Homeland Stupidity: Updates from The Mask Wars

Anecdotes of your victories over the Masked Morons fill my inbox daily! Herewith, the latest such dispatches.

John enjoyed a

Great comment from the cashier at Publix while shopping without a face diaper. She asked my plans and I said, “Having a dinner party.”

Oh, how civilized! And how Before! Dinner-parties are an effective and probably our most genteel rebellion against the Masked Madness. Host many of them!

Lady nearby overheard and exclaimed “You’re having a dinner party!”, whereupon I thought this was going to be annoying. But she continued with, “I can’t get anyone to come to my dinner parties anymore, they all just stay home.” After commiserating, I told the cashier that I thought that conversation was going to go a different direction. Her great insightful reply, was “Yeah, I thought that would go left.”

Such an apt description of the problem.

Indeed, of all our problems…

In Kansas, Tim

…stopped by the grocery store and that was a bit of a mixed bag.  I walked right past the large sign mandating masks in the store and couldn’t hold back a bit of a snort of derision and a head shake as I did so.  Inside the store I found that probably 1/4 of the customers had no masks on or were wearing it below their chin.  Of those with masks, I only noticed one guy bothered by others not having masks, but that one man was making up for everyone else. The man was angrily screaming things like “where is your mask! They’re mandatory! You have to have a mask! Don’t you care about anyone but yourself?”  When he started I was probably 80 feet from him and yet it sounded like I was right next to him, I will say that the teenagers who seemed to be the main focus of his rage didn’t react at all and seemed to completely ignore him.

Good for them! Sounds as if skipping half the last semester did them good!

Next stop: Wisconsin and another Tim, who also recounts a

trip to the grocery store.

All the signs are posted. I walk in w/o mask. Do most of my shopping before I go to the deli section. So this bored punk starts in with the “gotta wear…”. I tell this idiot I have a medical exemption (true unfortunately). So we go back and forth a bit. Then I inform him before he tells me to wear a mask, perhaps he should wear his correctly. “I am”. I’m like “no, i just watched you pull it up”. So I just say “OK”. As my brother says: “Don’t get into a mud fight with a pig – you’ll both get muddy, but the pig will enjoy it”.

I walk out of the deli and go to the other side of the store to work myself back. Another little sheeple at a register starts the same round of the need to wear a diaper … . I tell him “medical…”, $75,000 fine for violating ADA (which I should do). Then he says, “I’ll call my manager” – Oh please do. Of course bozo young manager has to check with cashier first.

Here we go again. He asked “you’re not wearing a mask, anything you want to tell me?” I answer “medical exemption”. Priceless, the look on his face. I was finally waved on.

The moral of Tim’s story: stick to your guns, Patriots.

Zack Rofer is the author of Busting Myths About the State and the Libertarian Alternative. He

was at the dentist last week, where masks are required for entry and exit (given the current lunacy, I was half expecting that we’d be required to wear the masks during the procedure too).

Maybe with a hole cut in them so the hygienist can clean your teeth?

The dentist and receptionist both wore both a mask and a plastic face shield.  What’s that all about?  If the mask is as effective as we’re told, then why the face shield?  And if the face shield is effective — heck, it’s solid plastic — then why the mask?

Careful, Zack: someone may try to shut you up before you decimate Our Rulers’ shamdemic.

I said to the receptionist “Since you’re wearing a face shield, do I have to wear a mask?” My thought process, perhaps Neanderthal, was that a solid, plastic barrier ought to be able to stop even the smallest viral particle (in either direction).  She said “Ask the dentist,” as in “I can’t think for myself.”  The dentist yelled out from her desk, “Yes, please, they said within six feet, but I don’t know if they even know what they’re talking about…” and then trailed off.

The whole conversation alarmed me for two reasons.

Only two?

First, did this dentist not study science as part of her training?  Is she incapable of figuring out if the virus can breach solid plastic?  Presumably she studied material density and properties, since isn’t that what teeth, cavities, bacteria, and fillings are all about?  Second, she is skeptical of what “they” are demanding (isn’t “they” a great euphemism for the Matrix?), and we are on her private property, yet she still required me to go along with “their” mandate!  What hope is there when people yield their private-property rights so easily?

