Russian roulette

I’m trying to understand the basis for the anti-mask debate. Is it a psychological thing? A macho thing? Vanity? We have a pandemic underway. We really don’t have recent experience with pandemic protocols. War. Wars we know. We’re good. Lots of practice. Pandemics. Not so much.

During the 1918 pandemic there was no World Wide Web. News and information was primarily obtained via Newspapers. Plus there was a war being joined. President Wilson pretty much tried to ignore the pandemic so we could send our Soldiers to Germany. Meanwhile back home it took 26 months and 3 waves to get the pandemic under control. Nearly 700000 Americans died. No Vaccine for influenza. No antibiotics for secondary infections. There was a social protocol of sorts. Quarantine. Hygiene. Use of disinfectants. Limit public gatherings. Ring a bell? More than 2 years. The second wave was the most deadly. And there was a third. Have we learned anything from 1918? Okay, the mask is a pain. But think about it this way. You probably have heard of Russian Roulette. A revolver with six chambers and one bullet. Insert the bullet, spin the cylinder, place the gun against your head and pull the trigger.

Not wearing a mask is like playing Russian Roulette. You may think you’re special, too healthy, too young, too cool. But the person that just brushed your arm, and sneezed and spit might have covid19. He wasn’t wearing a mask either. He was your bullet.

We have been in this pandemic for 5 months. !40000 dead. What will the death toll be after 2 years? Mask-up. Please.

Jim Bickel

Spokane