I had to go to the store yesterday.

I wear a mask, like responsible people do. Mine's a professionally made cloth mask with a replaceable N-95 insert.

And I'm not too proud to wear it.

1/

I got a dozen derisive looks from unmasked men as I crossed the parking lot.

I wondered how well they'd be able to smirk plugged into a ventilator and breathing through a tube and a gallon of their own snot.

2/

It apparently never occurred to any of these manly Truck Nutz that *I* might be positive for the virus and that the mask I wore was protecting THEM.

3/

They think this way because, a) despite copious information on this subject over the last five months, these drooling lowbrows STILL don't understand how PPE works, and ...

4/

... b) because their version of manhood is based on TV shows where they think the thuggish dimwitted bully is the actual hero of the story -- like, you know, The Apprentice.

5/

These idiots are the product of a culture that ties identity to consumption. Their sense of self-worth is vested entirely in the size of their truck and how many guns they own and how long they can maintain an erection even if they have to order illegal Viagra from Mexico.

6/

Inside the store, I noted more than a dozen people who were half-ass wearing masks, pushed down onto their chins sort of covering their mouths but not their noses.

One woman had a mask bunched up over her nose, but NOT HER MOUTH -- figure that out.

7/

Then there was the guy who was wearing a mask correctly ... but stopped to pull it down so he could SNEEZE.

He pulled the mask down, sneezed without covering his mouth, wiped his nose on the back of his hand, and then put the mask back on and continued with his shopping.

8/

But most of the people in the store were not wearing any protection at all and never even looked up when Sneezy blew snot into the air they were breathing.

9/

Me? I'm not positive for the virus.

I was going to say, "Of course, I'm not positive for the virus," but that's the thing, isn't it?

It's NOT "of course."

I say I'm not positive, but I haven't been tested. What I should say is that I'm not symptomatic.

10/

That's the thing, that, right there. You don't know. You can't know. Not without being tested in real-time.

Looking at somebody in the store, unless they're coughing up lung tissue, or dragging along a ventilator, you don't know.

11/

They could be positive, they could be asymptomatic, every breath they breathe out could be blowing millions of live virus particles into the air. That could be YOU.

You don't know. You CAN'T know. Until it's too late.

That's whole point here. You don't know.

12/

If you don't suspect everybody of being a potential source of infection, INCLUDING YOURSELF, and take the appropriate precautions, this thing is never going to end.

You might not give a shit NOW, but sooner or later it's going to be somebody you care about.

13/

It's not the guy in the mask that's at risk, it's YOU.

It's not the guy in the mask that's a risk to everybody else, it YOU.

Or at least not just that guy. It's you. You wear a mask not for yourself, but for everybody ELSE.

14/

We're nearly six months into a global pandemic and you shouldn't have to be told this. You shouldn't have to told what community is. You shouldn't have to be told what personal responsibility is.

You should goddamned well know by now.

15/

The virus doesn't care how big your truck is, or your dick, and all the guns in the world won't kill it.

Put your damn mask on.

And wear it correctly. And start thinking about others instead of just your own goddamn self. BE responsible.

Do it.

16/16

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