So, there’s a Pandemic on, in case you forgot with all the current insanity.

There’s a pandemic on and most places in the US have opened back up, hoping our corporate feudal masters will get the V-shaped recovery they so desperately want to keep this fake economy going.

Economics – that’s a rant for another day.

Anyways, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been going back out.

I love movies, and Chinese restaurants, and drunken karaoke at my second favorite bar.

But I haven’t been going out, except for necessities.

Because you know what?

Life is not back to normal. It’s not getting back to normal anytime soon.

Definitely not anytime before we have a working vaccine.

So, when I do go out for necessities, I always wear a mask when I can not social distance from people.

I don’t wear it in my car.

I don’t wear it at home, or when I’m walking my dog.

Just when I can’t get far enough away from you people.

And you’d think others would be following the CDC guidelines, you know, because that’s why we pay them, to help out with shit like this.

But no.

Still, anywhere from a third to half of the people I see, especially in the grocery stores, aren’t wearing masks and aren’t even trying to stay the fuck away from people.

Ok, I can deal. I’ve been told that somewhere around 40% of the American population has a below average IQ. (Not sure about the math on that one.)

Stupid people gonna stupid.

Been protecting me and mine from those asshats for, oh, all my fucking life.

No biggie.

I got it covered.

What makes me want to commit simple assault, just about every time I have to venture into public, are these fake macho assholes giving me dirty looks because I am, in fact, wearing protective equipment.

Because apparently, some ratings-whore on the News-Network-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named has convinced them that it’s unmanly – whatever the fuck that means – to protect yourself and others in your society.

Yep, let that sink in.

Hastur-Hastur-Hastur News has actually conned people into believing that protecting the weak, the at risk, the innocent, is a fucking bad thing.

Just out of curiosity, didn’t we used to call people that did that heroes?

No, I’m not calling myself a hero. I might risk human being, but let’s not push it.

Anyways, I imagine I’m not the only one on the receiving end of these disgusted looks.

I’ve even seen footage of people – wait, I mean sub-human scum-fucks – getting in responsible adults faces about their cowardice of wearing a mask.

This, for reasons that would be obvious if you’ve ever seen me in public, has not happened in my presence yet, lest I should be penning these missives from a jail cell.

It got me and a friend talking about our responses to this particular brand of heinous fuckery.

We both work with at-risk populations.

And she had the same thought about it that I did: We are protecting the at-risk people we work with.

And while we were having that conversation, it suddenly occurred to me – and this is where the tip you can use comes in…

I don’t owe them a fucking explanation.

I don’t, and neither did she.

And neither do you.

But, if you wanted to give one anyway, you know, just to be polite, please feel free to proffer the one I’ve been using if anyone gets within spitting distance of me:

“I’m a goddamn American, and you can’t tell me!”

They can’t tell me I can’t.

They don’t get to tell me I shouldn’t.

I’m not hurting anyone or breaking any laws, and that means they can mind their own damn business.

I don’t owe anyone a justification.

And neither do you.

Fell free to whip that out when the dicks get thick.

Until next time…