This late in the pandemic, if you can call it that anymore, you hardly see people wearing face masks anymore unless it’s at a doctor’s office.
Then again, for the political left, there is apparently still quite a bit of hypocrisy going on regarding them – or at least that’s what we can surmise from photos taken during the State of the Union speech last week.
As you well know, Democratic President Joe Biden gave his yearly SOTU speech on Tuesday, officially welcoming in a new year and a new Congress. As usual, pretty much everyone even slightly involved in national politics and lawmaking was there.
But according to Forbes and several other sources, only one wore a face mask.
Enter self-proclaimed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.
As Bruce Y. Lee of Forbes pointed out, not only was he the only one wearing a mask, but it was clearly an authentic KN-95 mask, one of the best on the market when it comes to supposedly protecting yourself and others from such viral spreading diseases like COVID-19.
Now, for the 81-year-old lawmaker, it’s probably a wise choice. Clearly, someone his age is more susceptible to such diseases, and should he contract them, he is that much more likely to experience the more severe symptoms associated with them.
And as a Democrat who is supposedly committed to “following the science,” it’s not a bad idea to at least make it look like you are still concerned about a potentially deadly disease that even now Biden’s administration is trying to make into a threat again.
Naturally, his comrades applauded his health consciousness and boldness. Several of his party mates referred to him as a “good example,” while others just made sure to praise him for “taking care of yourself” and “not giving a damn.”
But not all of the photos of him were quite so praiseworthy.
One, in particular, stands out. It’s one posted to New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitter account, in which the two of them pose together in the middle of a crowd of their associates.
It’s clearly just meant to be a “proud of this moment and to be with these people” pic, as it pictures AOC, Sanders, Ayanna Presley, and others all smiling for the camera with the caption “State of the Union.”
But what can also clearly be seen is that Sanders’ oh-so-praised mask isn’t on. Well, at least not how it’s supposed to be worn. Instead, like all too many of us have done, it’s being worn as a chinstrap, showing off a smile and not-so-pearly white teeth.
And you know what that means. It was all a publicity stunt. Just another act for most of the cameras to make it seem like he still cared and was still walking the line the Democratic Party has said is a must.
Don’t worry; given AOC’s rather large following, plenty of people saw this and made sure to comment.
As one said, “Step one: wear mask to crowded place Step two: get in middle of crowd and remove mask.”
Now, as I am sure we can all agree at this point, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing a face mask. Neither is there a problem with not wearing one. I think we’ve pretty much established at this point that it’s all about personal preference.
Yes, one should be conscious of their health, and if sick or not feeling well, it’s only responsible for them to either stay home or wear protection such as a face mask if one must venture out.
The problem comes when someone, especially someone like Sanders, who is such a public figure and knows that even the smallest thing can be used as a statement, only does things half-assed. You know, like only wearing a mask when it seems to suit them.
Sanders proves in this one move that he doesn’t really care about anyone else’s health, or at least not to the point that he isn’t willing to inconvenience himself on account of it. As with just about everything else he and his party members do, he’s virtue signally. And in this case, it’s done rather poorly.