Not to mention their ability to reason and their common sense.

Mark Higdon will no longer supplement his rations at a certain fast-food emporium after a recent skirmish:

Decades of patronizing my neighborhood Subway and spending thousands of dollars there just ended. 

As soon as I entered the store to order a take-out, I was loudly and brassily asked by the person (because of its mask, I could not tell the gender)

Hey, even when they bare their faces, I sometimes can’t.

behind the counter if I had a mask. I replied that I have a medical exemption. The person shot back that I would not be served without a mask. “It’s the rule!”

I replied evenly that people with medical reasons are exempt from wearing masks and that exemption language is found in all related ordinances and orders. I told the person to call its manager. It proceeded to do so, abandoning the one customer ahead of me. On second thought, I called out, “Don’t bother. I simply will not come back here. Ever.” I then left. I decided not to risk consternation and opprobrium from the masked ewe in front of me over making her wait. I had lost my hoagie jones, anyway.

I returned home and immediately went to Subway’s corporate website. It took little time to ascertain that it provided no way to send a message relative to what had just happened.

For years, I have been on casually friendly terms with the franchisee, whenever he happened to be behind the counter. He is the person who really needs to know about this incident. I might call tomorrow. However, my time and effort might be better spent encouraging others to take their business elsewhere.

Gary from central Florida visited a beach when the  

heat index was 104. Half of people walking in the heat with masks near our restaurant. Stores empty. Mandatory masks to shop. The worst is parents, putting masks on small children aged 3-5 years! At the beach! If that is not child abuse, then Lord help us, what is?

Drag Queen Story Hour?

Charles Frasco lives

…in Granbury, TX. In July 2020 I returned a product to Lowe’s. On the door is a sign that said, “Masks required,” with an employee with a mask at the entrance. I did not have one on and I was not stopped. Suggested, but not required??

Thank you, Charles, for proving yet again that “mandates” aren’t. 

Scot reports, 

Living in Kentucky, our little hitler (purposely typed in lower case) is Andy I-Am-Your-Governor-So-I Can-Rule-All-Aspects-Of-Your-Life Beshear.  In May, the governor “mandated” wearing masks while worshiping.  We don’t require masks where I worship. 

YAY!

The other day a guest who normally worships with another congregation in the area asked why we don’t require masks – please note that he has never worn a mask while he worshiped with us a number of times in these COVID-19 days.  I guess he was just curious because his regular congregation does require masks. 

I replied, “The governor’s mandate is not one.  I read the executive orders and its title includes the word ‘guidelines’.  By definition, guidelines are advice.  Also, each point in the guidelines starts with the phrase ‘You should’.  For the first time in my life I looked up the word ‘should’.  Again, the word ‘advice’ is used to define that word.  When I was a teen receiving advice from my dad he would say ‘That’s my advice.  You can take it or leave it.  But, you live with the consequences.’  None of these words are in the executive order- mandate, require, must, etc.  The governor (when he announced the executive orders) and the press (when they reported on them) said that the masks are ‘required’.  I assume that nothing equivalent to the word is in the written orders because he knew that he could not legally require them.”

Our guest with raised eyebrows admitted that he had not read the executive orders and thanked me for the explanation.

Thus far, our ammo in this war is knowledge. Learn what you need to know and lob it at the enemy. And at non-combatants, too, when appropriate.

John Harris recounts, 

I live in northwest Houston (Harris County TX) and have had zero difficulty shopping or dining without a mask, even though we are under a county-wide mask mandate. Some experiences of note:

Walmart: I was once asked to wear a mask by a nice young man as I approached the entrance. I replied, “I don’t care to wear one. May I still go in?” His reply: “Yes, sir. I am required to ask, but you are welcome to shop without one.”

Circle K: my wife and I were waiting in the check-out line, without masks (neither of us owns one). Two young males walked in behind us, without masks. The clerk asked them to wear a mask and offered each of them one. They accepted, politely. He said nothing to us but was just as friendly.

Favorite take-out restaurant: my wife and I have both picked up take out, mask-less, without so much as a peep from management. Our 17-year-old did pick-up duty once and was advised to “wear a mask next time.”

