It’s incredible how many people can’t follow basic instructions and are unable to do something as simple as cover both their mouth and nose with a mask when out and about.
I know I’m not the first to talk about this, and this article has been planned for a few weeks but I never got around to it, but seriously, every time I go out, and I do mean every single time I leave the house I see some idiot who, while yes, they are wearing a mask (don’t get me started on the ones who aren’t) has it over their mouth only and isn’t covering their nose.
What’s the point, then? Do these people not comprehend that the mouth and nose all lead to the same area where COVID-19 attacks — that is, the respiratory system? Do they just not care? Are they the kind of idiots who claim they “can’t breath” while wearing one for a few minutes and think that’s helping them out because seriously if you aren’t covering your nose you might as well not be wearing it at all which, sadly, about 3 out of every 5 people I see out and about here in Memphis are not wearing a mask of any form at all!
Oh, but there are those who claim masks don’t really help you all that much from getting the virus because they don’t cover the eyes, or make stupid analogies about farts going through cloth = virus going through cloth because somehow that makes sense.
Here’s the thing: you don’t wear a mask to protect you. Not primarily. You, like a doctor, wear the mask to keep you from spreading anything you may have. Surgeons wear them so they don’t infect the patient they are operating on, and the same logic is in effect here too: You are supposed to wear a mask so that, if you are infected and contageous but possibly not showing symptoms yet, you will be less likely to spread the virus to someone else. While a mask will help a tiny bit on limiting the chance of the virus to enter your system, that’s not the main point. If we limit the chance of infection on either end, it helps everyone. You wear the mask to protect others, and if everyone did this the spread rates can and would likely decrease.
That’s the entire thing we’re trying to fight – the spread of the disease. It’s an effort to save as many lives as possible and mitigate the absolute hell that this disease apparently is. While the survival rate is pretty high with this disease one thing to consider is that, for many infected with it, major, sometimes life-changing damage is done – damage that could have been prevented had people just stayed the fuck home, worn a mask if they had to go out, washed their fucking hands, and not been dumbasses when asked to just wear a fucking face covering when they go out.
The U.S. death toll for COVID-19 just crossed 100,000. Had we begun being cautious sooner and taken better lockdown steps, that number could… no, would… be far lower. Instead, after a month of half-assed state shutdowns we’re back up and running like “mostly” normal with idiots crowding bars, beeches, and anything else like there’s nothing to be worried about. Cases are starting to spike again, and people don’t seem to give a shit.
The idea of their honestly boring and, I’m going to be blunt here, in many cases likely pathetic lives being interrupted for long enough to stop what I consider a global catastrophe is far too much for the average American to bear and even now, when the most simple thing they are being asked is to wear a fucking face covering when they go out, half refuse the other half can’t be bothered to do it correctly. It’s just too much damn trouble to even try to do something right… and yet so many here in the United States wonder why the rest of the world hates us.
Lastly, you have to love how many places are saying face coverings are mandatory, yet don’t enforce it. What’s the point of even having the signs?
Honestly, people not wearing masks need to be arrested, and those wearing then incorrectly need to be forced to put them on the right way.
Strong words? Yes, but I’m not going to hold back when people are dying left and right because no one around me can even try to do the right thing.
This is a hell we made ourselves…
