For a couple days I kept thinking about your whole post, and it’s exactly how I feel. The cross-stitch masks I make for myself have clear messages on them. (”Under duress”, “Tyranny”, etc.)
The secretary at the community center where I quilt asked another quilter, “Why doesn’t ‘MayflowerMadam’ like masks?” I thought I might find her and let her know why. Then I realized that if she (1) likes masks herself, and (2) doesn’t know why an American WOULDN’T like masks, there’s really no hope for her. She’s too frickin’ stupid for me to waste any time on.
Like you, I’ve become angry and anti-social when in places where masks are required. I stopped at a dollar store yesterday wearing a mask. A man was in the checkout line nearby not wearing a mask, and I made a quick step a bit closer to him just to see if they had a certain gift card. He saw me getting closer and jumped back, respecting my “space”. (I was a little offended that he thought I cared about social distancing.)
I laughed and said, “Don’t do that!! This is ridiculous!” I figured he “got it” as he was mask-less. A minute later we were both getting in to our cars in the parking lot — and we smiled in that sympathetic way — like, “When will this be over?”
I’m to the point that when I see others in stores with their muzzles dropped down, if they start to pull them up as I approach, LOUDLY, I say “No! Leave it down! Breathe! Breathe ALL the free air you want, around me!”
Most smile and do so.
We keep letting them get away with this soft tyranny and there will be NO going back to being normal free Americans, again.
After a particularly ugly mask encounter at a WV Best Buy, when I went to go into TJ MAXX in the same shopping center, Himself said “Hey...just wear the thing and accept it”.
O.M.G.
Et tu, Brute’?
If looks could kill....