Homeschooled athletes: my son and his high-school-baseball teammates, all homeschoolers, went to Whataburger after a game, last night. Management insisted on masks. They all refused, left, and went down the block to Chipotle. Chipotle served them without complaint.

Sadly, my fellow Texans are almost perfectly submissive to the unlawful mask order. Stores seem reluctant to confront my wife or me, but more willing to confront teenage boys.

Anyone noticed this same abuse from cops? Most male teens suffer an intimidating brush with these sadists that teaches them who’s boss. But Mr. Harris concludes optimistically:

At least some teenage boys refuse to submit.

There is hope for the future.

Larry Melton in Lima, Ohio has

…been in a few stores since the Ohio Goobernator issued his mask edict for my county (Allen County).  Each visit has been completely drama free and in fact I have been pleasantly surprised at how many bare faces I have seen.

Yee-haw!!!

At Dollar General usually about half of the customers are not wearing a mask. At Rulers it is usually about 75-80 percent wearing covers. Last weekend I had to go to Sams Club and WalMart and walked right in both stores right past the greeter.  I saw about 75-80 percent compliance in both stores but at least I wasn’t the only rebel there.  If there were any dirty looks I didn’t notice them and nobody said a word about it.  I even had a couple of brief, pleasant chats with total strangers who were wearing masks.

My son and I just arrived home from our nearest Family Dollar store and everyone but me had a mask on this time. Still not a word was said and I didn’t see any dirty looks. My son has been wearing one of these along with one of these since late April and he gets a lot of comments, all complimentary or curious as to where he found it. …

And that brings us to Menards. Which stands alone, so far as I can tell, in taking masks very seriously.

Eric Morris in Indiana attests,

Yesterday, Wal-Mart and Lowes didn’t bother me at all.  At Menards, though, I was in the store for about 15 minutes and had talked to four different employees, when another one then walked up and said “Where’s your mask?”  I said I don’t have one.  “You must have one.”  I have a medical condition.  “We have no exceptions here.”  I walked out, never to return. 

Yo, CEOs: your mandates are creating tremendous ill-will. You’re also losing business when you make shopping so onerous. For example, my husband and I no longer browse because of the tense, hostile atmosphere; either he or I dash in to pick up the one item we need while the other waits outside. Previously, we’d wander the aisles together, discussing and often spurring each other on to purchases, then walk out with a full bag rather than a single piece.

Sure, we’re saving money. But where’s the fun?

Charlie has nothing good to say about Menards, either: 

Went to the Menards (similar to Lowes and Home Depot) in Council Bluffs, Iowa yesterday. I ignored the mask sign and went right in. It was 100% diapering inside. Some other customer kept pointing at his mask and then pointed at me. I told him I’m exempt, but he just kept doing his little mime routine. Would not say a word. Finally, I told him to “shove it and leave me alone”. I continued on to go grab some 3/4 EMT conduit. Just as I got to the rack, I decided I’d rather go somewhere else less hostile. As I made my way to the door, I was intercepted by a uniformed security guard, who I ignored and just kept walking. Menards has actually hired security to enforce their dirty nappy rules! So the guy who I told to shove off must have ratted me out. …

Took my business to the nearby Home Depot. Even though they had multiple signs at the entrance, I walked in unmolested. Everyone else, like in Menards, was 100% masked up. But no one gave me the stink eye or said a word. The cashier was even quite pleasant and cheerful.

Later that day, my wife had to make a run to Lowes to grab a few items. She was the only person  not wearing a mask, but she was not confronted until some busy body customer, who was quite a distance from her, sneered, “She’s not wearing a mask.” When my wife looked in his direction, he scurried down the nearest aisle. Everyone else in Lowes either ignored her or were pleasant.

The thing that bugs me the most, is that only two weeks ago, at most you would see only about 50% mask rule compliance. Now it’s 100% (except for me). Sigh.

Took my wife out for a birthday dinner at the Long Horn in Council Bluffs. Though they had signs on the door asking customers to wear a mask to and from their table, no one, not a single customer was was wearing a mask!. The employees did, but it was clearly causing them some distress. Everyone was very nice and polite. … we had a very nice dinner.

