Liberals Are Anti-Maskers Too
Yeah #NotAllLiberals - but if you’re ignoring guidelines, traveling for holidays and gathering in groups, your behavior is just as harmful. Doesn’t matter if you “believe in science,” you are contributing to mass death.
If you were to ask the average Liberal in America what has fueled the disastrous spread of COVID-19 in America, the answer would likely come down to Donald Trump and Republicans — the latter being synonymous with “anti-maskers.” Most Liberals are likely to express a tidal wave of disgust and disdain at the behavior of anti-maskers — those flagrantly flouting CDC guidelines about publicly wearing masks to curb the spread of disease. Sure, refusing to wear a mask is irrational and selfish and unequivocally responsible for the proliferation of COVID. But do Liberals really have the right to be so smug about following the rules?
The pandemic has become so treacherous, we are constantly breaking new records, averaging at least 200,000 new cases per day, with the equivalent of 9/11 happening every day or two in numbers of deaths. This has uncoincidentally occurred only a week or two following Thanksgiving, during which an estimated 50 million Americans traveled, despite the urging of the CDC (only about 5 million less than last year). You might ask, was this greedy 1/6th of America just those darn Republicans?! Nay! Cellphone data shows that over 1,900 counties across the country had increases in closeness — including huge increases in Liberal areas such as New York City, Miami, Atlanta and Minneapolis.
Anecdotally, I saw swaths of folks in my Liberal social media bubbles gleefully photographing themselves with their families and friends they had visited across the country during the holiday. This followed suit from the truly disturbing number of Liberal people in my Instagram and Facebook newsfeeds proudly and obliviously photographing themselves at Halloween parties, maskless and happy.
The problem isn’t that Democrats are exclusively to blame for the pandemic, obviously. The problem is a deep-rooted smugness that has infected Liberalism in America (ask any Conservative about this, I’m sure they could explain it) that wrongfully and almost laughably gives the impression that they are somehow morally superior. Take the words of Paul Krugman, Liberal darling, op-ed extraordinaire for the New York Times:
“Rational policy in a pandemic, however, is all about taking responsibility. The main reason you shouldn’t go to a bar and should wear a mask isn’t self-protection, although that’s part of it; the point is that congregating in noisy, crowded spaces or exhaling droplets into shared air puts others at risk. And that’s the kind of thing America’s right just hates, hates to hear.”
Paul is an older gentleman; I wouldn’t be surprised if he has been following the rules closely. In fact, it bears mentioning that there is a clear generational pattern in mask-wearing and that those who are more at risk, e.g. older folks across party lines (and perhaps especially Liberals) are more likely to follow guidelines. However, the rhetoric espoused in Paul’s comments, which wreak of false moral superiority, are shared by younger progressive and/or Liberal people.
Let’s also get this out of the way — if you are on the brink of suicide or even experiencing anything close to a mental health crisis that necessitates being in the company and care of others, by all means, please do what you need to do. If you live alone, just ten minutes from your parents and have absolutely quarantined for two weeks, okay, it’s probably fine if you go over there for holiday dinner. But for you to hop on a plane because you’re bored and/or miss normal life (or for you to get drunk and party with your friends because you’re bored and kind of sad) and have the audacity to claim that’s somehow different from the people who are doing it unapologetically… well, you’re a hypocrite. And you’re just as bad as those darn Republicans that you so disdain. Only they at least have the chutzpah to acknowledge their beliefs and wear them defiantly on their sleeves.
I’m not celebrating the selfishness of being an anti-masker. I’m just saying you are a selfish anti-masker if you’re Liberal and you’re going on vacation to Hawaii (like a yoga teacher from Seattle who recently emailed me), traveling internationally, hanging out inside maskless with your pals or going home for Christmas without it being 99.9% safe.
At the very least, if you’re going to participate in this shameful activity, have the decency to hide it so your selfish behavior remains stigmatized. And if you are regularly going out and jeopardizing human life for your cravings and petty desires, just remember that you’re no better than the people you constantly demonize for being selfish and defiant across party lines.
And if you’re a “good” Liberal wearing your mask and staying at home, cheers to you and keep up the great work! Keep reminding those selfish Liberal friends and families of yours who are hanging out with friends indoors, attending gatherings and going to crowded gyms that they are behaving like murderous assholes and they don’t really have the right to criticize Trump or any right-wing person’s beliefs or behavior.
Happy holidays!
