My mother, who writes as Blair Bancroft, sent this to the CDC yesterday. She’s almost 88, and is very active, opinionated, and intelligent. When she said she had written to the CDC, I asked her to send me a copy to share:
“I’ve always been an optimist, more Pollyanna than Cassandra, but here’s how I see the results of the CDC’s latest Guidelines on mask-wearing.
Evidently the CDC, like me, still lives in an era where Honor counts. Where people are brought up to respect others. To think of someone other than themselves. Alas, as much as it pains me to say it, I fear those days are gone. Not so much by malicious intent but by attrition: the values we prided ourselves on are trickling away under assault from myriad directions.
And never has this loss been so “in your face” as during the Era of the Pandemic (following on the Era of Trump). I suspect the CDC, in its naivety, wanted to reward those who “took the shot” to protect themselves and their fellow citizens. Alas, all their latest Guidelines did was give a Green Light to all the anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, and the just plan selfish to rip off their masks and do as they @#$% well pleased.
Seriously, did the CDC actually believe the unvaccinated would continue to wear masks? If so, they should hang their heads in shame. Below is the tale of two band concerts - at the same high school, in the same auditorium, ten days apart. I am an author; yet I could not have created a better example of what’s wrong with the CDC’s mask guidelines than the actual events below.
On Thursday, May 6, I attended a band concert at Lake Mary High (Seminole County, FL, which has a mask mandate in place). Groups were socially distanced, all but three or four people wearing masks.
On Monday, May 17, I attended a Jazz Band Concert in the same auditorium - two days after the CDC’s new mask guidelines. One-third to one-half the audience were not wearing masks. The band director encouraged people to be loud in their appreciation of the bands (junior, elite, & percussion). The result? A large number of people, including the maskless, shouting and whooping, no doubt scattering germs fifteen feet or more. At first, I, like everyone else, was caught in the joy of “normality.” Not until after the concert did the downside hit me, as four maskless high school boys (ages 16-17) stood in the aisle next to our group - within a foot of the “other grandmother” in our family - and for at least ten minutes shouted to their friends who were busy clearing the stage. The boys were so exuberant, having such a great time, that it took a while before I realized what was happening. They could not have been fully vaccinated, even if all four got the shot the first day 16-year-olds were allowed. Yet they were maskless, spraying their germs in every direction, standing next to an 80-year-old who is UNVACCINATED because she suffers from severe allergies.
Did the boys have a clue the damage they might be doing? Of course not. This is why Responsible Adults have to set guidelines. Remember that old adage: “Give ‘em an inch, they’ll take a mile.” Well, that’s exactly what’s happened with the new Guidelines. Weary citizens have seized the bit and run with it. FREE AT LAST! When, of course, we still have a long way to go before we’re anywhere near herd immunity. Yes, we’ve hit the homestretch. (Medals of Honor to all those who developed such effective vaccines!) But this is the time to buckle down, finish the eradication of this plague, not invite it to sneak up on us again.
What’s the solution to this dilemma?
THE IDEAL: Following the Guidelines as they were intended - the Unvaccinated wearing masks to protect themselves and others.
THE REALISTIC: Amend the Guidelines, although - sigh - that may be like trying to fix a leak in a dam that’s already breached.
I can only pray that someone, somewhere, figures out a solution, because after what I saw last night in a county that has been really good about following all the Pandemic rules . . . things could go downhill really fast.
I want to be wrong, but . . .”