Masks are all the rage nowadays. Oh wait … that should read mask wearing to some is enraging nowadays! In my corner of the USA, #UpperLeft, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee issued an Executive Order that masks are required in public while maintaining physical distancing of 6 feet from non-household members (2 meters) – not either.
It’s been over 200 days since we started coping with #COVID19 … and now the public’s response has been divided into 2 groups: mask up, and those that refuse. Within each group is a subgroup from what I’ve experienced and observed.
To Be Masked or Unmasked
Truth be told, I’ve been conditioned to wearing a mask a minimum of 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week since May because of essential workplace requirements. Then members were required to mask up, which caused mad drama and still does to this day in August.
Mandatory tasks put on American easily divide us into two camp #maskup #staysafe – Yes Camp, and No Camp. Then they’ll argue with the opposite camp to sway the opinion because the opposition is wrong.
It’s in our USA DNA. We started this country on a disagreement on church and government. If it ever falls … most likely based on a disagreement.
I digress.
IMHO, Americans simply don’t like to be told what to do. The debate usually spills onto social media platforms of Facebook, Instagram, Reddit etc. Each side will cite sources that bolster their camp, while digging up evidence that the opposition needs to change their ideals, and it never ends.
Why?
There wasn’t an agreement to the overall response to COVID-19 global pandemic because we’ve never encountered anything like this in recent history.
The overall plan to Inslee’s “Safe Start Washington” is (was) a 4-phased reopening per a county-by-county review.
March 12, 2020 Gov Inslee ordered public and private schools from kindergarten to grade 12 to be shut down for the next 6 weeks until April 24th. In the early days of the pandemic this didn’t seem to aggravate the public.
March 15, 2020 Gov Inslee shut down all bars, and restaurants to dine-in service. They can offer only take-out or delivery. Again, begrudingly accepted by the public given the scope of the explosive and exponential nature of the global pandemic known as COVID-19.
March 23, 2020 Gov Inslee enacts the Stay Home, Stay Healthy Executive Order. Every Washingtonian is required to stay home unless pursuing an essential activity e.g. grocery shopping. Somehow he managed to convince us to stay inside until April 6th, to coincide with Washington State School spring break.
Then he extended it to April 24th. Finally, he closed schools for the remainder of the year and educators would teach online. So far, the public hasn’t completely lost their collective minds.
Next he extended the Stay Home, Stay Healthy until May 4th – now that he was able to convince citizens to stay in their homes until absolutely necessary – I predicted he would keep extending.
By May 2020, I’ve already lost 2 friends to COVID-19. They legitimately succumbed to this disease.
– Carlos Bayne
I was honestly surprised that Gov. Inslee started the phased re-opening after May 4th. I thought he would model the Chinese quarantine method until the number of cases dropped.
Back to mask up, or unmasked. I have a small social media footprint therefore I have friends and family in each camp: Yes-I’ll-wear-a-mask and No-I-remain-unmasked.
To me, it’s not a matter of wearing a mask or not. For me, it’s having a collaborative, cohesive effort with one goal in mind. Ya know like the saying, “Team work makes the dream work!”
Or even better … united we stand, divided we fall.
‘los
PS – I turned off the comments section.
los, Fil-Am Renaissance Man 