KAREN’S RANTS/HEALTH: THE PROBLEM WITH THE RELAXATION OF THE MANDATORY MASKS RULE

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THE PROBLEM WITH THE RELAXATION OF THE MANDATORY MASKS RULE

I was planning to rant about the new “no masks if everyone is fully-vaccinated” rule on just Twitter (@MajorCelebrity,) Instagram (major celebrity,) and Facebook (It’s Not About Me TV,) but my thoughts wound-up to be longer than the two-hundred-eighty characters Twitter allows. (That platform is my main social media one, so I didn’t want to post on the others without tweeting it out first.)

So I’m discussing it all right here. The main problem with allowing the public to stop wearing masks boils down to one thing—everyone is either honest or a liar. Either way, this is one of the dumbest ideas ever.

This is the sign I STILL hope to see, at ALL businesses!

This is the sign I STILL hope to see, at ALL businesses!

In case you haven’t heard, the CDC has recently stated that, “Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”

The most important words in that statement are “Fully vaccinated.” So, first of all, who’s checking on if you’re really vaccinated or not? And how would that even be done? We all know that holding people to the honor system does not work. At any place, at any time. Ever!!! Not in families, schools, nor buffets. And definitely not in society as a whole! And no places are allowed to ask for your vaccine card to make sure you’re safe to be around others now!

And we all absolutely know that, if asked to declare their vaccination status to determine if they can go maskless, the anti-vaxxers are going to lie. It’s a given. After being so vocal about how proud they are to not get vaccinated, and broadcasting tons of false information to convince others to follow them in their absolute stupidity, selfishness, and recklessness, if they know they’ll be turned away from places if they reveal their anti-vax stance, do you really think any of them will ‘fess up? I honestly can’t imagine that they will.

Only if EVERYONE involved is FULLY-VACCINATED!!!

Only if EVERYONE involved is FULLY-VACCINATED!!!

What we’re told about giving up our masks now is that it’s safe to gather without them, if everyone—yes, everyone—involved is fully-vaccinated. How would we know that status any place other than our own homes?! Surely we won’t know about the people sitting next to us in a theatre or restaurant. And what about stores? We’re all going to have to just hope that we’re around other fully-vaccinated peeps.

Here’s just one tiny example of what can go wrong with people not continuing to wear masks right now: Several people in the New York Yankees organization, including one of their star players, all fully-vaccinated, (and at least one who has even had Covid before,) have recently tested positive for the virus!!! Stupid people think that’s not even a possibility, but the Yanks are living, walking, breathing (for now) proof! Do any of us really want to risk that? I, for one, do not.

Karen Salkin rocking her colorful mask.  Photo by Karen Salkin.

Karen Salkin rocking her colorful mask. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Besides the health reasons for not ditching your masks so fast, there’s a plethora of other much less important arguments to be made. And I present them all to you right here:

On the economic front, so many mask businesses, both the medical and fashion types, have sprung-up from the pandemic. Now all those people will lose at least part of their important revenue. And some companies use that new face space as billboards of sorts, utilizing the masks to advertise themselves. Others make money from allowing them do so on their own visages, getting paid to wear those logo masks. We’re all just getting used to being creative with the new mask industry, and now we’re being told to ditch them! Go figure.

On the fun front, masks have become festive fashion accessories/statements. I haven’t felt more proud all year than when I rocked my handmade (by someone else) “RBG” mask! And I got to display my love of colors with a paint-splat one. Masks are also a game nowadays; it’s fun to try to figure-out who people are by just half of their faces! Mr. X and I amused ourselves by guessing who everyone was at the recent Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony.

Masks can work out great on the social front, as well. For example, if you’re at a function, and recognize someone you don’t like, (with their masks on, of course,) you have the out to avoid them, and can feign that you didn’t recognize them if they wind-up going over to you. (And what a relief it must be to be able to go totally incognito if you’re a celeb!)

Karen Salkin, using her polished nails as a mask. Photo by Mr. X.

Karen Salkin, using her polished nails as a mask. Photo by Mr. X.

And on the very-least-important vanity front, some of us just look better when rocking the masks! I know I do. Right before the pandemic, I actually joked to Mr. X that I was going to start wearing a burka because my eyes are the best part of my looks. (Or lack thereof nowadays.) But he pointed-out that I also have excellent hair, (if I do agree with him myself,) so I was trying to figure-out some way to feature just my hair and eyes, and then, voila–here it was! Granted, few have seen me for fourteen months, to know what any parts of me look like anymore, but the timing of the “no mandatory masks” edict is not great for me–just as I was about to start going out again, with my colorful and/or statement masks, the powers-that-be want me to present my naked face, (and susceptible lungs,) to the public-at-large. Not gonna happen. (By the way, many people have told me that when they saw others without masks, they were surprised by how different the bottom parts of their faces made them look! So that observation is far from mine alone.)

So now that I’ve broken-down all the ways that masks are benefiting us these days, I’m extra-sad that the mandate will be ending soon, (if not already!) Most of my pro arguments here are for just entertainment purposes, of course, valid though they may be. I’m really only worried about Covid transmission. At the beginning of the pandemic, we were told that masks were absolutely not necessary, only to have that thought changed, big-time, a short while later. I always wonder how many lives could have been saved by telling us to wear them sooner. So now I have to hope that the CDC is not just bowing to pressure from the complainers, and that it really is safe to go maskless. But until all the danger is definitely, positively, undisputedly over, my way-too-many lipsticks will go unused for a while longer.

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1 Comment

  1. I 100% agree with you on all of it! We still need to wear masks for awhile longer, to protect ourselves and others.

    Great article! I love your writing.

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