I spent my ambulance ride Thursday listening to the paramedic try to justify the pastor’s behavior-including how he encourages his congregants to not mask now-as religious freedom & an expression of faith.
The conversation faltered after I called the pastor a selfish dipshit. https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1302089084324777984

Todd Bell absolutely *is* a selfish dipshit and that’s the kindest thing I can say.

And his comparing reporters to those who “lie to the Holy Ghost” and deserve instant death + his daughter flaunting her assault rifle & Trump flag?

It truly frightens me.

The local large church contains many of the medics, firefighters, pharmacy workers, some store owners, store clerks, bank clerks, nurses - and they are almost half the local population here.
Their pastor preaches the virus is a hoax and they defy all restrictions.

All it will take is one case, and they can literally destroy this entire village, overwhelm the 5 nearest ICU’s, and sicken/kill hundreds.

I did not feel overly safe in an ambulance staffed by two members of that group.

But I lucked out in that it wasn’t my BIL on the truck that day; I haven’t seen him since he screamed at my husband for denying 45 was “anointed by god” and since my husband told him that as a paramedic he had a legal obligation to wear PPE.

When I say that evangelicals and fundies are going to be the death of us, it’s not hyperbole. It’s already happening.

cc: @C_Stroop

ETA:my husband would like me to add that the last call with his brother wasn’t the fight over 45/masks,it was the fight where BIL said that police were completely justified in killing Black people/BLM should be stopped.
Sorry. But I still haven’t seen BIL since the mask fight