Upon reading the prompt “what grinds your gears” I fell into a deep writer’s block. I felt as if I should not waste Mrs. Swords’ precious time by making her read an extensive rant about slow walkers or the linguistic evolution of the filler “uh” and “like” in daily speech. And then, while looking around the room in my seventh period, it hit me: my topic was right under my nose this whole time. (Well, covering my nose) The anti-maskers of A&M Consolidated High School. I simply do not understand the reasoning behind choosing not to wear a mask when countless research shows that cloth coverings reduce viral transmission by 70%. Face coverings not only reduce viral transmission but prevent asymptomatic spread. In my humble opinion, those who refuse to wear a mask, are the ones who need it the most (#SorryNotSorry) After all, wearing is caring.
Learning from other countries’ strategies to combat Covid19 is vital in responding to a global pandemic. If masks were mandated earlier on and contact tracing had started with the first known cases, there would not have been such a massive shutdown, extra unemployment benefits, stimulus packages, and such a devastating loss of life. I read an article that said anti-maskers in East Java, Indonesia were ordered as punishment to dig graves for the victims of Covid19 in hopes of creating a deterrent effect against mask violations. While this is a little on the extreme side, and might violate the Eighth Amendment, I am not TOTALLY against it. The sooner we all wear masks, the sooner we can all party again. (Safely, of course) So, as for now, cheers to wearing masks!
Adventures In The Life Of Mary M. 