I will be the first to admit wearing a mask is a pain in the ass. They are uncomfortable, hot, very unattractive and make communication difficult. Back when people started wearing them to protect their lungs from the Utah pollution I will fully admit I chose vanity and comfort over health. And such was my right as my decision to go mask-free affected absolutely nobody but myself.

I will also be the first to admit that going mask-free in the midst of today’s COVID-19 pandemic makes you an unequivocal, unpardonable ass. Your decision to not wear a mask in the midst of this crisis has nothing to do with your health, your decision and your freedom and everything to do with mine. As a 44 year old disabled woman, I consider myself in the prime of my life and despite having just been diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer, I have no intention of dying anytime soon. So it irks me just a tiny bit when I see folks out in public without a mask. Selfish of me I know. After all, a mask will not necessarily impact your odds of contracting and possibly dying from COVID-19 but it will greatly increase the likelihood that I will. If I wasn’t such a selfish person I would simply quarantine myself so you could avoid the embarrassment of wearing a mask.

Our country is suffering. Socially as well as economically. There are lives and livelihoods at risk if we don’t reopen and soon. But the solution is not a bull-headed return to “business as usual.” It is unrealistic to ask every asthmatic, immune-compromised, disabled, cancer ridden, chronically ill or older American to continue to shelter-in-place just so you can look good while you do your grocery shopping. That mask is probably not that big a deal to you. But to me, when I see you wearing that mask it gives me just a little bit of hope that I might be able to leave my house without contracting yet another medical malady. My immune system is dealing with enough crap right now. Wear a mask.