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Home Front: Culture Wars
Heather M: Outdoor Masks = Opportunity for Left to replace masculine values of ‘honor, duty, sacrifice, risk-taking with feminized ethos’
2020-05-16
[Spectator] President Trump invited World War Two veterans to Washington to commemorate the Allied victory in Europe last week — and the media and public health establishments threw a fit. ‘Ninety-three-year old veterans will be traveling to visit the White House — they should not be traveling!’ groused MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace on May 7, the day before VE (Victory in Europe) Day. ‘People should not be doing non-essential travel,’ fretted one of the channel’s health experts. ‘Don’t leave home!’

Trump compounded his public health heresies by not wearing a mask during the ceremony. The day after the commemoration, the New York Times complained: ‘The president hosted a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War Two Memorial in Washington on Friday to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany by inviting several veterans aged 95 and over, even though they were in the most vulnerable age group.’The photo of the ceremony in the print edition was captioned: ‘President Trump did not wear a mask Friday during a wreath-laying ceremony that was attended by World War Two veterans, who are in the 90s and highly vulnerable.’

The mask scolds were silent about the fact that the medal-bedecked veterans, standing yards behind the president and saluting the flag, were also unmasked.

The furor over the maskless VE celebration highlights the forces driving this moment of national fear and submission. At stake is whether there are any values more important than maximal safety and protection from risk.

The first thing to be said about the VE Day episode is that the criticism of Trump for not donning a mask outside is based on no science at all. Outdoor transmission of viruses in a wide-open space is virtually unknown. Infection occurs overwhelmingly indoors, and requires close and prolonged contact. People are less likely to get infected by the coronavirus outside than they are to die inside from falling, poisoning themselves, or choking, as Vanity Fair writer T.A. Frank has pointed out.

Either the mask hysterics in the media and political spheres don’t know those basic facts and thus should not be advising the rest of us, or they do know the facts, and yet want to maintain universal outdoor mask compliance and cowering indoor self-sequestration anyway.

Why would they want that? To preserve the safetyism ideology that has jumped from the university to the public sphere. Those unmasked vets are an affront to the safety ethic. Imagine a conversation between a mask enforcer and a vet. Enforcer: ‘Don’t get on a plane! Don’t attend the celebration! You are at risk. You might get sick and…and…die!’ Vet: ‘I am 97 years old. I have fought a war to defend democracy. I may die from the coronavirus or from another infirmity, but die I will. In the meantime, I can honor the sacrifices of my fellow fighters, or I can shut myself up at home. The choice is easy.’
Posted by:Lex

#11  Nuts!
Posted by: Lex   2020-05-16 14:23  

#10  That said, I hate flu-chic, and flu-chic is politically and socially pan-spectrum.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2020-05-16 13:57  

#9  (a) Viruses don't float free, but suspended in drops of water.

Had customer OMG the virus can travel 25 feet!.

No, the virus itself doesn't move about like so, but the sneeze it travels in can.

They also help the uninitiated keep their booger hooks out of their face holes.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2020-05-16 13:26  

#8  Germ Guardian True HEPA Filter Air Purifier for Home, Office, Bedrooms, Filters Allergies, Pollen, Smoke, Dust, Pet Dander, UV-C Sanitizer Eliminates Germs, Mold, Odors, Quiet 22 inch 3-in-1 AC4825

allergens as small as .3 microns
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-05-16 13:08  

#7  Wear a chemical warfare gas mask.

MOPP
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-05-16 13:06  

#6  #3
(a) Viruses don't float free, but suspended in drops of water.
(b) Suppose it filters 80% of particles below 3um, not good enough? Wear a chemical warfare gas mask.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-05-16 10:00  

#5  These guys faced down Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan--and they're supposed to be scared of a virus?
Posted by: Tom   2020-05-16 10:00  

#4  If the Spanish Flu could affect the Aleutian Islands, then, once a bug gets a head of steam, there just ain't no stoppin' it.
Posted by: Clem   2020-05-16 09:44  

#3   Honeywell; N95 masks explained.

They state these masks remove 95% of particles 0.3+ microns: "The masks filter out contaminants like dusts, mists and fumes. The minimum size of .3 microns of particulates and large droplets won’t pass through the barrier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.)"

Aren't most viruses much smaller than 0.3 microns? Wouldn't they easily pass through a N95 mask? If so, aren't these mask-tyrants just virtue-signaling and being annoying?
Posted by: JohnQC   2020-05-16 09:18  

#2  The person who made this statement is retarded: 'Ninety-three-year old veterans should not be traveling!' to the White House for ceremonies honoring their service and to commemorate VE/Victory in Europe Day.

Ridiculous. Disgraceful.
Posted by: Lex   2020-05-16 01:13  

#1  Heather M. needs psychiatric treatment.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-05-16 00:29  

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