The longest pride celebration

You can’t go anywhere nowadays without seeing a multitude of half-covered concerned faces with their big sweaty brows and squinty little eyes moving to and fro. It’s today’s mask culture, and some say it’s here to stay for good. Aargh. Really? Yes, really. And it’s all because of that horrible ubiquitously pernicious novel SARS-CoV-2 virus. This disease has already swiftly killed over 100,000 Americans these past few months. Ordinary daily life, with all of its mundane activities and simple public pleasantries, has become very complicated very quickly. Now when you’re out in public and hear the guy right behind you cough or sneeze, your fight or flight adrenaline response kicks in. You wonder if he’s spewing coronavirus or not. And immediately, before you even turn around - you’re hoping he’s wearing a mask. Why? Because despite how stupid that mask makes you feel or look, deep down inside, you know that it is the only effective protective measure against this horrific respiratory contagion when you’re out in public around others. It is. And that’s because we know this coronavirus is actively spread as an aerosol in the air as microscopic droplets that come out of an infected person when coughing, sneezing, huffing, and puffing - or even just talking. And that’s a fact. And here’s another disturbing fact: this virus is highly infectious - super contagious - much more contagious than the flu. It spreads like a damn wildfire on a hot scorching summer’s day. But the real tricky deadly part is that some infected people don’t even know they are infected 6 | JUNE 2020 | FRESNO FLYER |

PART I

By I. smiley G. Calderón | smileygcalderon@gmail.com

and contagious until they infect In a video shared on social media, others who show symptoms. And Dr. Robert Redfield, director by then, it’s already too late. We of the CDC, tells viewers that have no known effective cure “wearing a cloth-based covering for COVID-19; we don’t have a while in public is an important vaccine yet either. If you’re one practice to slow the spread of the of the unlucky ones who develop coronavirus.” He says it simply: COVID-19 symptoms, your “Me wearing a cloth-based covering nightmare ensues. protects you, and you wearing a clothExperts from the WHO (World based covering protects me.” Health Organization) and CDC (Centers America’s top immunologist, Dr. for Disease Control and Prevention) recomAnthony Fauci, a prominent member of the mend the public use of masks and face covWhite House Coronavirus Taskforce and erings in a risk-based approach to contain director of the National Institute of Allerand prevent coronavirus spreading. Cities, gy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), also counties, and even some states across the emphasized the importance of wearing face U.S. have made wearing masks in a live TV inmasks in public manterview: “I wear it for datory (although many have rescinded such orders due to public and “But some people just aren’t having it. They’d the reason that I believe it is effective…I do it when I’m in public for political pressure) because it is proven to hinder the spread of COVID-19. And where rather die than wear a mask. Literally.” the reasons: A) I want to protect myself and protect others, and also because [B] I want to laws fail to enforce and make it be a symbol for protect public health people to see that that’s and the safety of its citizens, responsible the kind of thing you should be doing.” private companies like Costco Wholesale So, if you care about your neighhave made wearing masks obligatory - bor and your country, wear a mask. If you whether you like it or not. care about your family and yourself, wear a But some people just aren’t having mask. It’s as simple as that. At this point, if it. They’d rather die than wear a mask. Lityou don’t wear one while you’re out in puberally. lic, you just don’t care. That same ‘patriot’ who vows he And stop with all of the stupid exwould do ‘anything’ to protect his councuses about personal freedoms, too - your try is also the first guy you’ll see refusing personal freedoms end when they endanger to wear a mask. Because ‘it’s a free country’ others. With this novel coronavirus, you or because it ‘infringes upon his rights,’ or can be infected and contagious at any time some other bogus excuse. It’s not about his without even knowing it. That makes everyfreedoms or rights - It’s about everyone else’s one a potential threat - including you - deright to stay healthy and alive. spite how healthy you promise you are. Dr. Fauci made it crystal clear in his interview about wearing masks in public: “It’s sort of respect for another person and have that other person respect you. You wear a mask, and they wear a mask - you protect each other.” Simple neighborly respect. Why is that so hard for Americans? Mask-it or casket is what I always say. But, anti-maskers have a million excuses. It’s unhealthy, they say. Well, so is getting infected by a voracious novel coronavirus. They think this whole pandemic is just hype - and they’re not buying it. After all, here in Fresno County, we’ve ‘only’ had some 35 documented COVID-19 deaths out of a population of 1 million. That’s a mortality rate of a mere 0.0035%, right? So, why is everyone taking this ‘virus hoax’ so seriously? Pastor Mark Wallace, who spent a month hospitalized with coronavirus at Fresno’s Kaiser Permanente, had this to say to these naysayers when finally leaving the hospital in a wheelchair: “Everyone has to just take a deep breath and realize that …it’s not the government taking our freedom…if they see this side of it, what I went through. They’re just trying to protect as many thousands of people as they can from having to go through the same thing - I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my very worst enemy in the world.” Tammy Wallace, his wife, who contracted coronavirus but only experienced a fever and then fully recovered without any hospitalization, couldn’t agree more: “When it touches someone in your family like the way it touches ours, you can’t wear a mask long enough…”

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