Janelle Irwin Taylor
If the anti-mask rhetoric plaguing Pinellas County Commissioners who are being urged by some residents to rescind the local mask ordinance can be summed up best, it’s by this guy.
“My son farted in the line at the grocery store and boy did his poo particles enter my mask,” the man said.
I didn’t catch his name, thanks mostly to the new norm in local governance that requires virtual meetings to be rife with technical glitches. The gentleman’s voice cut out as he was giving his name.
But his pointed remark says so much. Like it or not, agree with it or not, there are a a lot of people who think mask-wearing is bunk, fueled by a foolhardy adherence to junk science.
Commissioners heard from more than 80 residents Thursday morning and into lunchtime, a slight majority of whom were not only opposed to mandatory mask wearing in public, but passionately convinced that the order does no good and, in some cases, might actually be dangerous.
Their claims fly in the face of recommendations from the experts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and World Health Organization all recommend mask-wearing, in conjunction with social distancing, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Most doctors agree, including those who report directly to Commissioners, that masks are perhaps the most effective tool to combat COVID-19.
Ultimately, the County Commission did nothing on the existing mask order. They plan to hear from hospital executives next week before determining whether they will move forward with discussions about whether or not to lift the ordinance.
But the lengthy conversation, which included yelling, a touch of name-calling and even a corny joke about a bored dinosaur called “dinoSNOREus,” paints a troubling picture of new reality in which those who govern locally — or at the state or federal level — face a damned if you do, damned if you don’t conundrum.
There’s a broader conversation about why so many people reject mask guidance from health experts. Pinellas County’s COVID-19 numbers have been trending down for a while and have leveled out to manageable levels, but it’s very likely that success came because of mask mandates. Taking a step back, it is reasonable to hypothesize, could lead to another resurgence as seen after Memorial Day when masks weren’t required.
There are fingers abound pointing to President Donald Trump’s leadership, or lack there of, at the federal level for causing so many people to reject mask-wearing.
But regardless, the debate will indeed continue. Commissioners made lemonade Thursday, pointing to the one thing everyone, literally everyone, should be doing.
“There is a lot of bullying going on out there, both ways,” said Commission Chair Pat Gerard.
Her comments responded to those from residents who shared stories about being confronted in places like grocery stores. One woman said she had an inhaler slapped out of her hand when she was explaining she wasn’t wearing a mask due to asthma, a mitigating factor that exempts folks from the ordinance. Under that rule, they’re not required to provide documentation.
Another woman reportedly had a plastic bag placed over her head.
“I can’t imagine wearing a mask after that,” Gerard said.
Her overall message, and one colleagues shared, was to be a little kinder, a little more gentle.
Commissioner Ken Welch, speaking to mask supporters, suggested avoiding people who aren’t wearing a mask rather than confronting them.
And Commission Karen Seel reminded, “it may be for a very good reason.”
Isn’t that something everyone can get behind?
Think about it. People who support masks think those who don’t are selfish, uneducated, misinformed, maybe all of the above. People who think mask mandates are an overreach think those who disagree are sheep blindly following unproven science. No one’s mind, or very few anyway, are going to be changed.
So instead of screaming at a person for not wearing a mask, or wearing a mask incorrectly, maybe the better option, like Welch said, is to steer clear. After all, if you’re worried about the health risks, wouldn’t you want to stay away from them and their potential germs?
Likewise for the mask haters, why not just leave those who gladly don a face covering in public be? These are the folks who claim they want masks to be optional. They say if someone wants to wear a mask, it’s their choice.
Yet we’ve all seen the videos of grocery store outbursts where non-mask wearers verbally assault those who are. We saw the news of a Central Florida man who beat an elderly gentleman for asking him to social distance because he wasn’t wearing a mask.
In what world is that OK?
The conversation will continue Tuesday when commissioners meet again to hear from hospital executives, with the expectation that there will be some talk of revisiting the mask ordinance. The speakers will come, virtually of course, in droves to share the same messages we’ve heard over and over.
If commissioners listen to the experts, who will say masks are an important tool in the tool box, they’ll get castigated by those who disagree. If they listen to the anti-maskers, they’ll likewise hear it from people accusing them of ignoring science.
A winner will emerge on either side, but on that dais, no one wins.
