But people do have to breathe...
And masks do not stop you from breathing. I have carried heavy groceries up two flights of stairs with a mask on. No breathing problems. The studies showing mask-induced hypoxia dealt with N-95 respirators, not the cloth masks worn by most people, and you have to wear them for a longer period of time than most people do during a quick run to the grocery store.
...and they have to go out and do certain things to survive.
The best way to prevent a second wave of lockdowns, and therefore ensuring that people can "go out and do certain things to survive" is to contain the spread of the virus as much as possible. That would include wearing a mask. Already we are seeing states like California, Texas, and Florida reversing the re-opening of their economies and shutting down bars and gyms again. Nobody wants the economy shut down again. Nobody here wants the Dems to have high CV case numbers to use against PDJT in November.
You have no right to do this. If we were in a Spanish Flu part II situation it might be justified, but the numbers we're seeing are not even enough to justify a mild anxiety for 95% of the population.
You're right: this is not the Spanish Flu part II. The Spanish Flu took the summer of 1918 off in terms of transmission. It is now summer and yet we are seeing about 50,000 new cases per day, most of which are concentrated in the warm and sunny southern states. Warm temperatures and sunlight appear to have less of an effect on CV than on the Spanish Flu. Remember how last month the flubros and flubras were touting sunlight as destroying the coronavirus? Yeah, those predictions didn't age well, but while they lasted they gave many folks in the southern states a false sense of security. Not saying there weren't other factors involved in the surge of cases, like the BLM protests, but it definitely didn't help. Emergency rooms in Houston are already at capacity and unless we make an effort to contain the virus it will be worse in the fall and therefore worse for PDJT's chances of re-election.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
https://www.foxnews.com/media/houston-doctor-bill-fisher-coronavirus-icu-capacity
Additionally, it is well-established that virtually zero of the masks/face coverings protect the wearer from any viral threat, but only, in theory, protect others from the wearer.
Let's say for the sake of argument that that is true. You still have a duty to protect those who might come in contact with you. During World Wars I and II, Americans faced rationing, conscription, and all other manner of violations of their individual rights. Being asked to wear a little bit of cloth is a pretty small sacrifice to make in comparison. Argue for individual rights all you want but there are times when Americans need to come together to fight a common enemy. This is one of those times. President Trump himself has described the virus as the "invisible enemy" and we are at war with it as if it were an invading army.
Well, the vast majority of the people that you want to force to wear masks are either virus-free, or have already been exposed and are now immune and not infectious. So what is the rationale for forcing them to wear a mask? Once again - just for your benefit, just to allay your fears and give you some false sense of safety.
The problem with that is there is no way of knowing who has the virus and who doesn't with testing still at only 11.3% of the US population. If you look at the FOX link you'll notice many of those who tested positive were asymptomatic. Just because you feel fine doesn't mean you are not contagious.
For people under 65 who have no serious health conditions, this virus is less dangerous than your average flu.
I know someone who had COVID. Fit, healthy guy, not in the high-risk age group, no pre-existing conditions. Didn't stop him from spending 2 weeks in the hospital. 2 months later he's still not at 100%. Never heard of the common flu doing that to a healthy young person. There is also the risk of lung damage and blood clots caused by this virus. Never heard of the common flu causing blood clots either.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/what-coronavirus-does-to-the-lungs
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/coronavirus-and-bloodclots
Vulnerable people should be encouraged to self-quarantine, and the rest of us should go about our lives.
By all means, go about your life. Just please wear a mask while you do so.
The original point was that comparing drunk driving to not wearing a mask was a grossly false analogy. And it is. Your wall of text doesn’t change that.
You are demanding that healthy non-infectious people wear masks to “prevent” infection. It really is that simple. If you can’t see the absurdity in that, then you are simply not capable of recognizing absurdity.
And yeah, I know, someone floated the idea at some point that asymptomatic people can spread the virus. They also floated the idea at one point that our dogs and cats could spread the virus. Remember that? They also said we’d see 2 million dead by summer. Remember that? They also said “15 days to flatten the curve!” Remember that? that was about 4 months ago. They also said that many people would die because we didn’t have enough ventilators. Remember that? That was before we found out that ventilators don’t do jack for this disease except kill the patient.
We don’t have hard, dependable data on any of this crap. Even the death totals are suspect. But we’re supposed to go running around with our hair on fire every time some quack makes a new claim, and pretend that we can’t see that this virus isn’t nearly the plague it was made out to be.