@Willyum If you think being asked to do your part to protect your peers from a deadly disease is akin to fascism then you have lived a VERY sheltered life.

I was waiting in an unbelievably slow line to return something the other day and watched quite a few people enter the store to be met by a 'private security guard' who was probably 17 in a vaguely intimidating polyester outfit rent-a-cop outfit. Everyone who wasn't wearing a mask got turned away. It just takes a tiny little bit of authority to make the system work.

Unfortunately, even though masks are "mandatory", enforcement is a problem. Shop workers can't be expected to enforce laws.

@Willyum Wickerson -- "Good riddance" is the attitude the rest of us will have when you die

I guess you haven't seen that video of the lady who cut a hole over her mouth in the mask then...

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In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is…in some small way to become evil oneself. One’s standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to. — Theodore Dalrymple

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So much for freedom huh? MANDATORY GOOD, CHOICE BAD, Me COMMIE.

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That's fascism. Good riddance.

I was born in the Soviet Union - I hate to see how the mask requirement is being equalled to government control and oppression. I know from experience - that is not what evil controlling government looks like. I wish people understood the true meaning of freedom.

Ppl forget that weighed against each right you have, is a responsibility to ensure that right to others. It isn't fascism to act for the greater good of your whole community and work together. I live in nz, a democracy, and we locked down for 5-6 weeks. A few fools went against it but most of the country followed instructions. We could have but didn't question or fight the legality, we recognised it was necessary to save tens of thousands of potential deaths, and that it might just prevent it reaching community spread. Does this make us commie fascists, or logical ppl who still live in a democracy?

@ggirl225888 - it's not about freedom, it's about living. Does your brain work?

I am so sorry for your friend's son. It's sad that people are losing their loved ones and other people are complaining that their rights are being violated.

Anna Repp, right-wingers have trouble grasping "sit", "fetch" and "roll over." You can't expect them to understand something as complex as the meaning of freedom. ;-)

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And a lot of things just seem to be so arbitrary. Married couple who live together sitting together on a bench? Separate, more than 6 feet, or be ticketed. Really? In what way does that make sense? Man surfing all by himself. Arrested for violating quarantine orders–and put in a jail where he’ll be in enforced close association with a bunch of other people. How is “in jail” better from a perspective of slowing the spread of disease than is “surfing all alone, not another person in sight”? Boating (so long as no more than 10 people) okay. Drop a baited line off the boat (fishing) and that’s a violation. How does that make sense? Then there’s New York. New York is a city utterly dependent on mass transit. So, shutdowns reduce the number of people traveling every day? Well and good. But with fewer people using the mass transit, the city reduces the number of subways and buses running, thus ensuring that the remaining ones are every bit as packed as they were before the shutdowns.

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So give your freedom away, there is always someone out their waiting to take it from you and since you are so willing.....

The *slayer* of incels. This is an important distinction!

Aw, thanks Lauren, that made me smile! May you stay safe and healthy, brave ally!

Go slay the incels with honour and gratitude brave warrior! ^-^

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Says the incel.

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having a mask is better than not having a mask, which is really all that matters

@ggirl225888 Why is it that immature people, when being told "no" suddenly start screaming communism? Grow up and stop throwing temper tantrums. Just because you read Orwell and Animal Farm doesn't mean you understood them. Animal Farm was partly about communism and partly about blindly giving your free will over to a small group that claims to have your best interest at heart. It wasn't about giving into the communists...it was about giving in to dictators and tyrants. If that's really the case here...do you think we'd be wanting to implement policies that contradict the Great Orange Sociopath? No..we'd be blindly following him to our deaths. Being informed and being blindly led by the nose are two different things. And if your reckless actions endanger my life and the lives of my family, you can bet damn sure you should be held criminally liable for it!

In most European countries it is actually considered a criminal offence if you do not follow the social distancing or mask rules. Especially when they are obligatory you can be arrested for endangering the public and courts are now full on sentencing these people to severe punishment or “no second chance punishment” (you get a year in prison you do not have to sit unless you f*ck up and then you’re in for the full run or more).

