{"id":1759,"date":"2020-11-15T10:38:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-15T18:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.andreacagan.com\/?p=1759"},"modified":"2020-11-16T13:58:47","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T21:58:47","slug":"a-bunch-of-bad-reasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andreacagan.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/15\/a-bunch-of-bad-reasons\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bunch of Bad Reasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]A BUNCH OF BAD REASONS<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d wear a mask but I can’t breathe. (Don’t worry. There\u2019s a ventilator with your name on it.)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I left it in the car. (That\u2019ll do a lot of good.)<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a conspiracy. It\u2019s a hoax. (Tell that to 1.31 million people worldwide who died.)<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re not really at risk. (Tell that to 34 million people who are infected.)<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s my right to do as I please. (Happy Super Spreader)<\/span><\/p>\n

I am<\/i> wearing a mask. (At least your neck is safe.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The virus was created in a laboratory. (That means you won’t get it. You can exhale.)<\/span><\/p>\n

And on and on.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m about to have a good whine. I\u2019m frustrated because I\u2019ve heard all of the above recently, including someone who said, \u201cI\u2019m a not a conspiracy theorist but the government is lying to us. They\u2019re a really dark force. They’re manipulating us.\u201d It all leaves me breathless. Literally. I go to a public park to do a four mile walk and most days, about half the people there are wearing masks. A woman without a mask and a man wearing one are pushing a baby carriage. A runner without a mask rushes past me on the narrow path, sweating and breathing hard. A woman has her mask hanging off her ear as she passes me. A man has his in his hand. Someone else has it looped around her elbow.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was in a grocery store a few days ago, masked up, and a tall burly man had his mask under his chin. When I asked him kindly to put it on properly since we were in a confined space, he stared at me l like he didn’t speak English. Maybe he doesn\u2019t, I thought, so I spoke to the manager who went to apprise the situation. The unmasked man got irate and started arguing. \u201cIt\u2019s not a law,\u201d he barked<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s store policy,\u201d the manager said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not a law,\u201d the man repeated in a louder voice until everyone in the store could hear him. The manager was about to usher him out but he left his masked girlfriend to pay the bill and he walked out fuming.<\/span><\/p>\n

If it sounds like I\u2019m complaining, I am. It\u2019s one thing to do harm to yourself. If you want to ingest drugs, shoot heroine, smoke crack, have unsafe sex, have at it. It\u2019d be a good idea to take better care of yourself better but that\u2019s a personal choice. No one else has to suffer from your decision. But when it comes to an airborne virus, it\u2019s a different story altogether. Any decision you make about it affects all the people around you and all the people around them. When did taking life and death precautions become a political decision? Why is it so hard to do something that will make everyone around you more comfortable, whether or not you agree with them?<\/span><\/p>\n

Love thy neighbor as yourself. It\u2019s pretty simple and straight forward. And in the case of Covid-19, if you refuse to believe the warnings, then love your neighbor better than yourself. If you can\u2019t do it for you, do it for me. Or your husband. Or your daughter. Or your neighbor. Let\u2019s do everything we can, let\u2019s go above and beyond to get this thing under control and make our lives easier or happier places to be. I don’t know about you but I\u2019m exhausted. Please Join me in making this world safer and more welcoming. It\u2019s the most and the least we can do.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"IMG_0269.JPG\"<\/p>\n

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A BUNCH OF BAD REASONS I\u2019d wear a mask but I can’t breathe. (Don’t worry. There\u2019s a ventilator with your name on it.) I left it in the car. (That\u2019ll do a lot of good.) There\u2019s a conspiracy. It\u2019s a hoax. (Tell that to 1.31 million people worldwide who died.) We\u2019re not really at risk. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"A BUNCH OF BAD REASONS<\/span><\/span>\r\n\r\nI\u2019d wear a mask but I can't breathe. (Don't worry. There\u2019s a ventilator with your name on it.)\r\n<\/span>\r\n\r\nI left it in the car. (That\u2019ll do a lot of good.)<\/span>\r\n\r\nThere\u2019s a conspiracy. It\u2019s a hoax. (Tell that to 1.31 million people worldwide who died.)<\/span>\r\n\r\nWe\u2019re not really at risk. (Tell that to 34 million people who are infected.)<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt's my right to do as I please. (Happy Super Spreader)<\/span>\r\n\r\nI am<\/i> wearing a mask. (At least your neck is safe.)<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe virus was created in a laboratory. (That means you won't get it. You can exhale.)<\/span>\r\n\r\nAnd on and on.<\/span>\r\n\r\nI\u2019m about to have a good whine. I\u2019m frustrated because I\u2019ve heard all of the above recently, including someone who said, \u201cI\u2019m a not a conspiracy theorist but the government is lying to us. They\u2019re a really dark force. They're manipulating us.\u201d It all leaves me breathless. Literally. I go to a public park to do a four mile walk and most days, about half the people there are wearing masks. A woman without a mask and a man wearing one are pushing a baby carriage. A runner without a mask rushes past me on the narrow path, sweating and breathing hard. A woman has her mask hanging off her ear as she passes me. A man has his in his hand. Someone else has it looped around her elbow.<\/span>\r\n\r\nI was in a grocery store a few days ago, masked up, and a tall burly man had his mask under his chin. When I asked him kindly to put it on properly since we were in a confined space, he stared at me l like he didn't speak English. Maybe he doesn\u2019t, I thought, so I spoke to the manager who went to apprise the situation. The unmasked man got irate and started arguing. \u201cIt\u2019s not a law,\u201d he barked<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cIt's store policy,\u201d the manager said.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cIt's not a law,\u201d the man repeated in a louder voice until everyone in the store could hear him. The manager was about to usher him out but he left his masked girlfriend to pay the bill and he walked out fuming.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf it sounds like I\u2019m complaining, I am. It\u2019s one thing to do harm to yourself. If you want to ingest drugs, shoot heroine, smoke crack, have unsafe sex, have at it. It\u2019d be a good idea to take better care of yourself better but that\u2019s a personal choice. No one else has to suffer from your decision. But when it comes to an airborne virus, it\u2019s a different story altogether. Any decision you make about it affects all the people around you and all the people around them. When did taking life and death precautions become a political decision? Why is it so hard to do something that will make everyone around you more comfortable, whether or not you agree with them?<\/span>\r\n\r\nLove thy neighbor as yourself. It\u2019s pretty simple and straight forward. And in the case of Covid-19, if you refuse to believe the warnings, then love your neighbor better than yourself. If you can\u2019t do it for you, do it for me. Or your husband. Or your daughter. Or your neighbor. Let\u2019s do everything we can, let\u2019s go above and beyond to get this thing under control and make our lives easier or happier places to be. I don't know about you but I\u2019m exhausted. Please Join me in making this world safer and more welcoming. It\u2019s the most and the least we can do.<\/span>\r\n

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