As a conservative commentator, columnist, TV host and radio host I have had my fair share of run-ins with callers, guests, friends and enemies alike who insist that wearing a cloth covering over their face is a violation of some non-existent right to not have their pie-hole covered.
Show me where it is in the Constitution — either the United States or 1901 Alabama Constitution — and we can talk.
You can’t, so we won’t.
What I will do is tell you where all of this is heading if we don’t pull our heads out of the sand and start wearing masks in larger numbers — like we did when all of this started.
Your city, town and the State of Alabama will at some point mandate the wearing of masks.
Just wait. If the numbers continue to rise, the restrictions will return.
You will whine, “But … Dale! They can’t make me wear a piece of cloth over a part of my body.”
They can.
(a) A person commits the crime of public lewdness if:
(1) He exposes his anus or genitals in a public place and is reckless about whether another may be present who will be offended or alarmed by his act; or
(2) He does any lewd act in a public place which he knows is likely to be observed by others who would be affronted or alarmed.
(b) Public lewdness is a Class C misdemeanor.
Is your nose the same as your genitals? No.
Is your mouth the same as your anus? No.
Now, I am not a simple small-town southern lawyer, but I think that I could probably rationalize a similar law for the part of your body that expels droplets that contain the coronavirus.
Should they? No.
Mandatory mask ordinances and orders are a bad idea because they are generally unenforceable, but the ignorant resistance to this is just as asinine.
I’ve been told masks cut oxygen and cause people to pass out.
This is clearly not true. The guy working at Walmart wears a mask eight hours a day, and he can power through it.
I’ve been told rape victims and people with autism can’t wear masks.
Let’s ignore that. Even if true, this has nothing to do with the science and is just a ridiculous red herring. This is not about 100% compliance.
I have been told that the surgeon general said not to wear masks early on in this pandemic.
What changed?
A lot.
1. The numbers
2. The understanding of the virus
3. The availability of PPE
The government shouldn’t be in the business of policing this, because it would require the police to make this work.
But what about our new socially conscious corporations? They are all about performative wokeness and their ham-fisted statements about “Pride” and #BlackLivesMatter this month, right?
If they really believe that #BlackLivesMatter (or #AllLivesMatter), they should require people to wear masks inside their stores. Obviously, this puts the enforcement on an hourly retail employee and places their employees against an army of people who don’t know what they are talking about.
Go on social media, and see how reasonable those people are.
But if they believe this is important, make these people act out. Shame them.
Here is the bottom line: All the people who refuse to wear masks in indoor public-settings have nothing on their side except the willingness to be stubborn.
The anti-mask crowd and the folks rioting in the streets are very similar in attitude, but the anti-mask crowd doesn’t have the guts to actually do anything.
They express it online and on social media, but they are an obnoxious minority, and anonymity breeds stupidity. But the Internet is not real life.
Overall, 65% of U.S. adults say that they have personally worn a mask in stores or other businesses all or most of the time in the past month, while 15% say they did this some of the time. Relatively small shares of adults say they hardly ever (9%) or never (7%) wore a mask in the past month, and 4% say they have not gone to these types of places.
Polling shows most Americans support wearing masks, but more should be doing it. Unfortunately, those that need to be convinced are unwilling to be reasoned with.
This attitude only drags out this issue, makes it worse, and damages our state further.
Also, President Donald Trump disagrees with this line of thinking, and agrees with me.
Trump to Fox Business Network, amid rising Republican pressure: "I’m all for masks. I think masks are good." Says he has worn them on occasion and thinks he looks good in them
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) July 1, 2020
If this petulant attitude keeps up and numbers of cases keep rising, you will see more ordinances, and a state-wide mandate will follow.
Wear the stupid mask in public, or the government will attempt to make you.
Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 AM weekdays on WVNN.
