On Masks

On March 16, 2020, I encountered a woman (a middle-aged woman) wearing a mask in public.  I considered that odd, and kept an eye on her, in a retail establishment.

I am a retied cop, a senior white male with 37 years behind the badge, and with a working knowledge of the Louisiana Revised Statutes.   Masking is generally illegal in the State of Louisiana.  Depending on the circumstances, can get you three years in the Iron Bar motel.  There are exceptions.

But, for all of my 66 years on this planet, wearing a mask except at Halloween or Mardi Gras, was considered odd, eccentric, and maybe even criminal.  Today, it's a fashion statement.  Here in Louisiana we are exhorted to wear a mask as an act of being neighborly, to protect the community.

I've seen the arguments both ways, and I'm not going to debate them here.  But, I have come up with an accommodation that seems to work for me.  I bought a box of masks from Amazon, and carry one with me all the time.  If a store or venue asks that I wear a mask, then I'll comply, solely as an accommodation.  It's no skin off my back, one way or another. 

There are places that require masks, and I decide whether or not to patronize those places.  Asking me is one thing.  Telling me is something else entirely.  I don't play well when ordered to do something.

Our governor is begging us to wear masks to protect our neighbors, and I'm okay with the message and the governor begging.  Governors should beg; it should be their natural mode of communicating. Commerical places have property rights, and if they want to require a mask, then I get to decide if they get my trade.  That's the nature of voluntary commerce.