ‘You are selfish’ ,’ You don’t care’, ‘What if it was your grandparents’ etc etc.
But I’ve also had people see me and pull their mask off. I’ve had people commend me. I’ve had people thank me for not being silent.
My body my choice. I know this CV is a virus but I also know my immune system.
My grandson had CV when this all started. He was seen by so many doctors and had been in and out of the hospital a few times. My daughter brought him to stay with me because after 2 months of being sick he wasn’t getting better. I treated him naturally and within 3 days every symptom was gone! 8 freakin people in my home and not one of got it!!!
5 of my friends got CV and the only way they knew they had it was because they had to be tested prior to elective surgery! No symptoms in any of them!
My grandmother and grandfather got it. He was able to stay home with very mild symptoms. She was in the hospital for a week because her immune system was already down from pneumonia. The hospital wanted to put her on a ventilator and I raised hell! We couldn’t be with her in the hospital so I snuck in and snuck her to my house. Within 24 hours she could breathe, her fever was gone and she was eating!
A lady I knew since childhood got CV and passed away. BUT she was in stage 4 cancer, was in hospice and had influenza!
And the last person I knew who passed from CV committed suicide after a severe bout with depression!!! He lost his job due to Goernor Inslee in Washington, did not qualify for unemployment or DSHS, lost his home due to a fire and his brother had recently passed from a motorcycle accident. His death certificate states CV as cause of death even though he shot himself in the head!!!
I refuse to comply!!! I refuse to mask up!!! I refuse to be silent!!!
Amen!!!! Thank you. My dad died of CV and we still totally agree with you! Fifteen of us got CV from my dad. We’re ALL doing great now. No long term effects. People with asthma, lupus, 77 years old, kids, middle age, all doing great 6 months later. The best thing that happened was after getting it the fear left and we realized we didn’t need to live in fear anymore. Some wore masks and got CV and some didn’t wear masks and didn’t get CV. It’s a crap shoot. We can and should be able to chose. Great points. This is not living. There are far more negative repercussions coming from trying to “save and protect” everyone than from coronavirus itself.
Thanks for writing this. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
World Population – Over 7 BILLION
Covid Deaths Worldwide – less than
1 Million
I agree in wearing a mask get to were you can not breath gasping for air, It also deprive oxygen , I do not like wearing them at all deprived oxygen to the brain that cause brain damage. ( I Cant Breath ! ) it should be up to the person choice to wear one by our Rights.
Food for thought.
I don’t care if you wear a mask, or not. You do as you see fit for yourself. I don’t impose my choices onto you, so I expect the same from you. I’ll do what works for me and I’m prepared to defend my actions, if needed.
What makes people selfish is when they expect to impose their choice on everyone else, regardless of what others think or do. That’s what makes a Covidite, a Covidite.
I know many of you are opposed to wearing masks, but go along with it willingly, because of government issued mandates. I have to ask, where do you draw the line with the government telling you what you can or cannot do?
Some of you are not opposed to wearing a mask because you feel you are somehow making a difference in everybody else’s life by wearing a piece of cloth that stops viral particles about as well as a screen door stops water on a submarine. While you think these things, the fact remains this is untrue. You just keep wearing a mask though, if that’s what floats your boat.
Then there are some of you who readily surrender every last shred of freedom you have on this Earth, in the hope that the government’s supreme wisdom will somehow keep you safe, but you will only be safe if you convince everyone else to think the same as you do. You will mask up, glove up, goggle up, suit up and what ever other hoops the government tells you to, because you are so deep into believing the government, you have forgetten how to think for yourself and liberty is lost on you. Well, bless you heart, you’re a Covidite.
Kat–you wrote: “We do know families where one person got sick and those around them in the immediate family did not wear masks, and they all died”. Where did this happen?
I think wearing a mask is disgusting, and the people who advocate wearing them are also disgusting!!! Stop being such sissies you delicate little snowfkakes!!!
Wearing a mask is just one of 3 actions you can take to decrease the spread of a virus during a pandemic… it seems to be getting all the attention but the other two are even more important – socially distancing and washing your hands diligently.
