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Mask wearing, An Infringement



On May 17, 2020, a woman was reported causing a scene at a local supermarket. The market's policy was of "no-mask-no-service." She had claimed that she was not allowed to wear a mask due to health conditions and that the HIPAA act did not require her to wear a mask. The supermarket turned her away and did not let her shop unless she had a mask on. Their reasoning? As the same as millions of other stores. To help protect the health of all their customers by preventing the spread of the virus. The view that in the current COVID-19 pandemic, forcing someone to wear a mask infringing on their rights is dangerous and flawed.



Compared to the world, few Americans ever had to wear a mask regularly. According to Dr. David Aronoff, Director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and professor of medicine; as businesses and stores now require their shoppers to wear masks, "Rebellion is natural."

"We're in a situation where, if I'm infected with the Covid-19 virus, my breath can be lethal to someone else." The idea behind wearing a mask is that it could stop people from infecting others. However, some people see this as forced compliance.





More than 5 million individuals have tested positive for the coronavirus, out of which 1 million is from the United States alone. On May 6, 2020, a Michigan store security guard was killed because he asked customers to wear a mask before entering the store. Many of the people who follow this view believe that wearing a mask is "unconstitutional." This is a mistaken belief, and according to Stillwater City Manager Norman McNickle, "No law or court supports this view."



People like having freedoms. People will rebel if they feel that their freedoms are being compromised. As Steven Taylor, a clinical psychologist and author of The Psychology of Pandemics, said, "People value their freedoms. They may become distressed or indignant or morally outraged when people are trying to encroach on their freedoms."



COVID-19 is one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. One must ask themselves, "Do my rights matter more if in a case where I can cause death and strife by simply breathing onto other people?" Once this question is answered in an ethically and morally appropriate manner, we understand that this view of mask-wearing to infringe upon human rights is flawed.

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