Today's MOZEN: Wear The Damned Mask

F LoBuono

The world could give 2 shits for my approval. And, that's the way it should be. After all, the only thing impressive about me is my rather over-sized ego.

So, why bother to voice an opinion.

Well, because of my splendid sense of self-importance, I figured it might as well be me as anyone else. Besides, some things NEED to be said. I feel this is another one of those moments.

This morning, I followed my usually ritual of walking into town to pick up a few things for lunch and dinner from the Korean Deli. It was a beautiful day so many were out enjoying the warm sunshine.

As is our new reality, most people I encountered along the way were wearing masks and avoiding direct contact. That is until I got into the heart of town. There, in front of the one of the local establishments, that necessity virtually disappeared. In fact, a sort of Lovefest was going on with a folk singer with a fairly large group of listeners crowding the sidewalk. As sweet as that scene might have been on any other beautiful, late Spring morning, it filled me with extreme disappointment - virtually NO ONE WAS WEARING A MASK or KEEPING THEIR DISTANCE. 

One group in particular stood out to me. There was about a half-dozen of them; young African-American men. One of the reasons I noticed them was that, damn, ALL of them were handsome, buffed, and, well-dressed. You COULDN'T miss them. They must have been in their late twenties or early thirties. They looked as if they were football players, or, at least, once were. They were in the prime of their lives, seemingly without a care in the world

But, not a single one of them was wearing a mask or keeping a safe distance from themselves or others.

Not one.

Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that wearing a mask drastically decreases the chances of spreading the COVID-19 coronavirus,* they had not the inclination to wear them. Despite the fact the the virus ravages the African-American community at a disproportional rate (2 to 4 times greater then whites)**, they had not the impetus to do the right thing. Instead, they were laughing and flaunting their misguided bravado. They reveled in their perceived invincibility - damn the consequences. In another time and in another place, I would have envied their swagger.

They certainly didn't give a shit what I thought or, for that matter, what anyone else did, either. But, they had the opportunity to lead by example. And, they failed.

It saddened as much as angered me. But, sometimes, you just can't fix stupidity- or, arrogance either.

With the brutal killing of George Floyd, a black man by a white policeman, serving as a flash point triggering violent clashes between the community and the police, we need the voices of reason from the WHOLE community to bring some resolution to the festering race inequalities that have plagued this Country since its inception. And, more than ever, we need strong, able, young men and women of color to lead our way out of this dark time.

If you don't, no excuse will be valid.

*https://healthcarefoundation.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Evidence-that-universal-mask-wearing-helps-to-prevent-spread-of-virus-and-saves-lives.pdf

**https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/04/coronavirus-disproportionately-impacts-african-americans/