Mask Up!

Hiking in our local Metro Parks or in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park—dashing into the grocery store—going to the doctor or dentist—social distancing visits with my daughter and mother-in-law YES! Of course I wear a mask!

But—crazily—so many others either do not wear masks or they do not wear them correctly (the biggest offender in my eyes…mask resting below the nose, rendering it useless).

I asked Facebook friends to tell me how they approach (or not) people who are not wearing masks in public. Several said (essentially)…”I mind my own business” or “I give them the stink eye” or “I quietly judge them.” More alarmingly “It’s not my place to police, and I don’t want to get hit…or worse.”

Another friend counseled that actions speak better than words. He “treats them like they have the heebie- jeebies, giving them the ‘if looks could kill’ expression and giving an exaggerated six-foot clearance.”

Others employ diplomatic solutions that I find to be admirable. One friend says…”Oh my God! Did you forget your mask? I hate it when I do that—and that’s why I carry extras! Here…take one!” (Why didn’t I think of that solution?)

Approaching other people to ask about mask wearing does not always go well. “I was at a store a few weeks ago when a woman went nuts after someone mentioned her mask. So I walk the other way and don’t say anything.”

Another friend offered a story…”a friend was walking into a store and a group of guys started mocking her…calling her a chicken for wearing a mask. So when she came out of the store, she took her mask off and approached them, coughing, and they scattered like cockroaches while she shouted ‘now who’s the chicken?’”

Taking it a step further, “I have COVID” was suggested for times when being in public is unavoidable and unmasked strangers get too close. And then there is the friend who has COVID. She walked into her local hospital for a blood test; 3 registration clerks (only 1 masked) asked her to step up to the desk. She told them that she did not think it was advisable to approach the desk, since she has COVID. They quickly donned their protective gear.

The whole mask issue has been politicized when it really is just a matter of following science and doing the right thing. And that’s why a more direct approach might be the best approach: “For F***’s sake! Can you put a mask on, please? There’s a f***ing pandemic!” Personally, this is my favorite suggestion; however, I am not brave enough to hit the nail on the head that directly. Still…if I practice, maybe that’s what I’ll start saying.

Thanks to Dominic, Donna, Jan, Kelly, Mary, Nathan, Robert, Robin, Susan, Susie, Wanda for their input and suggestions.