Why anti-mask snowflakes need to grow up and wear a mask in shops - Mark Casci

After spending years deriding young people as ‘snowflakes’ for deigning to suggest that we could make the world a better place, multiple commentators showed themselves to fit the sobriquet to an absolute tee.

The reason for this fallout was the Government directive for citizens to wear face coverings while in retail outlets.

The edict takes effect from this Friday (July 24) and comes as the UK slowly returns to a state-of-play that allows for greater liberties for society.

As lockdown eases and we can once again see more of our friends and families, patron more shops and restaurants and begin to get our economy moving from the abject disaster that lockdown has subjected us to.

Seems fair right? Sadly not.

For many media personalities and many MPs, the ruling on face coverings has proved to be totally unacceptable. Many (virtually all white men by the way) reacted as though being required to limit the spread of the virus by covering your face as something akin to totalitarianism – an infringement on our liberties so egregious that it cannot be countenanced under any circumstances and one placing us on an unavoidable pathway to us being governed in a manner akin to Soviet Russia or Maoist China.

Other reasons given included that masks make them look silly and, best of all, they are hot and uncomfortable to wear. I read and heard numerous people proclaiming they would not patron shops anymore if they must wear a mask. Some said this policy would persist until the ruling was overturned or a vaccine was rolled out.

With a widely available vaccine unlikely to be a reality for several years, that is a long time to be avoiding the shops. Are these people going to rely on their friends and families for provisions for months and years upon end simply to avoid having a slightly hotter than normal face?

Let us be clear, masks are not fun to wear. They are hot, uncomfortable and make conversation difficult. However, when balanced against keeping businesses afloat, safeguarding millions of jobs and protecting frontline staff’s health it is a very minor inconvenience indeed to bear.

As for the civil liberties argument I am forced to remind our anti-mask friends that we are also required by law to wear many, many other things to protect us.

When driving you must wear a seatbelt. Again these can be uncomfortable but are needed to keep us safe. Construction workers and those in heavy industries are required to wear hard hats and high visibility jackets to protect them from injury.

Are all of these sectors and areas of our society operating under the control of a regime tantamount to that seen in North Korea? Of course not.

Society has always operated under a range of restrictions in order to minimise risk. It is why we cannot drive at any speed we like on our roads or operate a car while under the influence of alcohol. It is why we cannot walk into any citizen’s home any time we wish. And it is why, for a relatively short period of our time on this planet, we are being asked to cover our faces when in shops.

The anti-mask snowflakes need to take this to heart, surrender any pretence that wearing a mask damages their masculinity or freedoms and show some respect for frontline retail workers who all too often do not earn a vast amount of cash.

When the Queen addressed the nation during the height of lockdown she eloquently reminded us that history would judge individuals and society by how they reacted during this time.

If you refuse to wear a mask then think about how your children and grandchildren will view this and ask yourself if they would be proud.

To put it another way, grow up and wear a mask.