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Warning! This article includes R-Rated Words.
- 16 September 2020
- 11:16 pm
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- 16 September 2020
- 11:16 pm
Controversy over wearing masks during COVID-19 pandemic has escalated into rage and in some cases resulted in deaths. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Getty Images Plus.
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It got ugly. It got dirty. It got ugly and dirty fast. It was definitely, by far, not the proudest or kvelling moments in my life. It could be one of my least proud moments. Mean and ugly digs were hurled in a spat I found myself in, causing quite the scene at a Walmart Superstore last week.
This, after telling a woman in front of me at the cashier that she should be wearing a mask.
I had just planned to get a glue stick, pencils and a binder for my son. I didn’t plan to get into some epic battle with a random stranger with a stunned audience.
A lot of swear words were hurled during this confrontation, so I’m going to include these not polite words to show how quickly tempers flare, if you dare confront someone not wearing a mask in a store, for context.
I won’t be going back to Walmart in the near future. I don’t want to, but I may not even be allowed to. To tell you the truth, after the screaming match I got into, all over a mask, I sort of never want to leave my house again. People are f-ing angry. People are so defensive!
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I kvetch I’ve never had a good shopping experience at Walmart. I always kvetch there is nobody, ever, around to help. I kvetch that when I finally waved down a Walmart staff asking, “Which aisle can I find water bottles?” that I ended up in an aisle of gardening tools.
Walmart should treat shoppers as if we are all tourists entering the zoo. “Welcome! Here’s a map so you know where to go and how the hell to get out…” I kvell over this idea, except that I can’t read directions. If you say, “Go east,” I’ll kvetch, “I don’t understand! Do you mean I should turn left or right?”
Our screaming garnered quite an audience, including security guards, who had no clue what to do but watch. I thought, “Where is the snack aisle? These people watching should at least enjoy a bag of chips!”
It was my first time pointing out to someone to wear a mask, and probably will be my last, because, as I quickly learned ,if you dare ask the wrong person, they become so overly defensive, and their wrath so out of proportion, that I did wonder, “Does this person know me? Did I run over their cat?” Mostly, I prayed, “Please don’t let me end up in one of those mean-spirited videos of Walmart shoppers in parking lots!”
“You know, you really should be wearing a mask, “I said to this stranger. As the words came out of my mouth, I concurrently thought, “Rebecca, are you mask-shaming?” But I truly was not trying to “shame” her. That was never my intention. I wasn’t scolding or reprimanding her. She was a grown ass adult. I was calm and civil.
It wasn’t like I got on a microphone and yelled, “Woman in yellow shirt in line 12 at the checkout is not wearing a mask! Feel free to boo her on the way out!” That I could see as “shaming.” But asking is not shaming. So stop telling us it’s “shaming”, because it’s not.
“I have asthma,” she said. “And you should mind your own f-ing business!”
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I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but my gut instinct — usually right — told me she really didn’t have asthma, and she was just the type who believes wearing a mask is political. I could imagine her stamping her feet; “I have rights. Nobody is going to tell me what to do!”
I took a deep breath. My 8 year-old son was with me, and the quote often attributed to Dr. Fauci, American’s leading expert on infectious disease — “I don’t know how to explain you should care about other people,” was stuck in my head.
“It actually is MY f-ing business,” I shot back. “I’m not just trying to protect myself and my kids, but I’m protecting you too. I would like life to get back to some semblance of normalcy!”
If she had said, “I have a medical condition,” and left it at that, I would have left it at that too.
You can’t always read a book by it’s cover, but sometimes you can. This woman was one step away from wearing a Pro-Trump shirt at a pro-life rally. It got worse.
“You’re an unintelligent bitch,” she screamed to me. I immediately thought, “I don’t think unintelligent is a word, is it?”
I don’t know why this woman, basically calling me stupid, triggered such further wrath. Call me ugly. Tell me you hate my outfit. Tell me you hate my writing. But stupid? No. No. No. And not in front of my son, thank you!
What came next may be the meanest thing I’ve ever uttered. I was disgusted that I was even continuing with this woman, but…
A California woman explodes with rage at Trader Joe's after being asked to wear a face mask. Photo courtesy of Daily Star Post.
I turned to my son and because I was wearing a mask, quite loudly (and admittedly purposefully) said, “We are wearing masks to remain healthy, and this is another health lesson. Try to eat balanced meals and get some daily exercise. You can still eat candy but the more unhealthy weight you gain, the harder it will be for you to do simple things, like walking…and breathing.”
“What did you just f-ing say?” this woman screamed.
“I’m talking to MY son, not you, you c…”
I know. I KNOW! I used the C-word.
In my defence, I don’t think I’ve ever called someone that ever before, but at that moment, it seemed reasonable. (Meh, it’s also really not that big a deal. The C-Word doesn’t really hold that much clout.)
I’m not kvelling over the way I reacted. I kvell to you who understand it’s common sense to wear a mask. And if you aren’t, be prepared for someone to call you out on it, although even Dr. Fauchi worries about these confrontations. He’s seen how dangerous they can turn.
In this age most of us are wearing masks, it’s those who don’t stick out. Like having a tattoo on your neck, be prepared to be asked about it.
Trust me, on that day, I was so happy to be wearing a mask. The way I reacted was not my best look after all! But, please, we’re not shaming you. We truly want things to get back to normal, no more, no less, so take it down 5000 notches, if you’re asked why you’re not wearing a mask.
Rebecca Eckler is the Executive Editor of SavvyMom.ca. Her latest book is Blissfully Blended Bullshit.
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Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
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