Why the Pro-Maskers Are SO Ready to Exact Retribution on the "Q-M2" Types

It's a long argument, and requires some patience. It also leans on my understanding of the PMMs (Pro-Mandatory Maskers), and how they reason.

BTW, Q-M2 people are those who Question Mandatory Masks.

First, some assumptions:

• Some of the PMMs work in high-risk fields - Medical/Nursing, Heavy Public Contact, Teaching (those germy little buggers are EVERYWHERE), etc. They wouldn't be human if they weren't concerned, and anxious to reduce their vulnerability.
• Some of the PMMs are in positions where failure to be Pro-Mandatory could cause them to lose their job or risk lawsuits. Really can't argue with looking after your own self.
• Some of the PMMs are anxious to put distance between themselves and famous non-maskers - Trump, for example. They fear that reliance on the actual science involved might put them in jeopardy of being lumped in with Bad Orange Man.
• Some are Karens - those people who yearn to be able to lay down rules for others, particularly when they can claim the high ground. In this case, THEY CARE ABOUT PEOPLE - you are a HEARTLESS KILLER!
• Some are just Drama Queens - not something new, there have always been whose primary way of dealing with the world is to over-dramatize their part in it.
• And, some are just going along with the crowd. Because going along is the easiest thing to do.

Now, the whole issue - to mask or not - is not that simple. It can be divided into:

• Masking around sick people - most, if not all, people would agree with that.
• Masking in crowded situations - most would say "OK" to that.
• Masking outside - there are those who do, but most people can't wait to exit a store or building, as eager to take off the mask as a woman is to shed that push-up bra upon closing the door to her house.And, despite the meme stating that government mandates bras, wearing them is optional (although, if the females do, Thank You!).
• And, MANDATORY masking, a government-imposed requirement, with penalties that may include fines, arrest, and even imprisonment.

That last is what is causing MOST of the problem with me.

Most people will wear masks when necessary. Cases like that celebrity who held a big mask-less party, then toddled off to visit his elderly relative - well, those are rare. Most of us, when it involves close contact with actual sick or immuno-compromised people, will sigh, pull on the covering, and comply with their demands.

Even though it's been recently proven that those without symptoms are generally NOT contagious.

But, others are scared. So...easier to go along - in the short term, for limited times.

What some have a problem with is keeping the mask on for extended periods of time. Yeah, yeah, I know it's the norm in operating rooms.

But, when the doctors and nurses leave, the first thing they do is to take off the mask.

What happens when you can NEVER take off the mask, all day, every day. Even on breaks. Even at lunch. Even when the mask makes it very hard for the hearing impaired to understand you. It's worse in many large offices, where the fad for Open Offices has made distancing yourself just not possible. Worse, Shared Co-Spaces are common in many businesses in the New Economy.

What happens when the police tell you to put on a mask? Even hand you a mask.

And, you still refuse?

Will they wrestle you into the back of the police car?

Will they do it if you're Black? If there is a crowd that is yelling "Police Brutality"?

Or, will all of this just affect the White part of the population?

What about the crazy homeless? Will they be arrested?

Or, just the sane ones?

What if citizens take this into their own hands, and attack the mask-less? Will they face jail time? Or, will their actions be excused, because the mask-less person was CLEARLY trying to kill them?

The ZMan has some important things to say about the prevalence of contagion for most of us. I'd suggest you read it, soon.

Me? I'm busy; I have to complete Medicare Annual Re-certification this week, followed by other work-related stuff, working on Science Lessons with my husband, and - perhaps most important - set up my new laptop, scheduled to be delivered on this Thursday.

So, too busy to spend much more time on this topic for a while. Or, to bother with most Social Media.

HEB - An Amazing Story of Capitalism

...and it's superiority to government aid. Here is a chain dedicated to making money. They saw opportunity in getting their stores in the affected area running.

And, in the process, solved many problems that government would not be able to do that efficiently.

Many businesses are like that - they provide a service, and, in the process, they make money. But, in a disaster, it just makes sense for them to be given priority to operate freely.

The real purpose of government is to operate so they aren't necessary. I mentioned in a post (can't remember where, and it's too late for me to bother finding it) that triage is essential in disaster situations. An essential part of that triage is to facilitate viable businesses getting off the ground, particularly those with needed consumer goods - that means the Lowe's/Home Depot/Ace hardware type.

Why not focus on the neighborhood store? Because of the chain's supply chains - they can get operational faster.

Similarly, I favor paying those who are jobless and homeless former renters to get out of Dodge. Give them sufficient money to relocate near family/friends, and think of them no more. It's cheaper than letting them hang around for years, sucking up resources that could go to people who will assist with the rebuilding process.

[NOTE: After I posted the above, I found another blogger, Richard Fernandez, writing in a similar vein]