If you ignore the mask but adhere to the other two, your risk to others is pretty low. But do you follow the other two? Or is that trampling upon your rights as well? I fear those that ignore the mask often ignore the other two as well, and that is why we are struggling as a country to overcome this, when so many other countries have succeeded.
Asymptomatic carriers of the virus have just as much of the virus as someone with symptoms but the risk of spread is lessened as you are not actively coughing or sneezing.
For the safety of others, I follow all 3 – I just assume I am asymptotic (as a relatively healthy 44 year-old, that’s my most likely outcome) and when social distancing is not possible, I have no problem wearing a mask. I don’t think it is a big deal. Wearing a mask also serves as a reminder not to touch my face, rub my nose and then touch other things which is how it can be spread even if you are not actively coughing, sneezing or yelling.
I just consider the worst that can happen. On one hand, I suffer the minor inconvenience of wearing a mask and the risk of being viewed as unmanly or a sheep by a certain segment of the population and on the other hand I might literally kill someone by being stubborn.
That is an easy decision for me to make. I’m upset so many Americans are not willing to make these little sacrifices to help our country get back to normal… again, I am not just talking about masking up, but social distancing and washing your hands as well.
I fear our inherent stubbornness is going to ensure we are dealing with this for a long time to come… when we could beat it with only a few months of real caution, as so many countries are showing is possible.
Hi, Brett. I think it’s great that you’re choosing to follow all 3 of the protocols you outlined. I’m less excited about your belief that you think people are just “stubborn.” That makes me wonder if you read through my article at all. Would you be willing to address one or more of the 11 reasons I listed directly? As in, form a logical critique or argument to support your position since “you’re just being stubborn” isn’t terribly persuasive to me.
Sure Mike, and thanks for the prompt response… I’ll look it over again and give a more directed response. In the meantime, will you please address the 2 issues I directly brought up, that were ignored by your original post – are you socially distancing In public and diligently washing your hands? Or is that also something you refuse to do for the benefit of others?
I don’t have a huge problem with most of what you posted (asides from the skepticism of asymptomatic carriers – we know they can still spread it… Typhoid Mary)
I have a problem with those that listen to you and use it as an excuse to enable their irresponsible behavior— You make good points questioning the viability of masks so let’s just ignore everything the scientific and health community is recommending during this legitimate time of crisis.
#1 – no argument from me – I prefer a society where we choose to do the right thing, not forced to do it. Sometimes I feel like an idiot for believing that though – that enough of the population is capable of caring about others over their own self interests.
#2 – it has become very evident a large portion of the population are asymptomatic carriers. Do I really need to argue that asymptomatic carriers can still spread it? And yes “presymptomatic” is obviously a legitimate concern – it often takes a week or two to display symptoms, but you could still be spreading it prior to having symptoms… though I agree – you are less likely of a contagion to others than an actively sneezing, coughing symptomatic carrier. In either case adhering to the 3 principles (mask/distance/clean) significantly decreases both asymptomatic and symptomatic carriers of the virus from spreading it.
#3 – the fact some masks suck and are rendered useless by poor care does not render all masks useless. That is obviously a false equivalency and a ridiculous argument. It would be nice to see you focus on legitimate problems from masks and how to keep them beneficial – instead of just dismissing all of them
#4 – it’s pie-in-the-sky unicorn-farts thinking to assume most “at risk” individuals have the luxury to stay at home and have everything delivered to them
#5 – that’s where you are really being stubborn. I might believe it is the right of an American to burn an American flag, for example – but I feel zero obligation to “put my money where my mouth is” and burn an American Flag every time I go out. You can still be against masks in principle but wear one in public to respect the millions who disagree with you.
#6 – the slippery slope argument rarely works. Gay marriage has not led to humans marrying animals. Legalizing marijuana has not seen legalized heroin. Legalizing an AR-15 has not led to every American owning bazookas. Each step can and will be fought on its own merits every step of the way.
I’ll comment on the rest later when I have some more time.