Letter: An open letter to the guy who harassed me for wearing a mask on the street

To the guy who harassed me for wearing a mask on the street:

You know you were wrong to yell at me from your open car window at a red light. You know you were wrong because when I looked up and said, “what?” your first reaction was, “oh, nothing.”

I wear a mask not out of fear, but out of respect for those around me. My protection against COVID-19 is minimal with my mask on. I am, however, protecting others against any virus I may unknowingly have. Maybe I woke up with a cough this morning, and that mask is protecting you, stopped on the street next to me. “It’s just a common cold for most people,” you say? Sure. For most I know, it’s the worst, most prolonged flu of their life, but something that passed. For you, maybe it would feel like a bad cold, or maybe you wouldn’t feel it at all. But what about for your neighbor, to whom you could accidentally and unknowingly pass the virus if you had it. Would he/she be one of the many who suffers permanent lung damage, or who dies?

127,808 PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM COVID-19 IN THE UNITED STATES IN JUST MONTHS.

The overrun hospitals, the mobile morgues, and the lonely deaths of those who weren’t allowed to say goodbye to loved ones seem far away from the shores of Tahoe. Someone else’s tragedy. “We took care of our cases here,” you said to me.
South Lake just reopened to visitors. It’s great for the local businesses and economies that rely on tourism. With this increased movement of people though, is an inevitable increase in cases. With growing cases across both California and Nevada right now, I know it’s easy to blame out of towners for importing disease.

What about those tourists who wore masks on the street? The ones who wore masks to protect YOU and YOUR COMMUNITY? Do they deserve to be mocked or to be blamed?

I wear a mask because I want to do my part in minimizing the loss of life. If I wear my mask, then others will feel more comfortable wearing theirs, we slow the spread of the disease, and fewer people die. As businesses reopen and people begin to venture out, socializing, and traveling more, I believe that we need to be respectful of other’s comfort levels with these activities. I sometimes feel judgmental of what I view as risky behavior, but I have to remember that this is new territory we are all navigating the best we can. At the very least, you can respect those that are trying to keep others safe, and following state-mandated guidelines.

I can honestly say that COVID-19 has changed my perspective of individual responsibility to our community. I will think twice next flu season about going into the office sick. And for as long as COVID-19 still poses a threat to my loved ones and others, I will wear a mask.

- Cari Kessler