Wear a Mask, Stupid!

Common Sense Compassion

This post has absolutely nothing to do with politics.  We are experiencing a global pandemic currently wreaking havoc on our cities, our country, and the world.I don’t care where you live, what color you are/aren’t, or who is getting your vote for president. None of those things matter when faced with a choice that could mean life or death–for you, or someone you love.

I share this as an appeal to those who refuse to wear a mask in public. I write it as a heart-transplant patient whose immune-system is compromised, thereby making me high-risk for COVID-19. I argue on behalf of everyone who live with pre-existing medical conditions, and for those whose loved ones are also high-risk.  I am tired of seeing people on the news, on the internet, and on the street, not wearing masks in defiance of public health orders, and the health and safety of those around them. Not only does not wearing a mask demonstrate a lack of compassion and empathy for others, it just doesn’t make sense.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Here are the latest updates on COVID-19’s impact in our society.

• Santa Clara County: 13,340 cases with 209 deaths and 97 new cases reported yesterday, August 13, 2020.
• California: 603,000 cases with 11,011 deaths.
• United States: 5.27 million cases and 167k deaths.
• Worldwide: 20.9 million confirmed cases, 13 million recovered, and 760k dead.

Human Rights vs. Personal Freedom

The false-claim that wearing a mask somehow infringes upon a person’s individual freedoms is absurd.  Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does it state that any person has the right to put the lives of their fellow citizens at risk in the midst of a global pandemic that has currently claimed the lives of over 167,000 Americans alone. By not wearing a mask, I argue that such people are infringing upon the rights of others to live their lives in freedom and in the pursuit of happiness.  

Our founding fathers were educated men of the Enlightenment period, also known as the Age of Reason. They based their ideas of personal freedom and happiness on the emerging and verifiable study of science and facts over religion and the centuries-old teachings of the Church.  Indeed, I believe that our founding fathers would expect their countrymen to behave in the common interest, and toward the common good.

Masks = Normalcy

Wearing a mask is one of the most important things that we all can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Doing so will get us out from under shelter-in-place orders, and back to a sense of normalcy and routine.

• If you want to go back to work – wear a mask!
• If you want your kids to go back to school and stop driving you crazy – wear a mask!
• If you want to hug and kiss your grandkids – wear a mask!
• If you want to hang out with your friends again – wear a mask!
• If you want to get your hair done (yes, please!) or get that mani/pedi you’ve been dying for – wear a mask!
• If you want to eat inside a restaurant, or have a drink at the bar, or watch a movie in a theater – wear a mask!

Hoax, Shmoax

To those who say that COVD-19 is a hoax, YOU ARE WRONG! A member of my extended family was recently hospitalized with COVID-19.  Prior to his hospitalization, he traveled out of state, where he socialized with friends and family, all the while declaring that the coronavirus was a hoax.  Upon his return to California, he caught a 103-degree fever. When he learned that most of the others in his group (8-10 people) were sick and had tested positive for COVID-19, he was tested. His result; positive. He spent almost a week in the hospital, struggling to breathe, scared and alone.

After he recovers, I doubt he will leave the house without a mask in the future, and I’m sure he won’t claim that COVID-19 is a hoax. That is, once he’s taken off the oxygen machine that came home with him. 

Nobody Likes a Whiner

In response to those who refuse to wear a mask because it’s uncomfortable, it’s hot, it chafes, it itches, etc., wearing a mask is nothing compared to wearing a ventilator.  

I was on a ventilator for 24-48 hours when I underwent heart transplant surgery.  The morning after my surgery, I awoke in the ICCU, and was kept on the ventilator until my condition stabilized and the doctors felt I would be able to breathe on my own. Those final hours on the ventilator were VERY uncomfortable.  It was impossible to speak.  I couldn’t breathe out of my nose, and my mouth and throat were extremely dry.  

As a result, once the ventilator was removed, I could only whisper for hours afterward.  I couldn’t drink anything to relieve my discomfort because I wouldn’t have been able to keep anything down.  I was only allowed to eat ice chips.  My teeth and gums were sore. I had a fat-lip that took a couple of weeks to heal.  However uncomfortable I was, I dared not complain—to complain would diminish the gratitude I felt towards the doctors and nurses who saved my life.

Take it from me, wearing a mask a few hours a day (or longer, if you’re an essential worker) is an acceptable compromise in order to keep yourself safe and well–and out of the hospital.

Take One For the Team

What blows my mind, are the people who fall into high-risk categories for COVID-19 and STILL refuse to wear a mask in public.  I’m referring to people who are over 50, who smoke, who are overweight/obese, who have diabetes, high blood pressure, or any other underlying condition that puts them at risk.  I don’t understand how a person can be so stubborn that they are willing to risk their own lives, and the lives of others, so that they don’t have to be made uncomfortable. To those folks, I’d like to say that it isn’t about YOU right now. This is about US–as a society and a nation. It’s time we all get on the same page and do what’s right-for everybody. It’s time to be a team player.

If you contract COVID-19 because of your own pride and misguided beliefs, then it SERVES YOU RIGHT.  If you instead, or in turn, infect others around you because you don’t want to be bothered to follow the rules, then SHAME ON YOU.  I have no sympathy for such people. In the words of Forest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does,” so wear a mask, stupid!

Resources

• County of Santa Clara Public Health and Emergency Operations: COVID-19 Data and Reports dashboard
• California Department of Health Statewide alerts, statistics and guidance
• Center for Disease Control Coronavirus updates and statistics, nationwide
• How Much Protection Do Face Masks Offer?
• How to Clean a Cloth Face Mask