We return to Menards with Mr. Anonymous from Minnesota. But this time, the experience is less objectionable:  

Saturday I decided to go back to Menards where the last time I was turned away by what appeared to be the angriest employee they had. They probably choose  people who are itching for a fight. Anyway, I was going to use the medical exemption excuse. I walked in and looked for the angry mask enforcer but found no one. There was a gigantic sign though, literally 8′ tall blaring their mask policy which included children riding in the carts. I breezed on by the sign maskless expecting to be accosted by an enforcer, but happily spent about 45 minutes shopping. I encountered several employees but not a word from anyone. I checked out with a very pleasant masked cashier while being eyed by the exit door guard. I waited for him to say something, but again nothing and I left with my merchandise.

Now on to Fleet Farm. I walked in and noticed they had a timid boy of about 16 handing out masks. Walked right on by and once again did my shopping with no fanfare. Checked out no problem.

In both stores I was literally the only person in the store without a mask. It’s absolutely puzzling and somewhat frightening to me that 99.9 percent of the people are complying. Clearly the fluoride and soy are having their intended effect.

Along with the Leviathan’s schools and the corporate media.

Quite a few had [their masks] under their nose and also under their chin, so I’ll give them a few points for partial compliance. I did get the stink eye from a few customers, but no verbal interactions.

I do notice at the smaller stores and gas stations compliance is spotty at best. I was at the Holiday store maskless of course and was eyed the whole time by a masked customer buying a bag of donuts and their largest big gulp style fountain soda (a real health nut).

Probably smokes, too. But he’s convinced that though he ruins his own health every day in every way, he’s gonna die because you aren’t masked.

He ended up in front of me in line looking over his glasses at me the whole time while dutifully standing directly on the anti-social distancing marks on the floor. I crowded him intentionally (about 4 feet)

I do this, too! If you haven’t tried it yet, please do: you’re in for a laugh!

and he was clearly agitated but evidently was too frightened to say anything. I felt sorry for this poor man. I imagined him waiting to board a cattle car.

That’s my update from the land of 10,000 l̶a̶k̶e̶s̶  decrees.

Mr. Anonymous II of Wheaton, Illinois, says:

While speaking with the manager in the vestibule at the Whole Foods store …, our conversation was interrupted by an irate customer screaming at me for not wearing a mask. After she was done yelling I pointed out to her that her mask was not covering her nose. She stormed off. I had a fifteen minute conversation with the manager trying to clarify the actual wording of the WF corporate policy. He was very nervous and closed-mouth. I believe if I had ignored him and walked in he would not have stopped me, but that was not my goal. So, I went to the WF in Naperville to see if they would allow me to shop without a mask. It was a completely different experience. When I advised the 19 year old screener at the door that I have a medical condition she jumped back with hands up falling all over herself apologizing, it was funny. The 20-year-old rent-a-cop was also very apologetic. The customer service person spoke with the manager by phone and assured me it was okay to shop without a mask. 

Meanwhile, Daniel relates,

Today, I walked into the local supermarket and was “greeted” by Nice Old Lady wiping down shopping carts about ten feet away.

NOL: Do you have a mask?

Shopper: No.

NOL: You know they’re mandatory, right?

Shopper: I know the law.  (Walks in.)

That was that.  In case it had been Young Twerp saying, “Where’s your mask?” I had prepared these responses:

  1. Masks do more harm than good.
  2. My health is between me and my Creator–and sometimes my doctor.

You asked some days ago about spuriously claiming a medical exemption.  I’m in the camp of those who question the morality of that; however, I also don’t believe that the Commandment to tell the truth necessarily requires either answering a question informatively or delivering a manifesto on the illegitimacy of local laws to the porter at the store.  It isn’t a court of law, and he doesn’t really want an answer: he just wants to get paid and go home.

We have it on record that Jesus Christ dodged a question that would have gotten him in trouble before he was willing: “And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.”

He also said, “… let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

Therefore, it seems to me that the default approach should be to say the simplest true thing that will get the busybodies off your back, subject to the Holy Spirit, who may very well prompt you to say more in a specific situation.

… sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.”

Go with God, Patriots. May He bless our defiance on behalf of His celestial gift of freedom!

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4:16 pm on August 4, 2020