Anti face mask rebels out of step with polls

Author Anand Giridharadas on Friday shared on social media what he called an “end-of-empire” video featuring a compilation of Americans refusing to wear face masks in public places, purposefully coughing on others, and claiming their “freedom” is being trampled by public health guidance urging social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“A misbegotten, warped freedom obsession is killing us,” Giridharadas tweeted.

In the video, one woman curses at and tries to hit a store employee after being refused entry for not wearing a face mask; another screams at workers and reaches over a plastic barricade to assault them; a man tells a Costco employee he doesn’t have to wear a mask because he “woke up in a free country,” and one woman tells a grocery store manager that she can’t wear a mask due to a medical condition and that she can’t use a delivery service because she wants to buy “private” items.

Several people also cough on and spit at essential employees.

“Freedom is wasted on people who think coughing on people is freedom,” Giridharadas said.

The video follows a number of small but well-publicized demonstrations by people calling on state officials to fully reopen the economy and end all guidance urging social distancing and mask-wearing to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Many of the anti-quarantine protests are organized and promoted by groups with ties to Trump administration officials.

A HuffPost/YouGov survey published this week showed 62% of respondents said wearing a face mask is a matter of public health, not personal preference. More than half of those surveyed said they are currently wearing a mask whenever they are in a public place where they might come into contact with others.

Large majorities of respondents from across the political spectrum reported that they view mask-wearing as “respectful,” not a sign of “weakness” or unnecessary fear of the virus.