@Spinaap. The argument can be made for the criminality of it here in the USA as well. People who are HIV positive that knowingly go around infecting other people can be brought up on assault, endangerment and manslaughter charges because it's considered that their recklessness caused unnecessary fatalities. The same can be applied to a virus that, as of this moment, has claimed 300,000 lives worldwide.

Unfortunately, Republicans don't give a s**t about people. They only care about money and themselves. Business, money, possessions... that's what Republicans care about. They don't care about people. People just get in the way of making and keeping their money. They do not want to share. They do not want to save people. If 300k people die, so be it, they're ok. I do believe anyone who forces people to return to work and put themselves in danger is terrorism, plain and simple. States that are opening are suffering 1000s of new sick folks... and still, they say they have the right to go out there and endanger others and themselves. The United States has fallen so far from where she should be, it's disgusting. Republicans have destroyed this country... it will never be the same again.

Ah, Americans don't want to wear a mask because of their freedom. And it's their right to carry a gun... Just cherry picking their rights while violating other people's rights.

Not enough upvotes available to give for this comment.! You're so freaking right on this one!

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Wow, you sound like a full fledged communist. I bet you never read Orwell have you? I bet you haven't read animal farm have you? Wow, just wow, arrest people because they don't want to wear masks. Glad you live in your Mother's basement Daniel because if you had to operate in the normal world you'd probably melt.

I hate to agree with this statement because it seems so oversimplified, the truth is that this is 1000% correct. As long as it is not rich, white men dying, the government is OK with it.

Good call, but Republitards also seem to be accepting of their higher mortality rates even before Corona. There's a "death belt" of high death rates from Ohio to Louisiana... The Lt Gov of Texas actually said that "there are more important things than living" when he was lobbying to have the state re-open the economy. Death in the name a'freedom y'all!!

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Stay in the hospital.

This is so true. We had 4000 lives lost on 9/11 and we’ve spent trillions of dollars killing people that had nothing to do with it. But 300000 Americans dying so Jim Bob doesn’t need to wear a mask? That’s fine.

True. And if non-white Americans threatened to kill the governor and/or showed up outside and inside the state's capitol when the legislature is in session, everyone from the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and probably some twenty other agencies which we will never know about would be getting every protester, the protesters' families including distant relatives, friends, co-workers, and casual acquaintances in for tough questioning by dragging them out of bed between four and five in the morning. Trump: "They are fine people"

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"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.". - William Pitt the Younger

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A Muslim would be worse.

Well said. I worry for the large proportion of Americans that must feel trapped between an orange rock and a horde filled place, to paraphrase.

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You have pedo biden and CNN. Know your place filthy trash.

I agree 1000%. Every year, it seems like more and more of these gun- happy, constitution spouting morons come out of their hiding spots.

If I had 1 wish it would be for all these right wing Trump and gun lovers to go live on an Island amongst themselves. I’m sick of hearing about their constitutional rights how about people’s rights to stay healthy.

They need to all gather on the white house lawn to celebrate their strength as a united front of persons banded together to enlighten the public of the opinions about the corruptions being perpetrated against them while being sure to exercise their 'constitutional rights' not to wear PPE - ie face masks. There by proving the myth and scandal of Covid 19 at the same time.

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I don't think the Democrats are going away.

Willyum, we have a vaccine for the flu. Not so for COVID. So... Not like the flu. Plus, the hospitals are overrun like they never have been. Which means if you break a leg, you get to wait behind all those who are infected. They wont give you preference. I'm sure they'll get around to treating you before gangrene sets in...

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It is like the flu, and the quarantine so far is a ridiculous idea.

The civil right to infect other people? During the Blitz should citizens have had the right to keep their lights on without using blackout shades?

In case of a state of emergency the coverment can take measures like this, it's every counties law. Maybe you better should worry about people getting fired because they have a opinion your orange leader doesn't like. Or that Barr keeps Trumps minions out of prison. But you look like the type that wants to shoot corona with a ar -15 so why do I even bother.

Right to live > civil rights. but are you also a draft dodger? Bc they are forcing you to do something, right? Maybe you should just move if you don't like this govt’s rules.

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It isn't the right to infect others, because as it is we already do that without the coronavirus, and it has similar results. The blackout shade thing is a false analogy because it actually had a direct effect on the people.